One of the first things a new writer learns is that the word "was" does not belong in her story in any kind of large quantity. I learned that the other words to avoid can include "that" and "just" and well . . . about any other word we tend to overuse.
But "was" is a biggie.
Awareness kept my wazzes to a minimum, as did my critique partners. Fast forward to no cps and a natural tendency toward laziness. Of the 15,000 or so words I sent out to be read by other authors to make sure I had a grip on the story I'm writing, "was" made up about 18,000 of them. At least that's how it felt when I went through and made revisions.
I think I'm cured. My manuscript is not was-less, but it is less was-y. My plan is to finish this story with a minimum of wazzes.
How about you? Have you ever known better? Let a bad habit infiltrate your work?
CR: The Baby Thief by L.J. Sellers.
It's all better with friends.
Showing posts with label was. Show all posts
Showing posts with label was. Show all posts
Sunday, October 23, 2011
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