Most Common Writing Errors

Words I Hate

Read the disclaimer if you haven't already.

This chapter is self-explanatory. This is a list of words I hate for various reasons, though most are because they're overused in fiction, especially fanfics.

Remember word choice varies depending on the circumstance. This is a general list, but if you use any of these words, don't feel bad or embarrassed. Context matters, so there's a chance you use these words in ways I may like. And this is my personal preference, so it's really not that serious. This isn't me saying they're wrong, I'm only saying I don't like them. Use them if you'd like. Every writer has their own style, and every reader has their own preference. It doesn't make you wrong for using them, and it doesn't make me wrong for disliking them. 

Also keep in mind I have reviewed hundreds of stories on this website, and I'm not exaggerating. My review shop alone has about over 170 reviews (including public and private reviews). That's without factoring in my contests that also have hundreds of stories in them. So some of these boil down to words I see most often and don't want to see anymore.

Now, onto the list.

1) Cascaded - This word is overused and it sometimes annoys me when I see it since, again, it's used so often. I see this word in almost every story I read. Nowadays I just laugh whenever I see it in fiction. It's not that it's a bad word, it's that it's been used so much to describe hair that I can't take it seriously anymore. I'm not kidding, I read two books today and both of them used "cascaded" several times. It's to the point where even when it's used to describe things that aren't hair, I can't take it seriously anymore.

2) Orbs - I don't need to explain myself... but in case you aren't aware, I will anyway. "Orbs" is extremely overused to the point where it makes me have to take a pacing break if I see it used to describe eyes. It's become cliche, not to mention since there are so many ways to describe eyes, it makes me wonder why use it in the first place.

3) Throbbing - When used in a smut scene. When not used in a smut scene, it's fine, no issues. I don't know why, but seeing that word in a smut scene makes me laugh.

4) Growled - When a human is doing it. Animals/monsters doing it are fine, it's only for humans. If I had a dollar for every time a male lead did "*insert dialogue here*," he growled, I'd be a millionaire. It's overused and not a proper dialogue tag to begin with, so I hate it.

5) Random Korean words - When an author puts random words like wae, hajima, gaja, etc. it makes me sad. I don't mind when Korean is in a story, especially if the author is genuinely dedicated to learning Korean, but when the words are just kinda thrown around, you can tell the author doesn't know Korean and it risks being disrespectful to the culture. Most of the time the words aren't even used right. I also study Korean 24/7 since it's one of my fields of study, so sometimes I get tired of seeing it and want a break from it.

6) Beseeched - No. I can't take this word seriously. It's always used as a dialogue tag, but I can't stand it. Not only because Shakespeare overuses it, but because it feels overdramatic in most cases.

7) Most "fancy" dialogue tags - Similarly, most dialogue tags that aren't the standard ones make me aggressive. Most of the time it comes off as the author trying to hard. Words like shouted, whispered, murmured, yelled, etc. I don't mind and I myself even use them. I'm talking words like purred and bellowed. Purred especially cause it reminds me of growled. You're not a cat, why are you purring?

8) Testament - This is almost always used in a telling over showing way to tell the readers someone's personality. Like "...as a testament to his/her *insert personality trait here*." It's also commonly used in purple prose writing.