Crutch Words & Phrases
In no particular order, here are some of my crutch words and phrases:
- Just
- Actually
- And with that
- Really
- Studied/Peered (my crutches for “look”)
- Snort (less so now, but it was a bugger in some earlier work)
- Starting sentences with “and” (nothing wrong with that, but I do it a lot)
- Motherf*cker (okay, this is a joke and in reference to my post on swearing in novels)
I allow myself to use these crutch words and phrases when I draft since I know I’ll fix/address them when I revise, but I find simply being aware of them means I use them less anyway. (And yes, this awareness sometimes slows me down as I draft since I’ll often pause when I start writing a crutch word, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing.)
I showed you mine. Now show me yours. 🙂 What are some crutch words you use if you’re a writer, or what are some crutch phrases you hate seeing as a reader? Share in the comments.
