#3 — Repeating words for emphasis
In some cases, repeating words helps.
“Please, Elie,” I begged. “You have to do this. You know how much it means to me. Please.”
Notice how please repeats? It doesn’t overdo the dialogue since they’re separated out. It feels smooth.
On the other hand, I’ve seen writers use the word please about five times in one spot.
“Please, Elie,” I begged. “Please. You have to do this. Please. You know how much this means to me. Please. You have to! Please!”
Repeating words can be too much.
I’ve had readers tell me before that I repeated a word too much when I used it twice in one paragraph. That may be an extreme, but it’s something to look out for. If you repeat a word, ask yourself if it’s essential.
A good way to find repeated words is to read your work out loud. You’ll realize you’ve said the word recently and catch the red flag.
Or you can use the search tool and type in words that usually repeat, such as:
- A lot
- Character names
- Good
- Many
- Said
Some words that may repeat could be specific to your story. For example, if you’re writing a fantasy piece about wizards, they may be:
- Magic
- Potion
- Spell
- Wand
- Wizard
Check for repeated words even if you don’t think there are some. Just in case. You might be surprised.
I hope this helps!
Robin LeeAnn 
This is great advice! I recently read an ARC that had the character name repeated too many times in short spaces of writing and it really distracted me from the story at hand. It’s not an issue I’ve really had to deal with before but I agree with your advice! 😄
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I’m glad you agree!
I’ve actually have done that before where I repeated my characters’ names too much.
Learned my lesson there.
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It would take a long while to grasp all of the small tricks to writing well, I’d imagine. I love your posts like this though! 😀 Jen
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Thanks! I’m glad you liked it!
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great post and I agree – repeating certain words does help at times
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Glad you liked it!
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I absolutely did 😊
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I use Prowriting Aid to edit. I’ve bought the full version but you can review up to a certain amount for free on their website. They have a search function for overused words that I’ve found helpful.
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That’s cool! I’ve never heard of that one before.
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