Improve your Writing: Double Word Woes
This article was written by James Taylor, a Story Scout and member of the StoryForge community. Chat with us about guest writing at info@storyforge.com.
One of the things I've seen a lot, especially in my own writing when not careful, is duplicative word use. You're talking about an 'arm' in one sentence and before the paragraph is done, you've used 'arm' three more times. Sometimes there's only so many ways to express the same idea, item, or action, but with too much unnecessary repetition, your story really suffers. A small oversight may wrongly give the impression of a limited vocabulary or overly simplistic story.
You can scan the writing as many times as you like, but chances are you’re going to miss some. Reading the words out loud is a great way to catch things. Having this goal in mind, you probably don’t need a dramatic presence. Enunciate carefully and keep a steady, flat voice. That way it should be painfully obvious when the same word comes up in quick succession.
Another way to find duplicates is the Edit>Find function. It would be fairly tedious to check all the text, so some direction is needed. If your story is about a bomb, how many times do you use that exact word? How close are each of the instances? Are there other names for the object used between them?
Fresh eyes are always worth giving a second look. You might not notice repetition while writing but checking again later or having another person review it may reveal repeated words. If someone else is critiquing your work make sure you let them know you’re looking for this habit to correct it.
What do you do when you find them?
A thesaurus might be the first place you go to find a replacement, but it shouldn’t be your last. “Bomb” gives ‘Device’, ‘Explosive’, ‘Mine’, ‘Missile’ and more, but they describe different uses of the word. Substituting the expression haphazardly can be confusing and often incorrect. For example, calling it a ‘device’ might be fine in some circumstances. What happens if your character is a techie though? What ‘device’ are you referring to? The explosive, a gadget on his arm, something they left at home? You might know, but it can muddy the meaning for the reader.
More thought is needed. In this example, what is the explosive – chemically? What does it look like? Superficially – what shape is it? What kind of housing is it in? Can you refer to it more indirectly, by using words like – danger, situation?
Take a step further back. Is the doubled version of the word extraneous? If you’ve been talking about a stack of C4 and how the hero wants to disarm it, you probably don’t need to be too redundant when you say they’re going to cut the wire on the bomb. If your writing is solid enough, what’s being affected is going to be strongly implied.
Of course, with any ‘rule’ there are going to be exceptions. If a certain object is known to be so unique that the letters are capitalized – The Box – referring to it as such keeps it distinct. You might also play with it if there are twins and doubles, mirroring the duplication in the people with the overuse of the word. In the end it’s up to you. What impression do you want to leave, and is it intentional?