Words You REFUSE to Write?
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- Опубликовано: 6 фев 2025
- Can't stand how a word sounds? Always mix up the meaning? Just think it's plain stupid? There are a lot of reasons why different writers may dislike using certain words in their works, and some folks over at r/FanFiction have shared some that they refuse to use while writing. What are your own?
Link to the original Reddit thread: / words_you_refuse_to_use
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"So strange, these rules we give ourselves for different words."
I always try to avoid "wet"... I am afraid of people making a dirty joke out of it.
MOIST
@@armandscreaturecreations5530 😭😭😭
Watery
liquidified
*squirt*
"Flabbergasted" is a pretty awesome word to me. It conveys a very clear "what the FUCK" vibe in a more formal way. Maybe leave it out for dialogue, but for conveying emotion, it's perfect.
Or if you've got a formal or dramatic character they can use it to describe something (ei. "I was flabbergasted at the fact Ellie was meeting up with sam" or something like that)
I don't know why she said 99% of people don't recognize the word, I hear it be used fairly commonly in day-to-day life
Yeah, I like this word too.
As a non-English speaker, I like and dislike that word bc it's sounds like Ghostbusters to me and it makes me laugh:(
i'll use flabbergasted if i want to give more of a comedic effect, but otherwise i'll just use bewildered.
both are good words imo
The phrase "there was a pregnant pause" makes me so unbelievably EUGHHH. I legitimately loathe it.
Haha yes full agree. It’s like a jumpscare. I’m always like “ugh!”
Ah, yes... y'know, I find it pretty amusing how I was watching almost the entire vid thinking people were being picky. Then I see something like this and.
I get it. I have my beloathed words too lmao
Personally, I’m against using the word pregnant in any other context than a person or an animal being pregnant in general, I don't know why, it just rubs me the wrong way, then people do that.
Finally, something I’m not a fan of either! “A weighty pause” or something with gravity is better.
It _could_ be a great phrase, given care. The allusion to _child birth_ is a weighty thing, probably more so than most users of that combo realize. You've got to have the right set-up to make that work, and that's not going to be most places it's been injected.
Just flabbergasted, I was indescribably bemused at this video. But then merely i smirked at the wanton orbs that were relished during it. Uh. Ministration
🤣 I love this
congratulations, you just made 10 people upset
ending it all
i love "ministration" just being shoved in at the end. like, why exactly is this one a forbidden word? what context?
@@flourrrr isn't it 10?
1. just
2. flabbergasted
3. indescribably
4. bemused
5. merely
6. smirked
7. wanton
8. orbs
9. relished
10. ministration
As someone who doesn't write sexual content, I avoid the word "moan" like the plague. (I write whump and need something to describe a sound a character makes when in pain. Usually go with "groan" instead)
Real
mood
My ass using "groan" in my smut scenes
same but i also never use the word 'whimper' for that reason
@@p_rcelain Understandable. It’s so perfect for my specific whump scenario rn though so I have no choice😔
i am a fully sfw fanfic writer who writes sickfics bc i'm chronically ill and sick more often than not. no matter how sick my character is, they will never moan in pain. they will groan
Ah yes, groan. The saving grace of all fanfic writers
@@cutiefox19
i still hate the word but anything is better than moan atp
bad: "i moaned loudly at the pain of her touch"
Good: "i groaned loudly at the pain of her touch"
@@gaspshichatsame
EXACTLY! I write whump and have the same rule
I usually avoid "giggle" because for some reason I can only imagine an annoying cartoony baby giggle.
teeheeheehee!!!
God, same. doesn't matter who the characters are, or what genre they're in, the word always makes me think of toddlers. it always breaks my immersion when reading, so i never use it in my own works.
Same! I usually use "snickered" instead. More mischievous but also more adult.
If I recall correctly, on goodreads, one review of "Crazy Rich Asians" mentioned how annoying/weird it was for an economics professor to "giggle"
@@Lewisiaisoutofcontext I'm partial to 'chuckled' myself...but then I end up overusing it lol
I think "indescribable" is okay insofar as you can kinda re-work it to fit how a Character feels. an "indescribable feeling" or the like where trying to pin down the melting pot of emotions someone's going through in a given moment over something, where in the particular case the fact that it's impossible to pin down is the POINT
it only works if the indescribable leads into a description
My thought as well. It at least conveys that the PoV is having a hard time understanding what they’re seeing/how they’re feeling. It can be quite impactful to have a character who is typically sad be happy for once, and not really know the sensation.
As a horror writer, indescribable is really fun.
it's a word that to me would be used to describe something.. eldritch, or constantly in flux appearance wise.
The character can recognize pieces of it, even describe those, but the whole just trips something in their brain that is like "Nope, I have no frame of reference for comparison or description that succinctly conveys what I am looking at."
kurapika is now drowning in an indescribable emptiness
"Tree"
I wrote a story about two kids lost in the woods and the amount of times I had to write that word made me not want to use it ever again
What word would you use for it instead? I'm really curious. Tall shrub? Simply the name of said tree, like "he climbed the tall white oak?"
@@jamiebrooks457 I think using the name of the type of tree would be a good idea so long as it's not overused as I can see it getting quite jarring after a while
@@florencedelves7409basically, yeah.
Tree to the 20th power gets grating after a while.
@@UJEvansTree3
@@pandemicphilly60 Phil stood under the shade of the nearest tree
Jack looked down from the tree branches where he had hidden himself.
The trees were looking over them in the dark, almost like tall strangers in a crowd.
personally i avoid the phrase "among us." nothing wrong with the phrase itself, but every time i write it i go "haha amogus" and it distracts me from my writing process, especially if the scene is supposed to have a serious tone. i go for alternate phrases with similar meanings like "in our midst" and such.
True, true!
our humor has pretty much ruined the phrase
@@thedabmaster287 agreed lol-
we are collectively losing our minds
There are 2 Impostors in our midst…
If people avoid using certain words in their writing based on the assumption that the reader might not know what it means, our language is going to devolve quickly. That’s how you learn words. And before anyone comes at me, I’m not referring to 20 character long words that are over specific or something like that. I’m referring to words like flabbergasted, sans, bemused. I know you don’t want to be misunderstood, but there’s a limit…
I was legitimately flabbergasted to learn that someone found this word *fancy* of all things, to me it's just a completely common, silly word with exactly the right nonserious connotation for someone's utter surprise at something completely bizarre and unbelievable
And I also agree with your general point, including words like bemused, sans, etc. Use the words! Keep them alive! Despite the fanfic I write being very crackficky due to its fandom, I still use whatever occasionally uncommon or misunderstood words that I feel fit and I want to use even though I know most of my readers are probably young. If they misunderstand the meaning of my fic, that's on them, I'm writing my fic for me first and I'll exactly the words I want to use, thanks. Besides, exposure to these words is how you learn words! Do people no longer know the joy of looking up a new word in google?
I totally agree with this! Finding new vocabulary is a great part of reading, and it's (as you said) how you learn
Yeah I learned a lot of my vocabulary, both in my native language and english, through reading a word several times and figuring our what it meant through context instead of asking/looking it up. Sometimes it led to misunderstandings but it's mostly fine
also, a well written scene will likely make it clear what the word means, like through the context and what not.
isn't it kind of like admitting you aren't that good of a writer if you avoid those words.
@@ladymoragsbootlaces8059 what fandom is it?
As a writer
who also writes a lot of innapropriate stuff that maybe crosses line at times
the only words I really refuse to write, are words like slurs, and that's a case where I cannot be made to type them out as a pro LGBTQ+ and racial equality man whiter than a bowl of vanilla ice cream left in the snow.
😦
I honestly don’t disagree. I just can’t bring myself to write anything that’s hateful to some group, even if it makes sense in a setting, or for a character who’s meant to be a hateable villain. I have trouble making villains to begin with, I think the shallowness sucks because I just… can’t bring myself to make a good character meant to be antagonistic.
This is why fantasy writing is so great. A slur against a dwarf or an elf or any outsider/minority/othered/disadvantaged people in-world doesn't have hurt real people at the end of it. I could call an Orc a pig face and convey the same level of nasty through the reaction to it without pulling out something that has the capacity to bring those feelings up from real-life experiences. The real life people can look in and understand and feel affronted _for_ that fantasy group instead of _being_ the target. It's a slightly safer way to process those emotions than it can be in the waking world sometimes.
I'm literally gay and I still could not even force myself to write the f slur in one of my fics. Like it was literally a scene of a character getting bullied for being gay and I still couldn't write it.
Is it just me, or vanilla ice cream is actually yellowish?
I am going to defend the word indescribable, because it has a use, there is moments that the characters are feeling things that are so strong that they can't explain, I am sure everyone has felt it before.
or feelings that are weird
@@aykarainor elderitch horror
Anytime someone uses the word "member" as a euphemism for you-know-what, I physically recoil.
It's funny, because in Russian it's literally the most common slang word for you-know-what, but in English it just doesn't work. Every time I see it used in that context, it just feels like it was written by a poorly English-speaking Russian person.😂
If you or a loved one have a reaction to this word you may be entitled to financial compensation lol
find and replace with 'tarse'
His big willy.
I find 'manhood' even worse, and I've read that in a published book from the pov of an urchin girl who would DEFINITELY call it something else.
(I loved the book in question btw. It was an early work of a current fantasy author who is a little squeamish, and he has since improved in this area, venturing out of his comfort zone to use language more accurate to the characters. I have read 'dick' and 'knob' in his later books and am proud of him lol.)
8:47 I actually write mostly in a fandom in which a whole group of characters are actually suffering from this disease!!! Specifically due to living on a volcanic death island!! I'm planning to write a fic that involves this aspect specifically! And I'll get to lighten the mood with this intentionally ridiculous word! Also,, to me it's a massive flex to be able to put pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconisis as a tag on your work.
what is the fandom this sounds hilarious
@@slytherinlady3907 the Wings of Fire book series, the characters involved are all dragons
what fandom oh my god
@@rkay_bxzq Wings of Fire by Tui T. Sutherland, what makes it even crazier is that all characters involved are dragons!
@@dragonz-r-kewl *nods head* fellow wings of fire fan.
She gasped and sat there, flabbergasted as he gave a bemused smirk, even though his face was sans a mouth “hello how are you?”
character ai
his face was sans a mouth? concerning
@@BagelBagelBagelBayes
I have not written the word “grimace” a single time because of that purple milkshake loving McDonalds mascot. I enjoyed that word. I used it before. But then his little birthday celebration came along and I cannot even write that word in sticky notes. My crops have died and i am in drought. His name is carved into the walls of my mind and I cannot let it be carved into anothers
its like sans, i hate it when some dumb fad happens and the word is permaruined
@@wigwagstudios2474 Those *among us* would hate to see words like that used
march 7 2024 6:41 PM CST
@@wigwagstudios2474 what the hell that's ominous
NOOOOO nothing happened on that day oh well
Not much for a particular word, but I do cringe everytime a character gets their relatively short and very easy to say name shortened EVEN _MORE_ for the sake of a loving nickname for their romantic partner to use with them.
For clarify, I don't had an issue with it when it's a name like, idk, ancient god type almost impossible to spell one, but if the character is named with just two syllabes on it...
I will search a proper pet name for them like 'honey' or 'love', thank you very much. It doesn't matter if the other writers of the fandom say otherwise and everyone is calling the Sophie character Sue.
I feel like if you shorten your loved one's already short name, you're just lazy and don't love them enough to say their name over and over again. However, I feel like it would be completely appropriate for friendly nicknames.
I'm guilty of shortening characters' names more to do with how well they fit into my head than any particular length...
Sue? Not Soph?
Ugh! Same here! I see it in Ghostbusters fanfics with everyone calling Egon "Egie"!
@@NekoChanSenpai didn't think of that one. Yes, that's the one... Also I hear once of a novel that shorten it to So 🤦
The word “moan” just mostly because it’s been so sexualized, I’ll never say “they moaned in pain” or “they moaned” as in a form of them crying. It’ll either be “they groaned in pain” or “they sobbed”
i get what you mean, but i personally still use it because im stubborn. its the same with writing "daddy." i firmly believe words are only weird if you make it weird, and if anyone reading my shit choses to make normal phrases weird when ive made clear my intent...that aint my problem.
i'd use 'bemoaned' if someone was crying/complaining, but never 'moaned', lol
writers refusing to write certain words feels like a skill issue ngl
Certain words just give me the ick. I’m willing to accept that skill issue.
@@oobilikestuff4029 see now, that makes more sense to me. There are words that just feel kinda weird coming out of your mouth. Totally understandable. The "moist" conundrum.
My thinking was that if you're a writer, suddenly those icky words become special ammunition. That's your Witcher grease. A way to add a hint of those icky feelings to a scene or character without being all overt and performative.
TRUUUE
I'm flabbergasted you'd think that
@@Pixelusually why?
I love the word flabberghasted, mostly because of the deconstruction i saw someone make of it "his flabbers were ghasted"
thats silly
flabber me ghasted!
Particularly fancy words are among the words I wouldn't use in my writing (unless there is a character who is either genually or comically fancy) but in regular dialogue or descriptions, I could just use way simpler words that are both easy to get down and easy for the readers to understand without having to look in a dictionary every 5 seconds
I love using words that are somewhat fancy, but not too fancy. Like a word that seems like you should know it, but also you shouldn't at the same time, so it can actually be used in a sentence without sticking out too much
"Overmorrow" is one of my favorites.
@@cutiefox19 Overmorrow? I've never seen that word before, but it sounds so pretty!
@@yay29823 I love using it because it sounds like a normal word but nobody ever knows of its existence until I say it. It's amazing
I tend to write accessible words, but I'll sprinkle in some razzle-fancy words (with context to follow) here and there. If the bulk of the text isn't intimidating, digesting a new word on occasion won't be daunting. That's one big way people learn more words; piecing together what they mean through use. I give them everything they need to understand the meaning around it. If they knew the word, it's a solid sentence. If they didn't know the word, they have the opportunity to pick it up. The opportunity to learn while you're having fun isn't a bad thing, is it?
I CANNOT DEAL with modern fancy words. If I want to put a dramatic flair on something I usually stick with the😊 cowboy slang diction.
Flabbergasted is legitimately one of my favorite words in the English language
"Indescribable" is a word I like to use from the character's own perspective. The scene can even be revisited to show just what made their mind draw a blank. It's like when horror films just show the reaction on the victim's face.
"Slick" is one I really don't like to use.
I’m someone who hates curse words. However, I had (figuratively) fallen in love of with this interpretation of one of my favorite characters in a fanfic I had read. In that fanfic, the use of curse words was one of his very notable features.
In a fanfic I tried to write with that same character in it, I tried to write at least one curse word, but ultimately, I was unable to. I decided that swearing should be a territory that I must never cross, ever.
I'm so sheltered and against cursing myself that it would sound so incredibly forced if I tried to write cursing in my fics.
As long as you just simply avoid swearing, instead of writing something like 'effing', then it's not a problem.
I’m having the same issue with a character that canonically swears a lot. I can cheat a little in certain situations by making small notes of him cursing (example: “He cursed under his breath.”) but actually writing curse words out makes me feel very uncomfortable and I dislike censoring words. Nevertheless, I do my best to power through to stay true to his character lol
I have the same problem! I was incredibly discouraged from using curses as I grew up, so now it seems cringe to include them in any writing. Every time I try I just end up deleting it, it’s too cringe 😭
i barely even say some of the more intense words so they have more effect when im trying to prove a point or something
i force myself to avoid writing “growled” ir “snarled” because it
makes me think of alpha bad boys and i don’t wanna make the male lead seem like that 😭
SAME
I will never see those two words the same ever again
@@lunarmoonlightyt9020you’re welcome
Snarled and growled are two completely different things in my head lol. Growling can be quiet, snarling absolutely cannot.
also barked.. like "he barked out a laugh" no. no he did not.
For me, I try to avoid using overly descriptive words like "heartbreakingly". They're stupid long, often self descriptive, and just give an excuse to lazily tell emotions instead of showing them. I can't even take them seriously when I read them, they just sound goofy.
I relate to the babe/baby one. I’ve only used it once or twice in my several years of writing - and it was only in moments where it was MEANT to make the recipient character’s skin crawl in an unpleasant way.
I call my partner that unironically irl, but I will never write it in a fic.
it feels so weird i still don't know how people can use it so freely..
I've always felt an ick to people who use 'baby/babe' to refer to their partners. It has been getting a little better lately, I can barely stand 'babe', but 'baby' is just too much.. like, ew. uncomfortable.
two things
1. HERO
2. thats so real.. it just feels weird to address someone as a baby. its just icky...
Not the Hero saying m'lady 😭 lol
I usually just say love in real life to my girlfriend. Like, "Hey love, you're the best".
if i write fanfics, i'll try to avoid words that i don't know the meaning of (i'm a child and my first language is not english)
A good advice for all writers, I'd think
General rule of thumb for me is that I have to be very familiar with a word before I so much as speak it, let alone write it
I have the reverse, I really want to have a character say "floccinaucinihilipilification" at least once in my writing. It just means "the act of thinking that something is useless", so it can't be that hard.
my friend and i were able to include that word into a musical lmao (long story short a kid got bombed because of it)
@@fennecstar56I NEED THE STORY NOW
@@fennecstar56BACK UP WHAT HAPPENED???
Also op here's an excuse
Just have two characters talking to each other. One provides a useless idea, the other gets excited and slaps that word in their response
And the first character just expresses disappointment and confusion
@@Akalim oh hey that means readers would actually understand too
"She swooned at the wanton way he ate a wonton." So, this lady is attracted to open-mouth eating? Noted.
I'm not a native English speaker, so I'm hearing about a third of these words for the first time.
same here!
Thumbs up to you
for me it’s like, quick descriptions of the character instead of their name. “said the blue man” “laughed the green-haired boy” when being used specifically not to overuse their name are things i refuse. the word ‘eye(s)’ and names are two words i consider unable to be overused, and better off simply being repeated.
especially when they just overuse the phrase like you missed the point
I refuse to write the word "Kitten", unless it's referring to baby cats.
I understand "Babe/Baby", but "Kitten" just makes me picture an Neckbearded Internet mod.
That's fair.
Help I always cringe at the word 'kitten' because I read Warrior Cats and it's always 'kit' there
Like kitten as a nicknames for a significante other? Never know that existed. In my language cat can also be used to refer to Someone handsome but in a english context that Just sounds kinda weird
@@airconditionedBreezestop my teacher asked me why i put kit instead of kid, I WAS WRITING AN ESSAY ABT GRAYWING CUZ WE HAD TO WRITE ABT A BOOK CHARACTER
REAL I don't even know why someone would use kitten in a romantic way 😨
i use "darted' sparingly, and when i do, everything grinds to a halt.
music? paused. drink? capped. snack? set down. breaths? deep. its like a movie scene where the general is waiting for the go ahead to Nuke That Shit and is just hoverhanding the button.
because this is a serious scene. and the F key is too close to the D key for my liking.
never again.
HAHAHAHHAH IM CRYING
NO LMAOO
Two words are dead as a combination.
“Among” and “Us”
after primary I couldn't use the word said because all my teachers hated it and would mark your work A WHOLE GRADE DOWN because of one goddamn word
This is bizarre to me. Who came up with ‘said is dead’? It’s just plain wrong!
@@riverAmazonNZ innit i hate it im writing a story in 1ST PERSON so how the hell do I not use said
''Daddy''. The internet has ruined that word for me, no matter the context.
I'm in a fandom where a certain character has trauma around the word "gentle". I avoid writing that word because I got tired of people making jokes about that character's trauma whenever I used it. I'll use gently sometimes, but I usually go for softly or gingerly instead.
danganronpa fandom? (if it’s not im gonna jump into a volcano)
@@lavender_dr0p
You can step away from the volcano because you're right! Seriously, I couldn't mention anything being gentle in a story without half a dozen people in the comments making Kotoko jokes...
@@randomisonline I’m going to need an explanation for this one.😅edit: I looked it up and now I have regrets.
@@Butterflyhorrorgeek.
I'm so sorry you had to look that up! You probably figured this out, but I'm referring to the character Kotoko from the Danganronpa series.
“Giggled”
I’m fine with every other word for laughter just not giggled for some reason
Belly makes me uncomfortable 😭, when someone says “belly laugh” or when in nsfw scenes they use the word belly to describe something it makes me cringe so viscerally ☠️☠️☠️
On the "hum" thing, i use it also for the background noise and all, but i use it sometimes as "(name) hummed/hum in acknowledge of (something)" like when people are listening to you and you do a "hm/hmhm" to let them know you're listening to them, you know?
On the lines of ministration…
I’ve written a handful of fics on the topic of periods (I know, gross, get over it. It’s not inappropriate. You’re reading dirtier works than I’m writing :P) and I CANNOT write nor tag my fic with the word menstruation. I used to the word once, and I HEAVILY regret it. Idk why. I can handle grotesque description of blood and pain, but I just can’t…
Luckily AO3 knows what I mean when I tag a fic with the word “periods” so I don’t have to think about the word very often.
I think a period comfort fic sounds great! It's a little embarrassing, but I sometimes imagine my favorite characters comforting me during that time of the month 😅
@@starry.princesss1115 EXACTLY. It's so comforting.
I don't do oc/self-inserts/y/n stuff but I totally vent onto my favorite characters and have other characters comfort them.
I think it's more embarrassing that I have 25 of these stories (and counting) up on AO3.
what the hell
-man
@@danielthecake8617who is man???
I think it’s because menstruation is such a… medical word. It almost feels analytical to me. It’s just very disconnected. I definitely agree, words which are overly science-y like menstruation also make me uncomfortable.
Sis or bro in the context of a sibling. NO ONE USES THAT IRL
bro my brother calls me sis there are people who use it, bro maybe less because it's more of a friendly term
Well, uhh, Luigi and Mario use it.
You'll never catch me DEAD writing the word "feet".
More of a meters person?
@ after the course of a year, I’ve suddenly become European
the only time I use it is to describe height but I just don't want to write about feet, at all 😥
Mirth. I have personal beef with that word. No idea what the beef is other than the word sounding absolutely gross to me, but I have beef with it, and I refuse to use it.
And on a similar wavelength, “You’re cute when you’re angry” makes my blood BOIL for reasons I do not know why. It’s enough to make me drop a fic I was really enjoying
If undertale was never made, then we would all be sans Undertale
Mine is "that." When i first started sharing my writing, the teacher of the writing club i was apart of said i used it too much, so now i avoid it like the plauge, even when it probably *should* be there.
i use "that" so much to make my essays longer
As a non-native speaker I try to avoid using too much "that" "so" "said" "then" and "because" and many other words I can't remember atm.
ETA: oh and also "look" and "went"
I find that interesting.
that's crazy
@@themeemqueen you kinda need those words, seriously i'd rather read said than some random phrase inserted in with a really obscure meaning
baby as a pet name is weird, but from a parent to child [especially like, mom to young son], it's very comforting/heartwarming. weird example incoming but, in Little Bill, his mom always calls him "baby" in like, the most comforting way possible. whenever Little Bill has a problem, his mom always says "what's wrong, baby?" and keeps calling him that to try and ease him out of stress. it helps too that they gave her the most motherly and warm voice actor out there, she's the perfect VA for the job. i like to see it as just a really wholesome kind of parental way to show love to their child
7:39 Mereliers!
jhg
n';?n/
;'lfgjmg
/;'m/f;f"NYH:JFTYUHNyfutjknnf'kftjnky
;'
Avoiding a word because it's confusing is one thing, avoiding a word because you assume readers don't know it is just dumbing down your writing.
HEAVY on tummy. same with belly. i cannot use those words at All when it comes to writing, honestly. its so.. weird? just weird to type and say.
Same, it makes me cringe so hard even irl. Outside of things like the term bellybutton or giving a dog belly rubs those words are just major icks for me.
Feel you. I rarely use them, if ever… look, “stomach” just doesn’t feel as… gross.
It especially irks me when people use it in serious settings.
I read something once and it was ''stabbed in the *tummy* '' just. just say stomach. it sounds like your poking them more than stabbing them.
@@OlyvierOil Noooo, thats awful. That sounds like a little kid describing their playground pretend fight, I could never take a genuine emotional scene of a character being stabbed seriously if they’re “stabbed in the tummy.” That should only be used for silly comedic moments and even then it’s kinda icky, like if the stabbed character is just completely fine somehow but is still just sad and offended and points down like “you stabbed me in the tummy, why did you do that?” then I’d still kinda hate it but at least I’d be laughing.
@@aceofspades8474 NO YEAH THATS SO REAL. makes me irk so much when somebody says bellybutton. just dont even say it 😭
flabbergasted being a "fancy word" is actually insane.
i have tons of words i actively avoid
Moan: feels too sexual.
Grin/smirk: it just feels weird to me, I like to describe it as a confident or annoying smile since its more descriptive.
Stroke (like petting something): Again, feels too sexual for some reason.
Any fandom content: even though most of my stories are set in modern times, I don't like mentioning fandom content (eg: video games, shows, etc) because it feels weird. Hell, just any specific thing like Disney movies feels weird to mention.
edit: also drool. im in the spooky month fandom and this character Bob Velseb drools alot bc hes a cannibal, but something about writing the word 'drool' just feels wrong to me
I have a few words that I tend to avoid just because of writing in the mcyt fandom - not because there's anything bad associated with them, but just because those perfectly normal words are people's names! It always feels weird using them in regular sentences in my fic, especially if the character associated is actually in the fic. The hardest one to avoid is probably "impulse" or maybe "false" but there's also ones like stress, pearl, gem...
That’s just a bunch of mumbo jumbo
“Moan/Moaned/Moaning.” For pretty discernible reasons.
I despise “judgment” like the plague! The British spelling of “judgement” makes so much more sense! As a US-born English speaker, I STILL have no idea why the US decided removing the “e” would be at all logical, IT SHOULD CHANGE THE PRONUNCIATION, AND YET WE ACT LIKE IT SHOULDN’T! Please Grammarly for the sake of all that is Holy and Pronouncible, STOP CORRECTING THAT WORD IN PARTICULAR TO THE AMERICAN SPELLING!
Judgement with an “e” for the nonbeliever! For shame! For sham”e”!
(Sorry I’m just very passionate about this)
Yeah, I'll tend to flip-flop between British and American spelling for words. One moment It'll be 'theater', next it'll be 'colour', I've even gone back and forth for words like 'gray/grey'.
im american and I've never seen "judgment" ???
Oh you poor and innocent soul, may your life continue to be filled with the correct spelling, and may you not begin to notice that sometimes the e will be missing
3:59 I AGREE WITH THIS USER ON A VISCERAL LEVEL. TUMMY JUST SOUNDS SO FRIGGIN WRONG!! I always use one of these words: stomach, abdomen, middle, or midsection. Waist if it calls for it like when a corset is present or if Character A is helping Character B with a wound or injury.
Edit: This only applies when talking about adults. If a baby is involved, I make an exception because the way a baby learns to crawl, roll over, and hold their head up on their own is to engage in “tummy time”. I will also make an exception for toddlers since they usually resort to “tummy” what talking about a stomach ache.
99% of people don't know what flabbergasted means? I'm flabbergasted!
I REFUSE to ever use the word “moan”. I will NOT risk dirty thoughts getting to my sfw fics.
I love how most of these have logical reasonings and explanations behind them and then there's just "I fucking hate Sans Undertale"
I think it's just a me thing, but I refuse to use the word 'suddenly.' It feels like a lazy bridge word that undermines the event's actual suddenness.
i avoid it a lot in my writing too bcuz it just feels so . . . basic. like more basic and bland than an empty undipped waffle cone
I catch myself using "suddenly" _so much_ and while I don't mind using it in general... if I start trying to use it multiple times in a paragraph, or multiple lines in a row, I back up and try again. Often it doesn't even need to be replaced with anything, just removed and maybe the wording/pacing of the sentence restructured a bit.
This is one word that I've never liked seeing/hearing both in real life and in books. It makes me feel sick to the stomach every time:
"Fluids"
Sometimes if I had to stay home from school because I was sick, my mom would always remind me before she left for work "Make sure to drink plenty of fluids!"
For the sake of all things pleasant, just say water or something 😭
For me, the babe/baby thing hits home. I will only accept it if it's my mom, or me greeting my pets. My cat is essentially just a big, fluffy child, and it fits.
"Just" is genuinely a pestilence in my fics
Every paragraph, every sentence, Every word, EVERY SINGLE LETTER
just why
I hate the phrase 'pregnant pause', and I always have and always will DESPISE writing to word 'nipple'. I hate that word so much, I wish it was eradicated from the English dictionary.
Then of course the normal cringy wattpad words, orb, member, growled, snarled, anything to do with licking, and the word 'item' to describe people or... A body part...
Coo, cooed, as in speaking softly or the sound birds make. Those words are so gross and make me feel so icky, I have no idea why
I’m flabbergasted at not using such a word! It’s just magnificent
I try to avoid the word "said" whenever I can, mostly because my fics are usually dialogue-heavy and it feels too repetitive if I use "said" for every line of dialogue. Usually I'll try to replace it with a more descriptive word based on the character's mannerisms or the context. A timid character might "squeak" for example, and a character might answer/reply/respond/explain when asked a question.
My writing is dialogue-heavy and I’ve found you don’t really need many dialogue tags if you set up the scene to make it clear who is talking.
Then I just stick to ‘said’ and it’s ok because there’s not many of them.
If your style is more embellished the ‘said’ alternatives probably go with the feel of the work.
I skip the tags when I feel it's clear who's talking. There are times when "said" still works fine but I still try to avoid it when I can @@riverAmazonNZ
i do this too when i write idk why it just feels so repetitive to use "said" for everything but i overuse "replied" because of that
Said-avoidance is a thing that many writers are way too worried about. It is one of those words that a normal reader doesn't even notice; far-fetched dialogue tags are much more distracting.
@@Bicornis I do still use the word, I just try to replace it with more descriptive words when I can
Wriggling.
I only use it when I want to disturb myself and other people.
"Maggots wriggled and writhed under the rabbit's soft white fur, One piercing out of it's neck and digging it's way back into it's collar bone."
Wait...
Rabbits have collarbones?
I hate the phrase “pursed lips” because I feel like it doesn’t put a distinct picture in my head of the characters expression.
okay you may bully me for this but i have a genuine question about the people refusing to use the word "hum" for anything other than a melody/machines ... how else do you describe someone making a "hmm" noise? because i make that noise a lot when talking so i know it's a thing people do, and what would i call if my characters did it? it feels lazy to just go "hmm, [insert sentence]" in my opinion
please help me i swear i'm not dumb english just isn't my first language
honestly I agree with you. I'm a native English speaker and I've never heard of anyone having a problem with that before, so I think it's just them.
eh id go with "hmm" it gets the point across well
I hate the word ebullient.
1. Most people don't know what that even means.
2. It doesn't sound AT ALL like the meaning.
3. Why not just use 'cheerful' or other synonyms? It's not like some other words that are so specific that you need to use that word.
4. I find it distracting that it has the word 'bully' in it. Makes me think of bullies.
I don't need to avoid it in writing though, since I never think of using that word to begin with.
Some words I do avoid or have trouble using are:
- Undulate (Merphy Napier is my favorite BookTuber and she hates that word and notices it everywhere, so now I notice it too thanks to her. I don't hate it, but I can't take it seriously anymore.)
- Most real-life slurs (I've read books where nasty characters used slurs and that didn't bother me, but I often feel uncomfortable writing them myself, so I usually don't.)
i love the word ebullient it makes me think of bubbles :3 in french the word for bubble is "bulle" and it's pronounced the same as the "bulle" in the english word ebullient. i love ebullient. E - bubbles- ient. Perfect word. You really get a sense of bubbles rising and falling even just saying the word out loud. Even just looking at the letters. Having said that it does sucks as a description for someone's personality I will admit. I prefer the old fashioned definition where it just meant something boiling because it perfectly captures that image of boiling bubbles. sorry for the incoherent rant I just really really like that word
@@deg8517 That's fair :)
I've only seen it twice or so, and at least one was referring to a person. It just felt like the author was going out of his way to use difficult words in order to sound intelligent.
my thoughts on the words in this list:
indescribable - while it could be used as a crutch, if you're good enough with everything, it being there does add A LOT to imagination in a Lovecraftian way
flabbergasted - I love that word due to how hilarious it is when used right
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis - intriguing
Curse words. I don’t write things for kids I just can’t get myself to cuss in writing or when speaking. It feels unnatural. Maybe when I’m 18 I’ll get the gall but for now “crap” and “heck” are they best you gonna get
If you don't now you probably won't ever. I am 22 and have never intentionally cursed.
You never know. I used to refuse to cuss as a teen and in my early 20s. Now that I'm in my 30s, I curse like a sailor.
Not in my writing though. Most curse words will be "damn" and such.😅
I can never bring myself to write the word babygirl. Or dirty talking in smut fics. I HATE dirty talking.
I definitely agree. Both of those give me the ick.
i hate smut in general lol
i refuse to use "bruh" or any other strictly meme language, even though i love using it myself and many of my characters probably would too. (this also includes uses like "cringe" as an adjective, especially because this is a slippery slope towards describing a character as a "cringe ass nae nae baby" because brainrot)
additionally i avoid poop related expletives when possible
For many years now I've refused to use the word for "cooked bread" because one time i was blocked on a story for months and i changed the word in question to cereal and the scene just started flowing. I have written half a million words and not one of them is t*ast
why did you censor toast
@@arishachoudhury_ because that's the word they refuse to use ???
Do you have a reason for not using the word toast?
@@qwerty_qwerty idk man seems excessive
Bulged. It's just so unappealing I can't
as a homestuck, i can never spell HIC's full name correctly, so i have been forced to call her condy like a simp
Here's my list of words that I don't like writing or reading
-Female
It grosses me out whenever I hear or read it (especially if it was said by a man) it just makes me feel so uncomfortable, like it's saying that women are species or something
-Sis or Bro
I just feel like no siblings ever say this to each other, and it feels like sloppy writing
-Heck
I completely understand not wanting to curse, but I personally get so cringed out when I hear it. I feel like there's always a way to work around it, to make the character sound less like they're on disney channel
-Tummy, belly, stinky, yummy, etc
I don't have an explanation for why those kinds of words bother me so much but they do.
same to all of these
Yes
If you're not gonna curse. Don't use any supplementary words at all. Rephrase your sentences before sounding cringe, please.)
Imo I found most of the words to be pretty inoffensive, though that just goes to show how words that can really throw off one person are fine for another. My personal off words are appearance based descriptors (specifically for already named characters): the raven haired girl, the blue eyed man, etc. At least in limited perspective narratives, when you are telling the story from someone’s POV, you should just use whatever name that character would use for said person. If it gets repetitive, alternate with a title that person has; using someone’s hair color to describe them makes sense when you know nothing else about that character, and not when that character is the POV’s best friend when they should have a lot more to qualify them by than ‘has brown hair’.
AGREED
and using “the girl” “the man”
Like, if your character ain’t “the yellow man in the hat”, then just use A PRONOUN OR THEIR NAME. It’s really simple.
THIS ONE IS SO ESPECIALLY FRUSTRATING IN 1ST PERSON!!! I'm writing first person POV for like...one of my first times in years and this is one of my specific rules because unless your character is actively watching somebody they don't know they should have something, ANYTHING other than an incredibly basic descriptor for the other chr 😭
Agreed!
If the pov character and the reader both know the other character's name, I will usually use their name or pronouns, or else an important title like 'the prince'.
I will only use appearance-based descriptors if either the pov character doesn't know their name (and so it makes sense for them to think of this person that way) or on rare occasions if the reader doesn't know their name and they are such an unimportant character that it would be unnecessary info to name them.
I read a fanfiction where a character with no canon height was almost always referred to as "the shorter" instead of his name
If descriptors has to take the place of names (like, your friend just left you at a party where you know nobody else, or you're in an emergency situation where introductions aren't first priority) it's fine. If you know Dan, you've seen Dan, you've already described Dan, just call him Dan or by appropriate pronouns to the situation.
I never made a conscious decision to never use the word "orbs", but I do refuse to use it when referring to eyes. I just end up never using it for anything else either because when I need a cooler sounding word for something ball-shaped I end up using the word "sphere" instead.
The only words I _have_ made a conscious decision to never use are slurs. Doesn't matter if it would make sense for a character to use them, I find a way to work around it, usually by either having another character cut them off or by breaking the dialogue to just say they started using slurs and immediately moving on to the PoV character's reaction to it. I don't want to make readers uncomfortable by shoving a directly harmful word in their faces. Even in my horror stuff that's not the kind of discomfort the readers signed up for. Plus I just feel really gross writing them.
I hate chuckles/chuckled. The thing is, sometimes laugh is too much and giggle is too little, so chuckle would work but NAH
I personally try to avoid the word "member" as much as I can. Sometimes it's unavoidable, but I'd seriously rather call someone a councilman/councilwoman/councilperson before I call them a member of a council. I know in this context it doesn't mean anything, but the Wattpad comment section changed me.
I too hate the word tummy, it makes me gag. I'd also put belly in the same group to a lesser extent.
Whooo are these people?? Especially that guy who hated WENT. Went! Thats such a basic and common word, what the hell happened, man??
Smirk, I used that word way too many times in my older fanfics and just writing it out now makes me have serious war flashbacks to when I thought kidnapping was hot
It started out so normal and slowly divorced into peoples very specific icks on random words because they personally do not like them or even know what they mean
7:12
Yesterday I practically binge-watched FNaF stuff, particularly ones with voice lines, jumpscares, etc.
Instantly got reminded of Nightmare when this popped up lmao
While writing anything, not just smut, I refuse to use the word pu**y. I don’t like the way it feels to say, I don’t like the spelling, I don’t like the feeling I get from it. It feels... greasy. That’s the best way for me to describe it. I’d much rather use C**t (censoring it for RUclips’s sake) since it just feels crisper and better overall.
Completely agree
Agreed
Thank you! There is something incredibly gross and unsexy about that word! Would MUCH rather read "cπnt" than the other one.
I can appreciate your statement, but I like how it’s kind of a “squishy” word.
I'll probably end up having at least one of my characters at some point use both as insults
As an eldritch horror writer, indescribable, ineffable, and things along that line are some of my favourite words to write when I use them well.
This one is one I have only seen in fanfiction but slapping “-ette” at the back of any color to describe a hair color (pinkette, greenette, etc.) has always bothered me so much
That has got to be one of the most ham-fisted attempts to sound knowledgeable with colors I think I've heard so far. It feels like the equivalent of trying to write French by just slapping "Le" in front of something written in English lol.
“Morsel”. It physically hurts me.
Chortle, because it makes me cringe so hard; it doesn't even sound like a real word.
Orbs, because his green orbs still haunt me to this day.
Ministrations, in the context of smut. No idea why but it gives me the absolute ick and I can't stand it. Sometimes I cringe just reading it in fanfic.
Baby/babe, because ew parents
5:44 is so correct. if i see "shaft" anywhere written on my screen, i am instantly closing the tab. i just cant do it its too funny
As a writer, it usually depends on what I am writing. But slurs are a no-go for me. I have always lived by a personal rule of never using them.
There is one phrase that I will NEVER use in my texts, and that is "all but", when used to mean "almost". Every time, my head interprets it as "not at all" instead of the intended meaning, and it DRIVES ME UP THE WALL.
you are so close to 100k goodjob!
for me the words i refuse to use are said because it seems so just simple but i force myself to use it every once and a while and pleasure i just-
Using this video as a way to expand my fanfic vocab 😈
I DIDN'T KNOW SANS WAS A REAL WORD.
On a different note, i dont really avoid words. Obiously I avoid slurs or the whole "orbs" category, but I dont typically avoid regular words. At least not yet.
Oh yeah, sans is a real word. Not just a fictional character's name. Not just a font.
(If you didn't look it up, sans means "without")