The Write Stuff

Literary Tics

After finishing the first draft of my novel several months ago, and excited about the accomplishment, I soon began editing the second draft.  After the first few pages, I recognized patterns in my writing that I termed "literary tics". The tics were repetitive use of words with which I felt comfortable and which I thought conveyed the scene I saw in my mind as I was writing.  In fact, they did convey the scene; however, in that first draft, I had not considered the impact of repetition of those words on the reader.  Examples of the words are as, just, down, and up. Use of these words is not a tic, of course, but the overuse of them is.

I used the word, as, repeatedly when other words such as when or while would have applied equally well. Again, there is nothing inherently wrong with the word, as, only in the frequency with which I used it.  The phrase, "As I looked at Momma ...", can be replaced with, "When I looked at Momma ...", with little, if any, change in the connotation.  Of course, the risk then becomes overusing the word, when, a possibility that is easily addressed with balanced use of all words at the writer's disposal.

Likewise, I used the word, just, many times when it was just not needed (like that). For example, in the phrases, "He was just sitting there or "She just didn't know the stranger," the word doesn't add anything of substance to the statements. However, in some cases in narrative and, especially, in dialogue, the word carries a different connotation and is warranted. For instance, there is a difference between, "Carol, I don't know" and "Carol, I just don't know" in dialogue, the first imparting fact, the second perhaps frustration.

Another literary tic of which I was guilty is the use of up and down. For instance, when the setting is described as a woman standing and her son sitting to her side, there is no reason to write, "He turned and looked up at her." The word, up, is not needed and the same is true for the word, down, in similar situations.

I am sure that experienced writers are not afflicted with literary tics to the extent that beginning writers are, although they may have been as beginners. The goal, of course, is to identify and prevent them, thereby making writing more efficient and effective.  The good news is that repetition of words is easy to highlight with modern word processors.  They can be reviewed and changed during the edit. 

Other literary tics may include routinely, but inadvertently, changing POV; verb tense mismatches; and habitual use of non-standard punctuation.  In any case, taking care of these "literary tics" allowed me to also review surrounding material while editing.  In addition, getting the literary garbage out of the way allows me to concentrate on style, POV, show-not-tell considerations, etc.  It is rather like cleaning the dust and dirt off a vintage car to determine the work needed to restore it to a polished finish.