By Itself, the word is innocent.

Welcome back to another blog hop, with #OpenBook. Here’s this week’s prompt.

Don’t forget to click the link to see what everyone else has to say on this week’s subject. It’s at the end of my post.

We’ve talked about our favorite words. Is there a word you despise? One you refuse to use in your writing?

As it is in so many things, in writing, it’s not the words but how you use them. Most of my pet hates, word-wise, can be explained in that way.

There aren’t any words that I dislike so much that I would say I despise them. I think that all words have their place.

The words themselves are innocent, the guilt lies in their use. It’s important that you understand that point.

What annoys me is the use of words that have no discernible effect on the writing. I mean words that have no benefit to the context of the narrative. Quite a few of these happen to be adjectives. I even put a few in the last paragraph to show you what I meant.

Which is not to say that I’m anti-adjective. I’m not one of those people who think you should never put one into a sentence. In their place, they are useful things, but I think they can be overused, which causes the reader to slow down as he assimilates all that extra information.

Adjectives can often seem to be used as a lazy option, when a better (more descriptive) way of getting your message across is available. I think it’s all about whether you are using them to show or to tell.

For example, using “Angry” to tell, instead of showing anger by describing a red face and clenched fists.

Then there’s padding, the words that only seem to be there to increase the word count.

Or pages of exposition, when I just want action. If I’m reading fiction, I don’t want a lot of backstory info-dumped on me, it’s like reading an encyclopedia.

As for a word that I would never use, I don’t think there is one. They are all there to be used. As I said before, all you have to do is put them in the appropriate place.

Finally, before you mention it, although I’ve complained about things in this post, it doesn’t mean that I’m not guilty of doing what I profess to dislike.

After all, I’m only human.

What do you think about this week’s subject?

Let me know by leaving me a comment.

While you’re here, please click the InLinkz link to check out what my fellow writers have to say about this week’s topic.

Until next time.

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