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As an editor of fiction, (in South Africa there aren’t many), I have come across manuscripts that belong at the bottom of the slush pile, manuscripts with a literal value, manuscripts that are mediocre, entertaining, and some downright sloppy. At times I value the plot, other times the characters, but, in the end, it doesn’t matter what I value, essentially the publisher has the last say. All I do is make sure that the manuscript is as perfect as it can be the moment it lands on the publisher’s desk. My view of perfection must always be linear to the writer’s view of perfection. You might argue and say, Well, I’m writing for myself. By all means do so, and make sure that you stash it in a drawer, with all the other manuscripts you have written that will never see the light of day. If you are writing for yourself, please, please do keep it to yourself. However, if you wish to share your writing with a workshop group, or editor, and you wish to grow through the process of learning the craft, by all means I will do my best to make sure your writing is handsome to the eye. With this in mind, there are words that I never want to see in a novel. I make a list of the author’s favourite words, these are words that the author uses repeatedly. In many manuscripts I mark the margin with something like: Be careful of this word, it is used repeatedly throughout the chapter. A word like JUST. It is used in dialogue so often that the author is not aware that he has repeated it 45 times in a chapter. The warning will be something like this: JUST – try to stay away from using this word, it tends to be repetitive. I am reducing all JUST’s. Other repetitive words include: SO, WELL (especially at the beginning of sentences, and often used in dialogue), SMIRK, THE FACT THAT. The following qualifiers and verbs: A BIT, A LITTLE, FAIRLY, HIGHLY, BACK, LOOK, KIND OF, MOSTLY, PRETTY, QUITE, RATHER, ACTUALLY, REALLY, SLIGHTLY, SOMEWHAT, SOMETHING, SORT OF, THAT WHICH, AS WELL,THOUGH, LOVERLY, WONDERFUL, BEAUTIFUL, ADORABLE, HORRIBLE, NASTY, TERRIBLE, SILLY, COMELY. THE REASON WHY. THEN (too many). THAT (too many). The list goes on and on. These words do not convey what the writer is seeing. He sees something terrible but doesn’t allow the reader to see it. He sees a beautiful man or woman, but fails to convey the beauty. If the writer uses any of the 5 senses to convey the last nine words in the list, then he will have succeeded in showing the reader, instead of telling the reader what he/she is seeing. Another pet peeve of mine is WOULD OF, instead of would have, COULD OF, instead of could have. Body parts that act on their own: HER HAND WAVED, instead of He/she waved. LOOK and GAZE. These two verbs are so overused in all writing, including mainstream. There are better words to use, that is why there is such a thing called a thesaurus. The words BEGAN TO and STARTED TO. In good writing, there is no beginning. The characters just DO IT. Which is better? He began to scream or He screamed? The horse started to gallop up the hill or The horse galloped up the hill? Leave out the word THEN as much as possible. Why? Most things happen sequentially anyway. He THOUGH TO HIMSELF. Well, who would he think to other than himself? TO HIMSELF is redundant. Delete it. There are so many words that I scream at. Unnecessary articles, a/an/the. Whole cliché’s. Unnecessary words. Roundabout and indirect words. Redundant words and phrases like THE SKY ABOVE. The sky is above. Everyone knows that. (I should hope so). Unnecessary possessives like: She held up the diamonds, (her) eyes gleaming. Other words I dislike are: SO AS. UH OH. VERY. SUDDENLY. I AM SAT HERE. (It’s true that someone may have sat you there) but it should be I am sitting here. Why do I dislike all of the above? They call attention to themselves. The moment a reader starts noticing repetition, he/she is no longer lost in your story. When the reader begins to play with his commitment ring after the tenth THE FACT THAT, you’ve lost a reader. I am not against using any of the above in dialogue. Dialogue exists to show character and to move the story forward, it exists to create conflict. But if I find these words used repeatedly in the narrative, most of them will be deleted. Churchill once said: This is the sort of bloody nonsense up with which I will not put. I second this. If your manuscript is riddled with all of the above, then it’s not ready for an editor. Your work is not finished until you have these all ironed out. When I say ironed out, I mean that you should play with the sentences. Never rush. Especially if you are writing for an audience. I dislike rushed work. I can see it immediately from reading the first paragraph. Make your sentences crisp, clear and precise. Clarity and precision are paramount. Rewrite that troublesome sentence 100 times if you must, but please get it right. Not for the editor, not for the publisher, do it for yourself. Have a juggernaut weak, and should I not great, my hand will wave from where I am sat. Hugs

Words are amazing aren't they? Are we even aware of how much they can affect other people? The casual use of a nickname. A kind “Hello” when you’re having a bad day. A softly muttered “Bite me,” when someone crosses you, or you cross someone else! Words we use to make light of a situation; or that attempt to pretty something up, make a concept or idea less gritty, better for polite company. Yes, words are powerful. Think of a parent with a child. A sharply spoken “STOP” can avert danger, cause the child to not touch that hot stove, or dash into the street. “I love you,” can be the sweetest thing you ever heard! “I don’t want to see you anymore,” can be the harshest; or could cause a sense of relief to wash over you. If someone tells you that something was difficult the words that you choose to bring comfort, or support, may sound like you are dismissing their pain or the effort that it took to get thru or past this thing. It can have the effect of invalidating that person’s experience. Think about that nickname for the guy you work with, for that friend of yours, whether you’ve known them for 8 years, 8 months, or 8 weeks. What does it mean to them? That you have christened them with your own appellation, something that only you call them, be it just between the two of you, or out where the world can hear. Or maybe a nickname that confers some kind of acceptance into a group. Maybe you have taken it upon yourself to shorten their name, Richard to Rich, or Dick, Jonathan to Jon, Victoria to Vicky. Does that person even like that you have done this? Does he or she grudgingly accept that you have done this, would they rather you didn’t? Was it the name that an old nemesis used as a form of torture or derision? Does this nickname bring this person joy? Does it makes him or her feel special? Make them a little giddy that you did this for them? Words can be truthful or they can be lies. They can help you make wants and needs understood, they can be used to baffle or enlighten. Think about the proverbial used car salesman, that fast talking shyster, trying to make that old clunker sound like a classic driven by a sweet little old lady to the market, the church, and home. A legal eagle’s contract written with lots of loopholes, the language archaic and full of jargon. Or those little quotes from someone you admire. A former president, or first lady. A spiritual leader you admire perhaps. A book or an essay that explains that thing you've always wondered about. They can tell you why the caged bird sings, or take you far away chasing a mysterious white whale. They can transport you to fantastical mythical places, or the corner store. I believe that words are one of the most powerful tools in all of humanity. Just look at what they do. They can bring comfort, joy, peace. Or they can wound, deeply, fatally even. Bring about war and division, foster hate and distrust. Because of the inherent power of words, we need to be mindful of them. Words are forever. Yes, even those spoken, not written, as they will be passed down by word of mouth to become tomorrow’s folk tales, and legends. So before you call that new guy in the office Jon ask, before you call the short cashier at the market “The Garden Gnome,” stop and think about the power behind what is about to come out of your mouth. When you finish a poem, chapter, or story, reflect on the power in what you just read. MacGreg Sir wrote about just that in His poem “Taste Your Words Before You Spit Them Out” What is the point of communicating with someone If your intentions are meant to maim? Taste your words before you spit them out. Consider the impact of their flavor As they roll across your tongue. For once expelled, they cannot be retracted. Consider this: Will what you are about to say produce acidity? Or lay a foundation for common ground? So consider the power of words, your words. With many thanks to @MacGreg Sir for allowing me to use part of His poem. Please look here for the complete poem, and here for more. And as always to tim @Mikiesboy for his never-ending love and support.

Why not improve your writing with some vocabulary? These were useful to me. Credit: (I'll edit this once I find the proper sources. Help is appreciated. I found these long ago, tumblr lurking.) NOT MINE, FOR SURE.

There are many Word of the Day programs and websites out there, so you may ask what is the point of doing it on a forum when we've got that? Well the point is, that just learning a word sometimes it isn't enough to be able to use it in the right context. However, if enough people participate, on a forum you can get an idea of how words flow and change in interpretation from person to person that may surprise you, and more specifically from the kind of people who come to GA and like to read gay fiction, i.e. examples of potential readers. Thus, this thread. So participate! Please. Here's the idea: 1) Anyone can post a Word of the Day, and multiple people can do so on the same day, but it must come with a definition that is accurate. You can add your own definition or impression, if you like. In fact, that's encouraged. Also, please only post one a day and do not simply copy Words of the Day from other websites, make it your own word of the day. See a word you never knew before? Had that weird thing happen to you where a word you've never encounted before suddenly starts getting used a lot around you? For dictionaries, I recommend Dictionary.com and Oxford. Use whatever you prefer, though. 2) If you see it and think something, tell us what that is, that's what makes a forum unique! Give us a moment of your time! Let us know if you know that word. What's your impression of it? Do you think it is pretentious, useless, useful, silly, obsolete? Would you ever use it? Tell us an anecdote about it! Or anything really. Building an impression of the sounds and meanings of various words that various cultures have is an undeniable asset in writing. Accessing your conscious and unconscious word bank can provide helpful triggers when you're searching for the right word, even if you never use the words. Simply learning associations can help! 3) Etymology would be nice, but it's not required. 4) Foreign words you'd like to introduce are fine, but make sure you are still giving us a dictionary definition in English. So I'll start. I've heard this word before, had a vague idea of what it was, but never really knew. au·gu·ry [aw-gyuh-ree] noun, plural au·gu·ries. 1. the art or practice of an augur; divination. 2. the rite or ceremony of an augur. 3. an omen, token, or indication. they heard the sound as an augury of death late Middle English (in the sense 'divination'): from Old French augurie or Latin augurium 'interpretation of omens For some reason, I always thought this had to do with farming. I seem to see this word more in the plural, but I had no idea there were augurs. "So what does your father do?" "He's an augur." "Cool, seen anything in the stars lately?" "Nah, he says the stars are on strike."

This thread is devoted to underused words. I really want to see someone else use Petrichor in a story! Go ahead, share your own favorite gems. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrichor EDIT: The list thus far ... Petrichor - https://www.dictionary.com/browse/petrichor Vellichor - http://www.dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com/post/57250260260/vellichor Biblichor - https://lawhimsy.com/2017/09/13/word-nerd-biblichor/ Juxtaposed - https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/juxtaposed Limerence - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limerence Nefarious - https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nefarious Lamentable - https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lamentable Defenestration - https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/defenestration Quintessence - https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quintessence Petulant - https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/petulant