297 Flabby Words and Phrases That Rob Your Writing of All Its Power

You’re not stupid. You know what writing is truly about. It’s a never-ending battle for your readers’ attention. Every sentence is a link in a taut chain that connects your headline to your conclusion. And you are just one weak sentence away from losing your reader forever. So you take your craft quite seriously. You ignore all but your best ideas. You work on each piece of writing for exactly as long as necessary to get it right. And you edit until your words are crisp and clear. But what if that isn’t enough? What if weaknesses remain that are almost impossible to spot? The Subtle Attention Killers That Hide in Plain Sight No matter how carefully you scrutinize your writing, subtle problems will remain. Certain words and phrases are so commonplace – and so seemingly benign – that they glide unnoticed under your editing radar. But these words and phrases can silently erode your reader’s attention. They don’t stand out. But they weaken your writing and dilute your ideas. So bookmark this post.

The Little Things (Can Make a Character Great): Specifics and the Directive EVERYTHING is supported, illuminated and deepened by your “SPECIFICS”–your “SPECIFIC CHOICES” in a scene. What EXACTLY do you fall in love with? Her eyes? The way he walks? His powerful shoulders? Her smell? Exactly what history or past experience of your character is affecting you in the scene? Begin your SPECIFICS with what is given in the script. It is always important to begin approaching the “specifics” of a CHARACTER with the simple two-part question: “How is this character like me, and how is this character different from me?” You must DO SOMETHING about what is different. TO BEGIN: Try writing a CHARACTER BIOGRAPHY. These last two questions can sometimes give an actor his/her whole character because in some cases a person’s entire life is defined by what they do with their body and physicality. CONTINUING: Voice type? What would I be doing now if I was alone and this EVENT was not taking place?