Cooling Off on Hot Words

When I was seventeen I wrote a 40-word poem. It contained the word “freedom” (or some derivative thereof) at least 17 times. Needless to say, it was not my best work.

Oh, but that was almost twenty years ago! Surely I don’t do things like that any more – right? Two years ago I wrote a book proposal. I used the word “intimate” 13 times in just 3 double-spaced pages.

Every writer has favorite words. Those pets change as we grow and work on different projects. They transform with the culture and the trends that create proper contemporary buzz. (I’ve noticed far too many instances of “chortled” in Christian chick-lit lately. Apparently, giggling is out and chortling is in.)

There is nothing wrong with having favorite words. There’s nothing wrong with keeping your finger on the pulse of popular culture and tuning your language to it. The problem, though, is in overuse. Reiterated words and phrases lose power. Worse: undue repetition causes readers to glaze over. They start to skim the pages thereby reducing the chance that the words you’ve worked so hard to craft will actually affect their lives.

Think carefully on how you employ your favorites. Do you write hypnotically with comfortable default or choose wisely each word’s frequency?

Author and writing mentor Camy Tang suggests a quick and easy tip for minimizing overuse. She calls these favorites “hot words” and here is how she cools off on them.

1. Keep a running list of your “hot words.”
2. Use the search feature in your writing program to find every instance of use. (In Microsoft Word, this is called “Find” and it’s located under the “Edit” tab of the toolbar.)
3. Evaluate the word’s effectiveness within context. Not every instance needs to be altered, but if you find you’ve used the same word several times within a couple pages, you’ll want to consider changes. Is this the best word for this particular part of the manuscript? Is there another word that might be more effective? One that might strengthen the piece as a whole?

The whole process will only take a few minutes of your time and it will reduce the need for extensive (and possibly embarrassing) editing later.

Special Note: this rule applies to undue repetition. Many writers are also speakers. The rules are different for speech writing than they are for published writing. Speakers can get away with far more repetition than authors. In fact, good speakers utilize repetition to a fruitful advantage. Conference attendees cannot rewind your talk to figure out what you just said, so you must say it again and again to ensure proper understanding and retention. Readers, however, can easily back up a page or a paragraph or even a chapter to remember what they’ve already read. In most cases, they don’t need you filling extra pages with redundant information.

If you’re writing a speech, go ahead and repeat yourself! If you’re writing something else, keep your information and your words fresh. A thesaurus rarely hurts anyone.

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