If you don't watch Top Gear, I have to tell you right now that this is going to be about %60 percent less funny. But anyway, the theme to Top Gear is "Jessica", or a synthed up version of it, anyway. Sitting in my tub, I started laughing. Then I noticed it was echoey, so I put on my best Jeremy Clarkson voice and said, "Tonight! Richard Hammond sucks his own cock! I get arrested soliciting a prostitute, and James dies in an autoerotic asphyxia accident!"
The fact that I laughed out loud, or "Loled" as they say in the parlance of our time, got me thinking. How often are my characters laughing per book. I know that if you opened Ashes To Ashes and threw a dart in it, you'd hit somebody crying. But I wonder how many times I just lazily throw that verb at the page because I needed to tag some dialogue to keep it from becoming a screenplay.
Moreover, what are other really repetitive things I write? I have writer friends who I can guarantee certain phrases will pop up in everything they write. I've read authors who repeat the exact same descriptions in every single book of their series. Everyone has their own voice, and sometimes that voice echoes itself.
Reader, what are some often repeated phrases of your favorite authors? Is there any particular phrase of mine that you've noticed, or that you wish I would stop using? Is there anything you find repeated over and over in your own writing?
I honestly didn't find anything repetitive while reading your books. The most repetitive author that comes to mind though would be Laurell K. Hamilton. Repetitive in everything really. Specific phrases. Character descriptions word for word copied from her other books (this is for characters we already know too!)
ReplyDeleteI'm sure my own writing is full of 'me' phrases... I just haven't figured out which ones yet.
My perception is that you end sentences with "though" a lot. I could be wrong, but that's what comes to mind when you ask.
ReplyDeleteI can't recall anything offhand that was repetitive in your books, though if I read about someone's "shitkickers" one more time in JR Ward's "Black Dagger Brotherhood" series, I'm going to scream.
ReplyDeleteKatie Macalister (whom I do love) also has every single one of her female protagonists mention how her breasts have minds of their own.
But I've also noticed that all of my female characters get caught at least once "checking out the goods" and choke on wine or water at some point, too. Really have to stop that...