Susie decided she’d had enough of his insubordination. It was time to let him go. “John,” she said, “You have been insubordinate one time too many. You’re fired.” Many beginning writers feel they must set up the dialogue by explaining first what the character is going to say, or to emphasize a point by repeating it in dialogue, but it is not needed. Unnecessary repetition weakens sentences and adds extraneous words to your manuscript. Say it once, cut to the chase. Another example of saying the same thing in different words: Many unskilled workers without training in a particular job are unemployed and do not have any work. (“Unskilled” and “without training” mean the same thing, as do “unemployed” and “do not have work.”) Better : Many unskilled workers are unemployed. Be aware of repetitive phrases: • Circle around  • Continue on  • Final completion  • Frank and honest exchange • The future to come • Repeat again • Return again • Revert back • Square i...

Clichés can make a narrative sound tired and unimaginative. They bombard us everyday, so they leak easily from our fingertips, like ink from an old-fashioned pen. When I point out clichés to the authors I edit, they come up with some very inventive alternatives that enliven their prose. Here’s a string of some of my most hated clichés. I’m sure every editor has such a list. “Cindy’s eyes widened, her mouth dropped open, and her knuckles whitened as she gripped the back of the chair after the good-looking blonde shot her a look and gave her a lop-sided grin, then rolled her eyes.” I immediately highlight such phrases in yellow. Not all clichés get this treatment. Some are okay in dialogue, if they’re appropriate to the character speaking. For example, “My dad pretended to read him the riot act, but I think he was secretly proud of him. The other kid’s mother went ballistic.” Real people use clichés, so why shouldn’t characters? Another example: “‘You know what they say.’ Gil...

It sneaks up on you. Even if you don't notice, others will. John McCain gave us a perfect (verbal) example in the October 9 presidential debate: "my friends." Is there a comic - or blogger - who has not spoofed McCain's repetition? So maybe McCain is an extreme example, but it is easy to overuse a word or a description without realizing it. In a writing class, my instructor pointed out that I had written the phrase "you're so silly" in dialogue four times over six pages. How did I miss that? Another example from my own work was that I repeated the word refrigerator in a scene where this kitchen appliance was being repossessed. So then I tried substituting with the descriptive phrase "avocado-colored rectangular box." That didn't work at all! My scene finally improved when I restructured my sentences so that I wasn't so dependant on one word. Repetitive word use can kill good work in any type of writing - from novels to memoir to press ...