I recently reviewed a soon to be published memoir that is translated from French and unfortunately the translator’s choice of words is so bad that it inspired this “what not to do” article. Word choice can be a positive or negative quality in writing for many reasons. In this case, the writer’s sin is the repetitive use of words and phrases. On. And more. And more. Most writers who do this don’t realize they’re doing it, and it’s one of the best reasons to read your work aloud, and one of the easiest writing pitfalls to get around with careful editing.

For example, today I came across the following sentence:

“Actually, this was very unrealistic.”

I know what you’re thinking: “reality” and “unrealistic” are not the same word. But repetitive word choice isn’t always about the exact same word or phrase being overused; different forms of a word count, too. First, when they are in the same sentence or paragraph, they can be a red flag for redundancy. Would the meaning of the above sentence be different if we cut out “actually”? No. You cannot affirm that an idea is not realistic if you have not thought about it in terms of reality.

Also, the potential for greater depth and nuance may be lost if you reuse favorite words and phrases at the expense of variation. If we replace “actually” with a more specific word or phrase, the sentence becomes much more effective and meaningful. For example:

“Given what had just happened in the Middle East, this was highly unrealistic.”

Prayed:

“Outside of my dreams, this was very unrealistic.”

Sometimes varying your word choice is even more basic: If you reread a paragraph in your fiction and find you’ve used the word “couple” three times, drag out your thesaurus. Try “duo” or “couple” or “lovers.” Keep in mind that while words may be listed as synonyms, each has its own connotations, and the strongest writers are careful to choose the word that best conveys its intended meaning and fits the tone or mood of their writing. . That goes for every word in every sentence, of course.

In short, word choice is an easy area to become lazy or sloppy, but it is one of the most important aspects of good writing, if not tea the most important. Choose wisely and with variety, my writer friends.