Repetitive Redundancies
By Gayle C. Krause
What kind of title is that? It means the same thing. Exactly
my point! Many new writers are absolutely certain that they have assembled
together a manuscript adhering to the basic essentials of good
writing, combined together with creative imaginings, or true
fact, which in my
own personal opinion, is exactly the same as stamping it with a negative
rejection form before it even gets sent out.
Redundancies are common in the writing of new authors; even
some seasoned ones let them slip by. A writer
must be aware of words that say the same thing twice. Being a writer in several
critique groups, both live and online, I often see simple phrases written by
fellow authors, which employ double words that have the same meaning. Sometimes
writers, especially new ones, tend to get caught up in the content of their
story or article, and fail to realize their wordiness simply destroys the flow.
Readers then must reread the paragraph to understand what the writer was trying
to say.
Some manuscript doctors suggest you slash and burn, cutting out unneeded words to make the piece more
efficient. Although clarity and conciseness is our goal as writers, cutting out
our favorite words or passages is not the key, however, checking for a few
simple ways to reduce wordiness is.
Redundant phrases are the first place to look. Redundancies
arise from three sources:
1. wordy
phrases
2. obvious
qualifiers
3. using
two or more synonyms together
One pair of words most commonly overused is repeat again. Either use repeat, or
again, but not both. Below are a few others.
i.e. advance planning, invited guest, old adage, continue
on, end result, final conclusion, free gift, identical match, new innovation,
refer back, sudden impulse, sum total
It is also the author’s responsibility to choose powerful
words for their writing. This technique is referred to as direct writing. They should make their words do their own work and
not prop them up with over inflated phrases that don’t really mean anything.
These phrases tend to make the piece wordy.
Stronger words without supporting phrases make the piece more readable.
i.e. suggestions for replacements of wordy phrases
a considerable number of………………….many
at the present time………………………….now
based on the fact that………………………because
despite the fact that………………………..although
in connection with…………………………regarding
There are numerous strong words, which can replace weak ones
or wordy phrases. The use of a thesaurus is essential in writing, and even then
some phrases or words still need to be replaced.
By
keeping these few tips in mind as you write, or revise you will pare down
verbosity and make your writing stronger, clearer and more concise. A writing
style that is crisp and clear will attract an editor’s eye. J
