Repetition Can Kill

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Repetition can kill.

It comes in all shapes and forms, whether it's a repeated phrase or a word used too often. Repetition dulls your words and subconsciously causes a reader to glaze over your work as you read and easily bores them. It's the sign of an immature writer and it can be freaking annoying. It's that one friend that only has that one story to tell you when you get together, it's that song on the radio that they play over and over, it's that three hour movie that your just so sick of but you can't turn it off, it's...you get the idea.

And on that note, repetition can kill. 

And it's sneaky my friends. It's not just words themselves, but how you word things as well. Sure, when you use the phrase It was so unbelievable that I gave a origami frog to my squid over and over again, people will get sick of it. (Aka-the reason why the latest draft of Scrapper is thirty pages shorter.) But the ways you write things out, such as listing them in threes or always attaching an adverb to the start of a sentence in which an action takes place, is also monotonous and bland.

*Just a little added tip here guys, repetition can kill. 

Sometimes repetition, if cleverly used, can be an effective way to foreshadow and bring your manuscript. Enter the catch phrase, the nervous habit, the lovable little quirk. Repetition used in characterization makes your characters more familiar and also establishes that the absence of said repetition means something is not right. So do not despair, because repetition can be put to good use.

But, staying on the safe side, always remember that repetition can kill. 

Did I mention that repetition can kill?

Stats of the Week

Song : Hello Sunshine by BarlowGirl

Book: The Giver By Lois Lowry

Word: Ostentatous 

Quote: " It is better to remain silent at the risk of being thought a fool then to talk and remove all doubt." Maurice Switzer

The Five Stages of Post-Novel Completion

That dude looks like he just finished a novel, right?

The Dinner Stage: You've just pounded out your last sentence and YOU ARE THE FREAKING BOMB YO! You're bullet proof, nothing to lose. Fire away, fire away. Ricochet, you take your aim. Fire away, fire away. You still remember it, the very last sentence. You will never forget it as long as you live. And now that you've reported your successful endeavor on Facebook, why not celebrate with dinner?

The Honeymoon Stage: You're reading it, and it's pure gold. Easily the best piece of fiction to ever exist in the History of Man, Monkey, and Comquate. Seriously, you should be doing this for a living or something. Centuries from now historians will speculate as too just how it could it be possible to be as awesome as you? And you know what? THEY WILL FAIL! BECAUSE IT DON'T GET BETTER THEN YOU SO DEAL WITH IT YOU IGNORANT BARBARIANS! Now, just sit back and wait for the awards to start rolling in.

The Sharing Stage: The best things in life should be shared, don't you agree? So pass around the draft, let your friends shower you with praise over your sheer awesomeness. If they can handle it, that is.

The Dreading Stage: So you've gotten some feedback for your manuscript. All in good spirit, you know. As they say, no matter how awesome something is, it can only get better. Still, there's something in the pit of your stomach, and it's either dread or the intense need to pee. But you haven't drunk any fluids for the last few days, you've been so anxious about your baby-YOU MEAN BOOK-out in the world for the first time. Hmmmm....maybe its time to give your manuscript another work.

The Editing Stage: You can't remember what happiness is. How could you ever love this abomination? Look at it, it's disgusting. It's literally making you puke. THeir r jst SO MaNy, gramer, mitsakes,,,that. you dont no waht! tO do "wi"th ur self>/ And that kissing scene in the bathroom? Ew. So overdone. You know what? That whole romance is so over done. You should have just killed off those characters. Not only that, but this is so obviously based off of your life. Yeah, that's right. You hoped no one would notice but it's so glaringly in their faces that they'd have to be blind not to know. No, wait, even a blind person could tell. AND OHMYGOSH WHY DO YOU KEEP USING THE WORD PROBABLY? This is no novel. This is toilet paper, at best. You need Jesus.

~Sigh...Finished my fourth manuscript (third in the series) yesterday. Have a fantastic freaking day people.