Words I am Done With

[skip.knox]

Double down (just say emphasize, or stand firm)
Badass (only if there's goodass ... and oh, shut up)
It is what it is (well, it ain't what it ain't, which is equally profound)

How about you?

 

[Orc Knight]

It is what it is

That is my job's motto nowadays. Practically a benediction at this point, really.

 

[Steerpike]

Pretty much over “paradigm shift.”

 

[Svrtnsse]

Cascade - when used to describe a way of distributing information

 

[CupofJoe]

Cognitive Resilience - Which seems to mean "Sh!t happens; deal with it".

 

[skip.knox]

Ah,cascade. Which cascades me over into "drill down" -- an oldie and a baddie

 

[JGCully]

Going forward (I hate business speak)
In a nutshell (*sigh*)
Thus (over used in a lot of my first drafts)

 

[summondice]

That is my job's motto nowadays. Practically a benediction at this point, really.

My workplace's version is "It's fiiiiiiine." Which I admit, I love and use often. It's sometimes the only way let a build up of things go.

SK - I think I used those first two just today. I don't use the first one very often, but it's the best way I've found to describe out loud to people about the humorous side of a frustrating situation. The second I also have only used to describe the character I'm basing on a certain toddler.

Both of those have definitely become pretty cliche.

WORDS I AM DONE WITH:
See, Look, Hear, Know, Realize, Wonder, Decide, Notice, Feel, Remember, Think - They're all disguised as "show not tell" words, but they usually inhibit it.

This, That, Then, Of, As, Really/Very/Only (and any other word intended to emphasize where better words would be, well, better), Just, Start/Begin, Suddenly, Almost/Rather/Somewhat (and other hedge words that end up meaning nothing at all), Prepositions like up and down when they are redundant or, at best, poor word economy.

But possibly most of all the verbs: Make, Got, Look, Move, Come, and Has

Of course, I'm mostly sick of these in a very particular sort of circumstance and not in general conversation or even in general writing (though I notice each one every time in writing that's meant to be Writing.

 

[Agam Ridelle]

gasped, gasp, gasping
breath, breathed, breathing

 

[summondice]

Glance - that's one I need to add. I'm starting to absolutely loathe all forms of this word.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

That.

Not that you can't get too far without using that, but that doesn't mean you can't try that.

Finally.

Dead word to me, outside of dialogue or one helluva justification. But then, all -ly adverbs need justification outside dialogue, heh heh.

Saw, heard, wondered... all of those are distancers, but again, it's hard to be "done" with them. It's a matter of limiting their usage.

Otherwise, most words are fair game unless they just don't fit the style of writing.

The F-bomb in Fantasy lit not set in our time period... in RL I'm full of them, but in my writing? I don't like it, it becomes meaningless and so often out of place. Part of my issue comes from screenwriting and the PG-13 F-bomb, so often thrown into films randomly to get to PG-13, and they come off as pathetic.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

For me this will depend on usage. If you are writing in intimate third and use "Joe glanced" you've created a gap (distancer) between the character and reader. In 3rd omniscient it plays better, so long it's not over used. But in general, over used is the trouble, as with most words.

Glance - that's one I need to add. I'm starting to absolutely loathe all forms of this word.

 

[TheCrystallineEntity]

I was looking at this recently: Forty Four Words to Seek and Destroy

 

[Ban]

Moist.

 

[DragonOfTheAerie]

Moist.

Mmmmmooooooooooiiiiiiissst.

 

[Ireth]

Moist.

Don't ever read Pratchett's "Going Postal" or "Making Money" then. I kid you not, that is the MC's name.

 

[skip.knox]

Also from my list:
breaking news (linguistically equivalent of saying new news)
utilize (as a synonym for use)

My list is more about general usage than about poor writing. But the above posts are all points well made.

Except for the damp ones. <g>

 

[ChaoticanWriter]

"Sardonic".
I read a book that used this word too much, and kept referring to the main character in that way, and it completely ruined that character for me.
Re-using a single descriptive adjective is NOT how you make a character edgy!

 

[skip.knox]

Unpack.

Please, news people. You can explain a news story. You can expand upon it. If you're feeling feisty you can even explicate.

The only thing you can unpack is luggage and I'll thank you not to unpack mine. Bonus tip: there is never, ever, a lot to unpack here. You're in a broadcast room, not a baggage carousel.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

Unhinged... I used to like this word, modern politics has made it meaningless... pretty much what modern politics does to everything.