Crutch Words that Weaken Our Prose

Are there certain words that you use too much? When you Wordle, does suddenly suddenly appear huge and dead center?

We all have our crutch words. The dictionary describes a crutch as "a thing used for support or reassurance." For me, crutch words are the easiest to find in my vocabulary when I'm writing a first draft. Nothing wrong with that.

But as we progress through drafts, we should trim as many crutch words as possible. I have a running list of words that weaken my writing. It's not that these words are never okay, it's just that they sometimes add unnecessary fat, and can usually be replaced with stronger words. When I run a search for these words, I spot areas in the manuscript that need tightening or clarification.

Here's a list that I've compiled, using multiple sources:

about
actually
almost
approximately
barely
basically
beginning
believe/believed
completely
down
eventually
feel/feeling/felt
however
imagine/imagined
just
kind of
knew/know
little
look/looked
mostly
much
nearly
only
practically
pretty
rather
realize/realized
really
remember/remembered
saw/see
seem/seemed
slightly
somewhat
sort of
stuff
suddenly
thing
think/thought
tried
understand

I usually weed out crutch words after beta reads, but before the professional edit. This time around, I'm doing it before the beta reads. That way my trusted readers don't have to suffer through reading "look" three times in the same paragraph.

Tell me, writers, what are your crutch words? Any I need to add to my list? At what point in the process do you search for weak words? Please share!

Chasing Perfection #IWSG

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I recently heard a message about expecting perfection. Perhaps we strive for the perfect Christmas, with flawless family photos and a Martha-Stewart-worthy table setting. Or maybe it's the perfect garden (*sigh*-- hubby and I are unintentional tree killers), or even the perfect hair day (*snort* -- don't get me started).

As writers, we're often searching for the perfect word. And when we find it? Euphoria. It's so worth the effort.

I think chasing perfection is a good thing, as long as it doesn't stop forward movement. Searching for the perfect word is great, as long as it doesn't prevent us from writing the next word, and then the next paragraph. And when editing an entire manuscript, I think chasing perfection works in our favor, as long as the fear of imperfection doesn't paralyze us.

I recently read a brand new book. It was traditionally published by a big house, and hot off the presses. Guess what? I found two typos. No matter how many eyes scanned that book, and no matter how skilled the editors were, the book was not perfect. No book ever will be.

So here's my attitude: chase perfection, but don't be stymied by it. Realize that no matter what, it will never, ever, EVER be perfect. We can't catch something that doesn't exist.

What's your view on chasing perfection? Are you sometimes paralyzed by fear of imperfection? How do you handle it?

A Newbie's Baby Steps Toward Self Publishing

Friends, welcome to my first Indie Life post! I'm like the new kid who joins an AP English class mid-semester and has to catch up to the smart kids. Bonus: those smart kids are super helpful and share tons of info online. Wanna join the class late with me? Sign up for Indie Life here!

My journey into self publishing began with the HUGE decision to go indie. You can read about it here.

Decision made. Now what?

I started here...

Step 1--Get Acquainted With the Process
In my opinion, the best place to start is Susan Kaye Quinn's blog. She's chronicled her experiences as a self-published author, and these posts are golden. She's also written the book, Indie Author Survival Guide. Totally packed with meaty information. I'm reading it right now!

Step 2--Hire an Editor
My manuscript had been edited like crazy, using my agent's keen eye for plot holes and grammar, but still, it's not ready. I hired a freelance editor to help me polish it up and make it stronger. This part is what made me the most nervous about self-publishing. I went through the manuscript once more then sent it off to the editor. That way she could be working through it while I progressed in other areas. More about the editor and the editing process in another post.

Step 3--Hire a Cover Designer
Covers sell books. If a cover is cheesy, it's not likely I'd pick up the book. Judgmental, I know, but it's the truth. I want to have a quality cover. I asked around and got names of cover designers. I connected with one who I hope will deliver a great image. More on cover design in another post.

Step4--Prep for Formatting
I'm going to try formatting my own book. If I become overwhelmed and it takes over my life, I'll hire someone to do it for me.

Referring to Susan's blog again...she suggests reading Smashwords Style Guide, by Smashwords creator Mark Coker (free!). This step-by-step instruction guide to formatting is great for those who use Word.

I don't use Word. I use Apple Pages. I downloaded From Pages '09 to Kindle Format in Minutes. Best $.99 I've ever spent. It's like flipping a switch, and the guy who speaks Portuguese suddenly speaks English.

Step 5--Prep for Success
When I downloaded the Style Guide to my Kindle, another Mark Coker book popped up: Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success (free!). This book goes into detail about how to make the self-publishing experience great for the author and their readers.

From what I've read, success can be boiled down to this: great story, great editing, great cover, reasonable price, word of mouth, luck.

Step 6--Learn About Marketing
I'm reading Mark Coker's Smashwords Book Marketing Guide (free!). Still so much for me to learn in this area, but Coker lists lots of ideas to help spread the word.

As you can see, I've been a busy girl! But I tell ya, I'm having so much fun with this. 

So? What do you think of my newbie steps? Am I missing something gigantic? Indie authors, how did you get started? Traditionally published authors, how does this compare to your own steps? Please share!