Sept 24th, 2020
I briefly thought of titling this article 'Writer's Crutches and Other Things We All Do That Are Normal and Also Bad' but I figured it was too wordy. I added it here because I thought it was funny, but you aren't here for humour, are you? Let's get to it.
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It sounds kind of awful doesn't it? A crutch. The word is simply not a nice word, say it out loud. Its kind of crunchy and staccato. It means one thing and its almost universally bad. And I do mean almost, remember some crutches are of great help to people. Broke a leg? Crutches can help you move. Spine problems? Same thing.
Just remember while I am talking about crutches in this article, I specifically mean 'filler words.' Words that add nothing to your writing and verbally are only used to buy time so your brain can catch up with your mouth.
When speaking out loud, words such as like, um, and literally help you slow down a little to keep pace with your thoughts. Or for your thoughts to keep pace with you more specifically. When writing, filler words have zero real benefit and serve only to muddy up a concise point. There are literally no benefits to these sorts of words, you know.
So, how do we deal with these intruders on the page? And how do we avoid them? Well, let's definitely jump in and see if we can define each and every one of them.
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Of course, that is not actually what we are going to do, I was just being an ass and using as many filler words as I could to make that last sentence longer but still make sense. Here's how it should have been written:
These words have zero benefit to your writing. Or I could have gone with: Filler words lend nothing to your writing. There are still many ways of writing that sentence, do not let your newfound shunning of filler words limit you in any way. Creativity and conciseness remain as always.
Myself, I use 'so' a lot. Like, a lot a lot. So, here is what I do during the editing process. First, I transfer everything into MS Word, and I run the editor. It catches most of the filler words I use because I never use commas properly. And that will definitely, without a doubt, no butts about it, be a separate article. Commas are the bane of a writer's existence - but I'm off track, back to filler words.
These words collectively, are a crutch. Because of our subject matter, they are a writer's crutch. Some of the links at the bottom give some great examples of which words they can be and how to identify ones you use, so we will avoid doing that here as the articles I link to do a great job of illustrating the point.
Breaking it down simply, any time you can get the same point across with fewer words, there is a good chance that's because there are crutch words in there. Let's work through an example:
Example: Gordon definitely wanted to hear all about every detail of his friend's day.
Solution #1 - Gordon wanted to know every detail of his friend's day.
Solution #2 - Gordon sincerely wanted to hear of his friend's day.
There are a near-infinite number of potential solutions to the clunky example above, the two I came up with illustrate two different things.
In the first solution, the most important part is that Gordon wants to know every detail. He is interested in his friend's day and wants to hear everything. The details are most important to Gordon. In the second solution, the important part is that Gordon sincerely want to hear about his friend's day. The sincerely insinuates that the listening to his friend is of utmost importance.
The crutch words here are ‘definitely’, ‘all’ and ‘about.’ By removing or changing these unnecessary words the sentences are far more concise and easier to read.
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Finding out what your crutch words is an important step in improving your writing skill. And as much as I would love to be the person to drag you to the answer, there are simply too many of you. Every writer is different in this regard.
We could wax philosophic about upbringing and education playing major roles in what crutches you develop. We could talk about which writers you grew up reading and how they played a part. But the reality is, only you can know what your crutches are.
It was a short one today but consider the homework you may want to do. Lots of time now, now go. Find those crutches and gain a few levels in writing.
Eric
Today I googled: writer's crutch, here's what I found: