Writing Tips
Words to Avoid
This does not include dialogue.
These can be used (of course, it’s your writing!) just try to make sure they are not overused.
❉
➳ telling words force the reader away from the story; showing immerses them
➝ consider
➝ decide
➝ feel / felt
➝ got
➝ has / have / had
➝ hear / heard
➝ is / are / was / were / am
➝ look
➝ next
➝ notice
➝ ponder
➝ recall
➝ remember
➝ see / saw
➝ smell
➝ taste
➝ then
➝ think / thought
➝ watch
➝ wonder
❉
➳ declutter your writing; keeping your story concise holds the attention of the reader better
➝ absolutely
➝ completely
➝ down / up
➝ just
➝ really
➝ totally
➝ very
❉
➳ don’t make the reader guess what you mean; show them exactly what you’re describing
➝ a little
➝ a lot
➝ about
➝ almost
➝ appear
➝ approximately
➝ few
➝ like
➝ lots
➝ many
➝ might
➝ more
➝ most
➝ much
➝ often
➝ perhaps
➝ rather
➝ roughly
➝ seem
➝ some (somebody, somehow, someone, something, sometime, somewhat, somewhere)
➝ thing
❉
➳ don’t give the reader the opportunity to find discrepancies in your story
➝ absolute
➝ all
➝ always
➝ complete
➝ entire
➝ every (everybody, everyone, everything, every time, everywhere)
➝ never
➝ none
❉
➳ be as concise and meaningful as possible; every word you use should be the ideal descriptor
➝ anything ending in ‘-ly’
➝ if you’re using ‘-ly’ there is a better verb or adjective to use
➝ angrily, quickly, sadly, softly, suddenly, etc.
❉
➳ these words reduce the sense of urgency; keep your readers hooked by keeping the tension
➝ after
➝ as
➝ continued
➝ when
➝ while
➝ ‘-ing’ verbs
❉
➳ transition words allow writers to avoid finding connections between sentences, but meaningful connections increase immersion and flow
➝ after
➝ also
➝ anyway
➝ as
➝ besides
➝ even though
➝ finally
➝ however
➝ later
➝ meanwhile
➝ next
➝ so
➝ soon
➝ then
this is stupid.
kuroo knows that better than anyone—knows that this is entirely unreasonable and entirely spur of the moment and entirely something he should not do—but you’re standing in the kitchen, covered in flour, and the words seem to fall from his lips as if they were always meant to be there.
“marry me,” he says, and he means it just as he did when he asked you yesterday as he kissed you goodbye, and just as he did the day before when you tripped down the stairs, and just as he would tomorrow if you said no.
but this time, as laughter spills from your lips, messy dough coating your cheeks, something stirs in him. something that he wouldn’t find yesterday and won’t find tomorrow and something that feels like hope, and delirium and you—and he thinks, if only for a second, that stupid isn’t even the word for it.
“you’re asking right now?” you raise a brow, motioning your fingers around your mess of a kitchen, and a silly little smile draws across his cheeks.
“i am.”
“i’m covered in flour,” you say.
and he grins, “yeah, and you should marry me.”
you shake your head, pulling your lips together, and you give him that look you always do; the ’maybe when we’re older and smarter and a little less prone to divorce’ look that he’s grown to dread.
because, yes, this is stupid—incredibly so—but he’s twenty-one and he’s pretty sure he’s never going to get much smarter than this and you share a bed every night without killing each other, so, really, why not?
he holds his hand in the air, waiting to insist on asking you again tomorrow, but you laugh—soft and bright and something that aches like home—and a little okay rolls off your lips.
“what?” his fingers stutter in front of him, voice tugging at the back of his throat, and you laugh.
“i said okay.”
“you’re kidding,” he says, a little too dumbfounded for his own good.
“now why would i do that?” you reply, a little tease catching your breath.
(oh, you must be trying to kill him now.)
“because i asked you to marry me.”
“you did.”
“and you said yes.” a breath spills from your throat—happy little laughter swirling between you.
“i did.”
and he doesn’t know whether to scream, or cry, or maybe throw up, but he does know that you just agreed to marry him, so all three sound like a solid approach.
“i’m in love with you,” he says, hands reaching for floured cheeks.
“well i would hope so.”
and he rolls his eyes, pulling you in—lips meeting yours with a clash of flour and warmth and a breath of anything but regret—and he’s sure that he’d be stupid every day of his life if it meant being with you.
DOUBLE KNOT TEASER PICS: LEE KNOW, SEUNGMIN AND HYUNJIN
my tumblr needs more watermelonracha
as
while
when,
whilst
even as
just as
just when
simultaneously as
so long as
at the moment that
at the same time that at the time that
in the act of
in the process of
on the point of
during the time that
at the same time as
during the time
throughout the time
in the time
during which
during which time
for the period that
at the same time
meanwhile
at the time
as long as
exactly when
at the very moment that
at the very time that after
as soon as
immediately when
immediately after
instantly when once
looked
glanced
gazed
stared
gaped
peered
focused
peeped
peeked
took a look
taken a look
watched
considered
saw
seen
observed
viewed
regarded
marked
checked out
glimpsed
spotted
eyed
took in
taken
in ogled
eyeballed
beheld
beholden
before
ahead
back
previously
since
sooner
afore
aforetime
ante
antecedently
anteriorly
before present
ere
fore
former
formerly
forward
gone
gone by
heretofore
in advance
in days of yore
in front
in old days
in the past
past
precendently
previous
up to now
smiled
beam
grin
laugh
smirk
simper
be gracious
express friendliness
express tenderness
look amused
look delighted
look happy
look pleased
touch
brush
caress
feel
handle
hit
kiss
lick
pat
reach
rub
strike
stroke
tap
abut
adjoin
border
communicate
contact
converge
dab
examine
finger
fondle
frisk
glance
graze
grope
inspect
join
line
manipulate
march
massage
meet
neighbor
osculate
palm
palpate
partake
paw
percuss
pet
probe
push
scrutinize
sip
smooth
suck
sweep
tag
taste
thumb
tickle
tip
toy
verge
be in contact
butt on
come together
feel up
impinge upon
lay a finger on
exhaled
breathe
emit
give off
let out
discharge
eject
emanate
evaporate
expel
issue
respire
steam
vaporize
nodded
acknowledge
bend
bow
greet
respond
salute
acquiesce
agree
approve
assent
passionate
ardent
dramatic
eager
eloquent
emotional
expressive
fervent
fierce
fiery
forceful
heartfelt
heated
impassioned
intense
poignant
spirited
strong
vehement
violent
zealous
affecting
animated
blazing
burning
deep
fervid
flaming
frenzied
glowing
headlong
high-powered
high-pressure
hot
hotblooded
impetuous
impulsive
inspiring
melodramatic
moving
precipitate
quickened
steamed up
stimulated
stirring
thrilling
warm
wild
but
although
however
nevertheless
on the other hand
still
though
yet
gasped
choke
snort
whoop
blow
convulse
gulp
heave
inhale
inspire
pant
puff
respire
sniffle
wheeze
catch one’s breath
fight for breath
frowned
glare
glower
grimace
pout
gloom
lower
sulk
cloud up
do a slow burn
give a dirty look
give the evil eye
knit brows
look black
look daggers
look stern
movement
act
action
change
development
evolution
exercise
flow
migration
move
operation
progress
shift
advance
agitation
alteration
swirled
boil
churn
roil
twirl
whirl
agitate
coil
crimp
crisp
curl
eddy
purl
roll
snake
surge
swoosh
whirlpool
whorl
wriggle
xiao: vigilant yaksha
🦊🌿🌻
They knew they should turn away. They should absolutely turn away - some rabid jealousy, some savage thing, some desperation, rooted their feet to the ground.
The one they loved glanced over.
Their eyes met. Deliberate, air crackling, breath stealing. Then the one they loved leaned in to kiss someone else, making a goddamn spectacle of it. Each pause another glance, each caress of a thumb a sick taunt and some promise all at once. You’re imagining it’s you, aren’t you? Look at what I can do.
Everything else in the room had ceased to matter.
Guardian News: “‘You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words,’ climate activist Greta Thunberg has told world leaders at the 2019 UN climate action summit in New York.”