Words You'll Never Use in Your Writing
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- Опубликовано: 6 фев 2025
- What word do you hate so much that you'll never use it in your writing? Does it sound too nasty or wrong? Have a double meaning that's too weird? Or is it just something you see too much that you don't want to use it too and add to the problem? Here are some answers from Reddit, and I'd love to hear your answers too!
Link to the original thread on r/writing: / what_is_your_most_hate...
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I love how every writer has a unique vocabulary they'll pull from. Variety is the spice of life (and fiction!) So, what words do you personally avoid? Or, what words do others avoid that you actually enjoy implementing into your works?
My teacher in year 3 told us that nice was a swear word and we weren't allowed to write it in our class stories
Hey there!
Can you please do a video on reviewing Disney Direct to Dvd sequels letterbox reviews? They would be really funny.
"hissed" because it just takes me out of the immersion for some reason. it doesn't sound serious at all.
The word "squishy" when describing body parts. I'll always use "plush" or something to that effect.
@@felledoesYTiguess ewww 😫
"gingerly" should be reserved for whenever a ginger does something, just in case you forgot they were ginger a second
i have a ginger spidersona. will definitely be using this advice as i write his canon event
ONE TIME I READ A BOOK WITH A CHARACTER WHO WAS GINGER AND HE KEPT DOING THINGS "GINGERLY" AND TO THIS DAY I'M STILL WONDERING IF THE AUTHOR DID THIS INTENTIONALLY
Or if they’re a Gingerbread person.
I imagined an actual ginger (the root) before realising what you mean😅
the ginger gingered gingerly
got to love using gross sounding words in gross scenarios, it really adds to the atmosphere
true
schlop
schlop
bulbous. grotesque. squelch. ooze. phlegm.
@@fribigy47 the gross little dog in a gross room drinking its gross water
You can pry my "chuckle" and "smirk" out of my cold, dead hands.
Same.
you: *smirkles at anyone who disagrees*
@@aliciam6145HELP
@@aliciam6145I NEVER KNEW I NEEDED SMIRKLE IN MY LIFE THANK YOU
Agreed they can't take it from me
ok but on using traits to describe whos speaking/doing something, stuff like "The taller male looked at the shorter male" makes me feel like im watching national geographic
Same
i HATE epithets like that like eww just use their names
I can understand not wanting to overuse names, but also not wanting to use “He looked at him.” but just say like. “He looked at Andrew, a gleam in his eye, watching and waiting.” One name, one pronoun.
@@L-ghtlessSky wait, a gleam in who's eye?
@@jwideuluisinaein This is where it gets confusing, when two people have the same pronouns. This is why I try to avoid that. Honestly, just don’t have 50 boys in the same room and you should be fine-
another trick of mine is to use different verbs. So, Andrew would stare and OtherGuy™️ would glare
Mine is "belly" and "tummy". they make me uncomfortable for some unknown reason. I just really hate those words lol
S A M E they're just really gross and cringy for no reason
YES EXACTLY idk why I can't even say them irl so weirdddd
Oh my god sameee
literally me, like- JUST CALL IT STOMACH
SAME.
for me "panties" feels gross when it's adults talking because I grew up with that word being a childish way to say "pants" (British lol) so now it feels really creepy when it's in a sexual context
Just call it underwear
I grew up with it being used as a childish way to say underwear, so i get it
So what are your thoughts on knickers then
Where im from its just used for women's underwear so im not alarmed by the sexual use haha
Fr I agree
This is 90% people unable to separate words from the euphemisms from all the smut they read good lord
You would not believe how much published fantasy work these days has a romantic subplot. It almost seems like it's required to have the will they/won't they overshadow the actual advertised plot by halfway through, and for the characters to be in bed together at least once by the end of the book (even if they only met at the beginning of said book). And, of course, the longer and more detailed the scene, the better--I've had to skip entire chapters before.
Ong
I haven’t ready any of it, but I still get uncomfortable using “moaned” so 95% of the time, I end up using groaned, even if it’s not as accurate.
once i read a book where one of the characters was ginger and he kept doing things "gingerly" and i refuse to believe the author didn't do it on purpose
ok but that‘s actually funny
IT ISSS@@BlueStar731
based author
I have a few ginger friends and they would probably smack me for laughing at this
Snogging is the most overly British word in existence and I use it frequently for that very reason. It sounds gross because it describes a gross way of kissing someone, therefore it is the perfect way to make someone uncomfortable, especially if they aren't British ;)
Lmao😂😂😂
What scares me is “pondering the orb” could absolutely be a term in fanfic writing years ago to mean “lost in their eyes”
"Pondering the orb" to me is something a wizard would do.
once, I saw a book describing someone as holding up a "meaty paw" for a high five... it haunts me to this day
that sounds rather disturbing
Was it a horror novel?
WHYQ 😭😭
WHAT IN THE NEANEA OF GOD AND ALL THAT IS HOLY?!?!?
I meannn.. they’re not wrong tho, are they? Humans have ‘paws’ because they are mammals, and fingers are really just extended digits that we gained in order to grip things.
My only gripe with that description really, is that they described the paw as ‘meaty’… blehh.
I also have a weird relationship with bemused. To me it carries the very specific meaning of BOTH confused and amused, like when a small child asks a stupid question. I don’t know how else to concisely convey that feeling. Although I guess the point is moot when nobody else will understand my personal definition of the word.
"Bemused" to me is sort of like either when you just get abruptly put into a situation and are just disoriented and have no idea what's going on, or when something so unexpected happens that you just have to laugh because you don't know what else to do. But you're right, it's a very specific feeling that's really hard to describe, and it sort of carries the definition of both.
I agree with both of you. I think of it as kind of a combination of "bewildered" and "amused," myself
@@aliciam6145that's a good way of thinking about it.
no, I’m pretty sure that’s the definition of the word. it’s a kind of “haha, what?” that you can’t really get with confused
“Daddy”. I know that’s probably not that uncommon, but I go to LENGTHS to avoid it- I write a lot of FNAF stuff, and there’s a lot of canon uses of it, so I’ve literally rewritten entire conversations to avoid it
It reminds of the tweet that went like
"y'all have ruined the word 'daddy' for me, if I have have a child they'll have to call me 'parental figure' or some shit"
All I’ll say is The Fourth Closet and the shipping fandom worked together to fuck me up a bit
I have no problem with that word
Same, man. As a fellow FNaF writer it feels weird having to write Elizabeth saying “Dad” when she VERY did not say that word in the original lines but I really, really, really hate the other word. Good god.
@@spoonfulofbeez I actually once made a list of all the words I hate writing and I think The Fourth Closet used ever. Fricking. One.
But yeah exactly, I just have her refer to William as ‘dad’ (or even ‘father’- if that’s how Mike refers to him, why not Liz too?)
Can't believed mewl/mewled wasn't in here. Least favourite word ever.
mew? 🤫🧏♂️(joking)
Disrespectfully disagree. It's a specific sound, halfway between a moan and a whine or whimper, and until you give me another word for that sound, I will continue to use it
@@NekoChanSenpai THAT'S WHAT IT MEANS?
I'VE ONLY HEARD IT IN THE CONTEXT OF ANIMALS
@@rosemarytulip355 PEOPLE ARE USING IT ON TIKTOK NOW I THOUGHT THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT CATS OR MISSPELLING THE WORD “MEOW” 😭
what? meowing?
"female" and "male" in any context other than scientific and referring to animals. hell no hunny
also i hate the word breeches for some reason????
personally if they're used as adjectives i'm fine with them but if they're used as nouns i will physically crumble into dust
They fit best as descriptors in more formal or serious situations, like when writing a detective story or involving police
Yknow like “the suspect is a white male, 26 years old, has a penis tattoo” idk man
Yeah like, 'the tall female walked down the street' is going to have me thinking about a Zootopia style gazelle strutting away like a runway model
And eletric outlets
I try to avoid the word "nice." It feels dry, but I'll use it in dialogue if needed. My characters don't speak in the prose their lines are surrounded by.
lmao i only use the word nice to build awkwardness
“oh! thats….nice..!”
@@wrightcemberSAMES
theres like. certain words I will never use for narrating, but I will have my dialogue use it because that’s in character and I don’t like having my characters be ooc for the sake of not using a word. some examples are- “pop”, “odd”, “Snarf”, “Menace”/“Trouble”, “Squelch”
oh my god I cannot use those words for my narration anymore
@@wrightcember nice..
Nice can be used to good effect if you're describing a boring person. "John was nice. He respected his elders and worked hard. He wasn't very exciting. He was just... nice."
see, I write a lot of siivagunner on the side. one of the characters' catchphrase is literally "nice >:]", so that asshole fills up my whole nice quota
Yeah because "chortle" is somehow superior to "chuckle".... 🙄
Chortle makes me think of turtles
Fr, chortle is awkward and british as hell. Chuckle is invisible. Obvious choice.
I usually use synonyms of laugh that suit the character laughing. Like, if I think “chuckle” sounds like something they’d do, I use it. Same goes for giggle, snort, just laugh, etc
WHEN THAT ONE PERSON IMPLIED THEY THOUGHT IT WAS I CHOKED AND DIED
@@TheBritishDragongexactly! Thats how those words should be used anyway tbh
If I ever write smut then... basically half the words in smut to describe either a body parts or underwear, I swear some of those names either just suck or make me feel super icky. (I am asexual so... maybe that's just my asexuality asexualing)
But outside of smut it's probably those really fancy words that nobody uses in normal text unless they're trying to not use the same descriptors.
Just doesn't fit my usual writing style, since even though I write in third person I still write the text with some of the personality of the protagonist of the scene, like if a character is very analytical the text is gonna be describing things in greater detail, if the character dislikes themselves, the text will always do some deprecating comments towards the character, etc.
I do that too! Some smut describes body parts with, just way too many words. Like a writer using fifteen different words for said, except instead of 'said' it's a penis. I know only one character of mine who would use those words unironically.
i swear to god if i ever write smut (which i will NEVER ISTG) i'm using one single word for each body part. scientific name.
Undulate
Not because I hate it myself, but a BookTuber I watch despises this word and turned this hatred into a running joke on her channel. Now I notice the word everywhere and can't take it seriously.
Bro, I was looking for this!!! I read this book series with some spicy scenes and the author used this word so many fucking times…I’d scrunch up my face and cringe so hard. Way to break the immersion. That word does not belong in a sexual context lmao
Murphy is great, lol.
@@corhoto Oh wow, yeah that's even worse! I don't remember reading that word in spicy scenes luckily, but I've heard of it being used in those circumstances... why?
@@olivinemage4233 Yeah, easily one of my favorite RUclipsrs. She's so good at explaining her pros and cons instead of just saying 'it was good/bad', and we also usually have pretty similar tastes. She helped me discover so many new favorite books!
what do you have against horses????
"Traversed" just reminds me of the climbing technique of traversing, so unless I'm writing about a character climbing, I can't use it without suddenly thinking of the character(s) going sideways on a climbing wall
I don’t hate this word, but I literally never use it because there’s so many better ways to say it
‘Humongous’
umongus
I prefer "ginormous" (if we're being silly) or "colossal."
Gigantic or just Big works so much better
“Gargantuan”
@@DrPluton Guys, this orange is ginemenasaurus
What do you say
Gigantosaurus
Jamenas-, uh, bwa, menamoris
Some menafmorphis
Gigandanordisis
Mhm
Jarmornous
My personal word grudge… oh boy.
I have many problems with words describing the… above-the-crotch-but-below-the-chest region, mainly because they all sound either too childish or too formal, but if you dare call someone’s midsection a “tummy”: you’ve lost my respect and have 5 seconds before defenestration. Start running.
I feel the exact same about the word tummy... it makes me so unbelievably uncomfortable and makes me start punching my table in an attempt to distract myself from the pain of reading the word. any other type of pain is better than having to endure hearing the word tummy...
Fr why can’t people just use stomach, or even midriff would work.
What about a groin?
torso, stomach, abdomen, midriff, waist, etc my beloveds…
@@ayyymacaroni torso feels too vague - it’s the entire area between your shoulders and hips. On the contrary, waist feels too specific, it’s the concave part of your sides above your hip. Midriff feels too fashion oriented and the remaining two are exactly what I mean by “too formal”, but they’re the most tolerable.
There are definitely words I use too much like immediately (can’t even spell it first try) and I do that thing where I don’t use a character’s name until it is said (like in the warrior cats prologues) and I have to dance around it sometimes
I do that second thing sometimes
I do that last thing too because i want it to sound like my character it narrating their story as it happens so i feel them already knowing someone's name before it's been said breaks the emersion.
the word 'groom' is so uncomfortable for me, mostly because it can be used in uncomfortable contexts, but i just hate the word. I feel like It's super over used and people insert it in places where that wasn't really the characters intent, and then the character comes off as creepy when that shouldn't have been the point.
looks away in warrior cats
there is no men in weddings anymore, we did it, there are only brides /j
@@dash_dash_eevee LMAO
i saw a video that said "one year of being a groomer!"
It was about a dog groomer, why am i so dumb
@@WooperSuper this is exactly what I mean, it can be used so poorly sometimes
For me it’s naughty. It feels like it should be in British books or erotic fanfic, but should also be reserved when the author runs out of synonyms for just… evil or without good intention. Just, as little as possible, thank you.
"HE'S NOT THE MESSIAH, HE'S JUST A NAUGHTY NAUGHTY BOY"
For me, naughty is like the grinch or someone playing a prank. If you can imagine them rubbing their hands together and cackling, I’d call that naughty.
'Naughty' has *interesting* connotations if it's not being used in dialogue. It comes off way differently than 'mischievous' or 'delinquent'. At some point, you have to put the thesaurus down and focus on a different detail, unless you want the tone to be weird or childish.
I'm also realizing how little I see that word when reading. Huh.
Every time I see or hear that word I remember Fred from Courage the Cowardly Dog.
Fr
->"This word sounds gross, I hate it"
->"I wrote this word so many times when I reread that I am tired of hearing it"
I would put my least favorite word here, but I dislike it too much to type it.
*Antidisestablishmentarianism*
It’s just such an unnecessarily long word with a super specific definition
It’s in the same boat as *pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis*
You’ve come from distractible recently haven’t you
Nope, one I learned from Skylanders, and the other I looked up on a whim
@@noxthedremoralord2683 neat, I used to love skylanders. In the most recent episode they do a bit with both of those words!
Sounds like you might have hippopotamonstrosesquipedaliophobia (the fear of long words)
@@DudeDude319 Ah yes, an unnecessarily long word to describe the fear of long words, that totally makes sense, though I don’t have the fear myself, I just think unnecessarily long words (such as the ones mentioned above, as well as the one you have shown off) are impractical, but it sure is fun to look at for me
im very amused by the words people are put off by. im not a native english speaker, and i cant help but think that affects my perspective on these words! most are neutral or perfectly normal to me.
but when someone speaks my native language, who isnt a native themselves, i do find myself cringing often because they tend to use words i/other people from my country avoid out of cringe or bad associations 😂 funny how that works
I can relate, sometimes it gets *really* uncomfortable when someone speaks my native language (German) and doesn't know the connotations of the words they're using :S And sometimes it's funny :D
the one about Just Saying the Name is so valid for saying a “unique/relevant” descriptor is okay because like.
i’ve written oneshots of ocs who play music together and occasionally refer to each by their role (guitarist/violinist/keyboardist/singer)
"Packed" always drains all the immersion away from me for some reason.
Female and male. I know they’re technical terms, but I never use them unless I’m writing info about a character. I mainly hate them because of the neck beards who use it, seemingly to objectify women.
I think that also feels very animalistic to use, which is bad if you didnt intended to this effect.
Like people wouldnt use correct biologic terms to describe, idk, how pretty people are?
I rarely use any technical terms because it’s just usually not necessary.
Lmao
Honestly, the only time I use the word "female" or "male" is as an adjective. Using them as nouns is where the neckbeard shit comes in.
@@dragishawkYeah, if you want to specify a person's gender, you need to use those words sometimes, for example "a male teacher" or "a female doctor", but that's the use as an adjective which is fine IMO. Calling human beings "a male" or "a female" as a noun (unless the technical term is necessary) is when it definitely comes off as creepy.
I love half of these words when used in the right context :(
yeah, thats the thing about it. a bunch of these words are perfectly fine, it just depends on the context.
Me too 😭
Don't feel bad. These people very clearly have highly specific Hang-Ups on these words, especially because a lot of them are just common everyday words. That or their brain is fried from too much porn that they see innocent words as dirty
Me, a non-native English speaker in the corner, pretending to know what all those words mean
Dash. I overused this word to such an extreme degree at one point that I simply decided to quit using it. HE DID NOT DASH ACROSS THE BEACH, HE PELTED DOWN THE BEACH.
Second place goes to spiffy. If you can use this word in a serious context and have it actually work well, I applaud you.
Edit: forgot about ruminate. I know it's used for thinking, but I'm a fan of zoology, so knowing that it can also mean chewing cud makes me want to slam my head into a cinder block.
people always complain about moist, but girth? girth makes my nose scrunch all the way up
For some reason, I always read it as "grith"??? I DON'T KNOW WHY???
@akamered4483 grinch
@@Yababaina_hands_or_orb_hands 😂😂😂 bro now I can't un-see it
I refuse to use the word toast. One time i was blocked for two weeks, then i changed the toast in the scene to cereal and it just started flowing. That was five years ago and I'm still going strong
4:42 It has similar energy to "impregnated with basilisk venom" or "no further intercourse with the ghosts" - those words may have had innocuous meanings in decades or centuries prior, but now it's a classic case of having a gay old time.
what with the ghosts now
@@-cat_in_space-Reminds me of that image of a guy identified as feeling horny by the camera, behind him is a ghost feeling fearful.
Not really a word, but I can’t stand writing characters eating. Like, describing the act of consuming nutrients just disgusts me for some reason. On another note, I can’t stand to write the word ‘pregnant’, if needed, I’ll rather use expecting or with child rather than that word, it just makes me want to barf
The word "OK" because my current WIP takes place in an alternative reality from our own (minus the magic) and I do not want to open the can of worms that is the etymology of that word. "Alright" is my biggest replacement.
Also "moan." My characters can "whimper," "groan," "grumble," "mumble," and "mutter" all they want, but I am not writing the word "moan" with my own hands.
Honorable mention to words I am trying to avoid unless necessary. "Said" and "suddenly." Have bad habits with both
It's actually perfectly okay to use said, unless you want to point out a particular way a character is speaking, said is essentially the industry standard because a reader's eyes will usually flow right over it and continue with the story.
I got caught in the "don't use said" BS awhile back, it took a bit to unlearn it
@@radioactivebirbchild I understand what you are saying, but I tend to have a lot of dialogue between many characters, so dialogue tags or actions before, after, or between words become necessary and I don't want it to get repetetive.
Furthermore, I am writing my thing in third person objective, a deliberate choice but me, so I need the extra describtion in order to better express how a character is feeling.
And not that I don't use said, I just am trying to sprinkle in a few ways to make dialogue more interesting. A character nods when they agree. Putting an action instead of a dialogue box. Using specific words like "hissed" to give the reader a sense of what it going on. Even a simple "said while..." works
Use said, of course, but personally, I like using words other than said
my problem with the word “moan” is that its literally the only way i know how to describe a character in pain. if a character is in pain, and they are making noises, what am I supposed to say?
@@wren_. Mumble, murmur restlessly, whimper, cry, groan, a pained noise left their lips
Well, good news is that if there is such a thing as newspapers in your world and other languages, you can handwave 'Ok', saying it originated in much the same way it did in ours almost 200 years ago, if that random article I just read was correct about its origin.
It doesn't have to be a one-for-one replica of how it came to be here, or based off the same etymology! It could even be a borrow word from another language. I speak French and we use OK a lot too, even though it has nothing at all to do with the french language, its just a fast way of agreeing to something.
Big mood for "suddenly", I use it far too often as well. At least for "said", if you have only two characters going back and forth, after a few lines you can stop giving descriptors entirely. I end up just describing what a character was doing while talking, instead of the way they were saying it. Add a drop of acting to what would have been a conversation purely of 'said's because they weren't saying anything in a particular tone.
For me, it's "murmured". I read a book series once where that one got overused a lot, and for some reason it just made me slightly uncomfortable every time. Now I avoid it whenever I can, which gets a little hard when a character says something softly, but neither "mutter" nor "mumble" quite fit the context.
When I was a little baby in high school, my sister told me I use the word "cruel" too often and now it is ruined. I have to go out of my way to not use it, even as I, enough years later to have graduated again, still kind of lean on it. I have to type it out, then look at it, then delete it, then ransack my brain for another way to communicate that this character is doing a sublimely uncool thing.
describing something as sublimely uncool is a crack up
i like how you can tell that these people are writers especially compared to, say, questions about things that give you the ick in fanfiction
3:49
The word orbs being used instead of eyes can go die in a hole
His attractive, big, bright, blue orbs stared at my direction as I walked down the hallway, his orb-lids fluttering.
@@Cheesling ORB-LIDS
“I rushed up to see his body, his orbs staring without seeing. I pushed his Orb-lids (yes I took that from the other commenter) closed and wept”
6:54 I WAS NOT READY FOR THAT LMAOO 💀
Sloppy. If its not used in sense of a theft or assassnation or some other kind of crime than get it out of here.
Exception found. Toddler sloppily eating food is fine.
I get it, but a toddler sloppily slurping down food is just too good.
@@felledoesYTiguess and thats why exceptions exist
Yeah just use it when someone is eating food very sloppy
Eat yer slop, Joe.
@@Arlojay-bw3vpwhen they're eating something sloppy all right 😳
Screamed and liked. English is not my first language and i feel like a 6 year old writing it
Their eyes bulged, hate the mental image it gives everytime.
"giggle/giggled" I just hate reading or writing it maybe I've just seen it overused in some fics I've read but having grown adults "giggle" all the time skeeves me out. Laugh, chuckle, huff anything is better than giggle
Me too. I only use giggle when I’m writing a psychotic character making an insane laugh that doesn’t fit the word “laugh”, and instead is undoubtedly a giggle.
Or when I’m talking about babies. Babies can giggle.
the times i use it is like. "giggled like an idiot" (which fits in the same boat for me as "grinned like an idiot") OR . which is NOT when im writing, i say im giggling. Because i literally giggle. Like. I straight up "EHEHEHEHE" its not evenf unny
I can not take anymore people using the word " Dancing " or " Dances " to create atmosphere or describe movement, I CAN NOT TAKE IT ANYMORE
I try to limit my usage of “as”. I replace it with “while”, “during”, “like”, or just rework the sentence so I don’t need it. I used it so much that now it bothers me.
i think that any word can be bad if it’s over used to much. you gotta space out your wording always never use the same word twice in a paragraph.
Gonna to try to use all of these in my next novel ✨
On my end, I hate family terms being used in romantic/sexual situations. Ie. Baby, babe, daddy, mommy, etc. It just... feels wrong.
5:04 Yeah, I remember coming across the M-word in a fanfic once, and if anything, getting what it meant only confused me further.
I fully understand cornucopia, but hunger games writers have to use it 😭
If you're talking about a literal cornucopia, be it from the hunger games or referencing the original myths the word comes from, you gotta use the word xD It's its actual name after all! Never seen it out of context though, but it sounds like OP sure did and got peeved
The OP also doesn’t like “slit”. I think they just have beef with the hunger games
"Chuckle" to me always has the connotation of like. An old man laughing. Whenever I read a young character chuckling all i can imagine is them getting possesed by Dumbledore for a second.
RRAAAAAHHH I LIKE the term "Little ones" I think it's cute! It's like I'm talking about a little goober creature, a silly little guy, a little fella, just, a tiny lil shmuck
Breeding/Mating. And I’m saying this as someone who writes animals. Even if you’re writing animals with human morals and minds, it sounds better if you don’t imply any sexual actions. Besides, I’ve seen those words used as replacements during human smuts…it sounds disgusting and weird.
0:08 Starting with a bloodbath
2:30 "very" is almost always used as a filler word; like "like", "just", "basically", or "actually" so most of the time I skim over it without noticing.
5:42 Balderdash, I say!
7:12 Sounds like something that can't be revoked.
9:20 Quit your moaning!
I was once in a spelling bee, they gave me a HUGE packet of words to study beforehand
ever since, I’ve kept a list of words that I absolutely despise(and one of those I love to balance it out) whether it be cause that shouldn’t be A Word, that shouldn’t be spelled/pronounced like That, or it has questionable history/vibes
hiatus, comedienne, camel toe, female, pregnant(when not used for a living thing, like “a pregnant pause”), etc.
it didn’t help with the spelling bee but I won anyway so 👍
What is wrong with hiatus????
mostly cause I had always pronounced it in my head ‘hi-uh-tus’ like ‘giant’ and don’t really see a reason for why the ‘a’ should be ‘ay’
"pregnant pause" is one of the most stupid fucking phrases ever like i dont. Get it. Who came up with that?!
I will NEVER use the words/sentences “moist” , “__ licked their lips” (in a sexual way) “Closely” (It just hurts my head help) “He bite her neck” “Pregnant”
4:28 I THOUGHT SHE SAID A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT WORD FOR A SECOND
You can tell from mine I saw some pretty...unspeakable shit as a kid. These are not all fanfic related stuff, it's general: Belly, tummy (its sounds so childish), inflation, breeding, overstuffing, overeating, pregnancy, bladder, etc and anything that has to do with weird fetishes in general. Also words that just sound gross: squirt, squirm, bounce, splosh....(the last one is the worst)
Honorable mention: Blueberry (if you know, you know)
It’s always a different word. Every time I try to write something, there’s some word that just gets used out of the blue like every two sentences, and it’s never the same word!
' "Snape!" Ejaculaed Slughorn'
There's a letter missing here
Ron said that too. Idk when though
I didn't notice the missing "t" until I accidentally read that in a British accent
English really needs ways to say “laugh” that are interesting and give deeper information, but aren’t goofy as hell(see chuckle, giggle, snort, snicker, holler, chortle, guffaw)
in my 20 years of life i've NEVER heard the word guffaw, goofy ass word what the hell 😭😭
i hate chuckle and giggle and the others are just so goofy but i cant just keep saying laugh 😔😔😔😔😔😔im resorting to saying smile atp
I don’t think I’m fully against any sort of word, (except maybe snog) I just think of what words the characters would use. I might hate a word, but would my character?
Agree with the person who said “bemused,” and for the same reason. I am a little sad about it because I do like the word, but clarity is more important.
The word "dumb" because it's not a synonym for stupid even though people act like it is [plus one of the characters is non-verbal/non-speaking and I'd prefer not to disrespect those that are in the community]
4:16 For me personally, I first came across the word "chuckle" from the subtitles on the DVDs.
6:52 that was possibly the most visceral noise I've ever heard. I physically recoiled from the sheer force of it /pos
"I gazed into the orbs on her face. Now when you hear me say that I'm sure you think I'm talking about her eyes, but no she in fact has two crystalline orbs in her eye sockets which, although she can't see out of them normally, allow her to see the future. They're honestly very upsetting, and the fact that you can see your own death in them if you look for too long doesn't help.
"When the sight of my own grave became permanently etched into the back of my mind I decided that, job interview or no, I was going to have to skip the eye contact on this one."
"Obey, and submit (in the non-work way)"
They just make me feel weird, i can't imagine making pages about it.
I use very a lot in writing because I write Heathers fanfic and have started using very as a standalone adjective in my normal speech
I’m certainly not a writer, but now I want to write a short story with all of these words.
I don't hate these words, but I'm scared of them, because I'm prone to typos.
"Regards" and "Bigger".
Even now I had to triple check they were spelled properly.
*ruh roh*
"I think if you hate a word you should use it, but only in a context that makes everyone else hate it too," he enunciated as he stroked the greasy hairs that clung sparsely to his second chin.
Im writing a romantasy book rn and I refuse to ever let any of my characters growl, snarl, bark, or hiss or whatever. Acotar ruined it lol
Ack im in a simillar pickle since using growl, snarl, hissed rolls off my fingertips while writing rather than yelled, or she raised her voice this is mostly since i read warrior cats lol
4:27 I thought it was just a British spelling of "snicker" since it's basically the same and I've only seen it used by Terry Pratchett.
I absolutely despise the word modern. People can't decide whether to use modern as a time period, or just for current times, and the usage of the term "postmodern" just reminds me of kids going "infinity plus one"
1:12 *He stared at me with his brown orbs*
“Sir, you’re wizard orbs are staring again”
“I know, I am looking through them”
gingerly is PERSONAL to me. i read an otherwise really good fic where EVERYTHING the characters did they did "gingerly" it was in every single chapter like 6 times and it drove me crazy. eventually whenever i saw it i would just laugh and say GINGERLY! and i started imagining the character had dyed his hair ginger. ever since then i have an awful kneejerk reaction to the point where i flinched and said UGH when it appeared in the video.
also ministrations, incredibly stupid word and it just reminds me of like. government ministries. and saying it out loud sounds so silly. opposite of hot
I really try to avoid 'moaned' and rather write 'groaned' (when annoyed) 'sighed' (when the character is so done with everything) or 'whined' (when the character is called out by others and makes petty excuses).
Nearly everyone here is either complaining about smut ruining normal words, or about trying to avoid sounding too verbose. Occasional exceptions for people noticing legitimate overuse issues.
Anything British slang. Not because I have anything against them, but because Europe was canonically crushed by rocks in my setting, along with most of earth, long story.
ive said it before but i just cant take "cutely" seriously for obvious reasons
When it comes to my own rare moments of writing, I hardly ever use the word “said” because I’ve seen so many writers and teachers suggest never using it because it’s so plain. I disagree that you should NEVER use the word “said”, but I always prefer describing the tone of how someone speaks, only using “said” for any following statements a character makes that have the same tone. Like, I wouldn’t write that someone “shouted” something and then “barked” something else; it just feels redundant and it reduces the number of new synonyms I could use in later paragraphs.
As for words I personally don’t like seeing in fiction: words like “potty”, “wee-wee”, “tummy”, and just kiddy/baby talk words in general. Even in the context of talking to an actual baby they sound so cringy and goofy.
I HATE THE WORD IRREGARDLESS SO MUCH
Even my English teacher tells us not to use it when writing
5:30
Honestly, I read it as a mix of both. It's definitely a good one to use, just not too often.
exclaimed. nobody is ever that enthusiastic.
5:30
Same thing with mortify and its variants. Mortified formally means embarrassed, shamed, or humiliated. Not scared or horrified.
Have to agree with the guy that said breedable. It’s just creepy, even when you use it in reference to animals that are being used for breeding
Breedable is only creepy when used in reference to humans
I try not to use the word "said" and it's just bad writing advice that has been drilled into my brain, I have never recovered from it.
once read a fic of two blonde characters and the author insisted on describing them both as “blonde” constantly. “the platinum blonde” and “the blonde”. like… just pick something else. there are always so many more interesting things about the characters than their hair colors. when i write fics im very careful to avoid describing characters by their hair colors for no reason, though i do tend to end up filling it in with other irrelevant characteristics (the jester? really? i don’t think his career is relevant when he’s mid smooch!!) definitely a pitfall of gay fanfiction lol
for the longest time i thought the word “gingerly” meant happy or energetic
tummy
Feels childish as hell XD
Regurgitate i will only use if absobloodylutely necessary
that "EWWWWUWUUWGHGFHG" was flawless 10/10
As an English teacher this is the most amusing thread about connotations I’ve seen in a while 😂😂