Punchy Prose
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Herein you'll find a list of words I watch for in my writing, to replace/remove for stronger prose. Thought you might find it useful!
Table Of Contents
Adverbs
I replace these and the accompanying verb with something more impactful.
- abruptly
- absently
- adamantly
- affectionately
- aimlessly
- angrily
- anxiously
- ardently
- arrogantly
- awkwardly
- badly
- bashfully
- bitterly
- blindly
- boldly
- breathlessly
- briskly
- brusquely
- carefully
- casually
- cautiously
- cheerfully
- clearly
- cleverly
- coldly
- comfortably
- confidently
- consciously
- constantly
- coolly
- coyly
- cruelly
- curiously
- darkly
- deeply
- defiantly
- deliberately
- desperately
- determinedly
- diligently
- dimly
- discreetly
- distantly
- dramatically
- dreamily
- eagerly
- easily
- eerily
- elegantly
- emotionally
- emphatically
- endlessly
- evenly
- eventually
- exactly
- excitedly
- expectantly
- expertly
- faintly
- faithfully
- fearfully
- fiercely
- firmly
- fondly
- foolishly
- forcefully
- fortunately
- frantically
- freely
- furiously
- gently
- gladly
- gracefully
- greedily
- grimly
- grudgingly
- happily
- harshly
- hastily
- helplessly
- hesitantly
- hopelessly
- hungrily
- hurriedly
- hysterically
- icily
- impatiently
- impassively
- incessantly
- incredulously
- inevitably
- innocently
- instantly
- intensely
- intentionally
- irritably
- joyfully
- keenly
- lazily
- lightly
- listlessly
- longingly
- loudly
- lovingly
- loyally
- madly
- meaningfully
- mechanically
- menacingly
- miserably
- mockingly
- mysteriously
- naively
- naturally
- nervously
- nonchalantly
- numbly
- obediently
- obnoxiously
- oddly
- ominously
- openly
- painfully
- particularly
- patiently
- patronizingly
- perfectly
- playfully
- politely
- powerfully
- precisely
- proudly
- protectively
- quickly
- quietly
- rapidly
- rashly
- reluctantly
- reproachfully
- resolutely
- restlessly
- reverently
- rigidly
- ruefully
- ruthlessly
- sadly
- sarcastically
- scornfully
- searchingly
- seductively
- selfishly
- sensibly
- seriously
- sharply
- sheepishly
- shrewdly
- shyly
- silently
- sleepily
- slowly
- slyly
- softly
- solemnly
- somberly
- soothingly
- speedily
- stiffly
- strangely
- stubbornly
- suavely
- suddenly
- suspiciously
- swiftly
- sympathetically
- tactfully
- tearfully
- tenderly
- tensely
- thoughtfully
- tightly
- timidly
- tirelessly
- triumphantly
- truthfully
- uneasily
- unexpectedly
- unhappily
- unnaturally
- urgently
- vaguely
- vainly
- valiantly
- venomously
- viciously
- violently
- warily
- warmly
- weakly
- wearily
- wickedly
- wistfully
- woefully
- wildly
- wisely
- wistfully
- wordlessly
- wrathfully
- wretchedly
Cliches
Time for something more inventive!
- a far cry
- as if on queue
- as if struck
- beg to differ
- blood sweat and tears
- blood ran cold
- bone dry
- built to last
- calm before the storm
- chip in
- couldn't resist a grin
- deal with it
- deep in thought
- eyes grew distant
- figure it out
- first things first
- force of nature
- foul play
- get lost
- got that look
- heart jumped into/to her/his/their throat
- hell to pay
- hit the ground running
- keep it up
- mind a whirlwind
- off-kilter
- on the nose
- on track
- on to something
- out of it
- over the edge
- painted an interesting picture
- pay attention
- pride and joy
- raised alarm bells
- shadow crossed her/his/their face
- seen better days
- see the light
- sigh of relief
- slipped through my fingers
- thank goodness
- throwing up her/his/their hands
- try as i might
- with more force than necessary
Conjunction Sentence Starters
Starting a sentence with these is good, as long as I don't do it too often!
- Also
- And
- As
- Because
- Before
- Besides
- But
- By the time
- For
- If
- Instead
- Once
- Only
- Or
- Since
- Still
- Though
- Until
- When
- Which
- While
- Yet
Filler Words
Just one word for these: delete!
- absolutely
- actually
- a bit of
- a little
- almost
- altogether
- apparently
- at all
- basically
- barely
- beginning to
- began to
- begun to
- but of course
- certainly
- clearly
- completely
- continued to
- decide to
- decided to
- definitely
- easily
- even
- exactly
- fairly
- felt like
- finally
- fully
- had to
- happened to
- hardly
- I guess
- I mean
- I suppose
- in order to
- in the middle of
- in the process of
- it was
- just
- just then
- kind of
- let alone
- like
- literally
- managed to
- maybe
- merely
- nearly
- needed to
- obviously
- okay
- own
- perhaps
- practically
- probably
- quite
- rather
- really
- seem
- seemed
- seemed to
- simply
- slightly
- so
- somewhat
- sort of
- sort of
- started to
- suddenly
- tended to
- that
- the fact that
- then
- there was
- totally
- truly
- tried to
- utterly
- very
- virtually
- wanted to
- was able to
- was going to
- well
- you know
Generic Descriptions
Can I put my vast vocabulary to use?
- big
- good
- great
- large
- look
- looked
- looks
- low
- main
- nice
- powerful
- pretty
- serious
- special
Passive Voice
Let the narrative and characters drive the story, not the sentence.
- affected by
- are being
- are seen
- are thought
- are understood
- can be
- could be
- has been
- have been
- is believed
- is considered
- is expected
- is felt
- is given
- is heard
- is hoped
- is known
- is meant
- is noticed
- is perceived
- is questioned
- is remembered
- is said
- is seen
- is shown
- is supposed
- is taken
- is understood
- it appears
- it has been
- it is believed
- it is considered
- it is expected
- it is known
- it is said
- it is shown
- it seems
- it was
- it will be
- may be
- might be
- must be
- ought to be
- shall be
- should be
- to be
- was being
- was believed
- was considered
- was expected
- was felt
- was given
- was heard
- was hoped
- was known
- was meant
- was noticed
- was perceived
- was questioned
- was remembered
- was said
- was seen
- was shown
- was supposed
- was taken
- was thought
- was understood
- were being
- were believed
- were considered
- were expected
- were felt
- were given
- were heard
- were hoped
- were known
- were meant
- were noticed
- were perceived
- were questioned
- were remembered
- were said
- were seen
- were shown
- were supposed
- were taken
- were thought
- were understood
- will be
- would be
Redundancies
I only need one of these words to get the point across.
- absolutely certain
- absolutely essential
- actual experience
- advance notice
- advance planning
- advance preview
- advance warning
- ascend up
- ask a question
- at this moment in time
- at this point in time
- basic essentials
- basic fundamentals
- brief moment
- brief second
- burning fire
- close proximity
- collaborate together
- completely annihilate
- completely destroyed
- completely finished
- consensus of opinion
- continue on
- could possibly
- descend down
- each and every
- end result
- enter in
- exact duplicate
- exact same
- false pretense
- final conclusion
- final outcome
- first and foremost
- foreign imports
- free gift
- frozen ice
- future plans
- general consensus
- green in color
- join together
- kneel down
- lag behind
- major breakthrough
- merge together
- mix together
- mutual cooperation
- mutual respect
- new discovery
- new innovation
- new invention
- past experience
- past history
- personal opinion
- plan ahead
- proceed forward
- rare privilege
- ready and waiting
- reason why
- repeat again
- return back
- revert back
- rise up
- safe haven
- same exact
- separate apart
- serious crisis
- short summary
- shut down
- small in size
- still remains
- sudden impulse
- sum total
- surrounded on all sides
- unexpected surprise
- usual habit
- very unique
- visible to the eye
- warn in advance
- written down
Telling Indicators
Can I show this so readers can infer it instead? What'd make it more descriptive/engaging?
- could
- feel
- feeling
- felt
- get
- hear
- heard
- knew
- know
- known
- notice
- noticed
- observed
- saw
- see
- tastes
- there
- watched
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