# How do you feel about not repeating words in writing material



## belthagor (Apr 10, 2013)

Have any of you experienced that essay/whatever where you are not repeating words for a very long time and it flows smoothly. I hate when I repeat words, I have tried this method while writing fairly effortlessly without repeating my words and noticed that it looks really nice, in my opinion.

So what do you think?


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## Bloggsworth (Apr 10, 2013)

I'm sorry, say that again...


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## JosephB (Apr 10, 2013)

Depends on the word, and how noticeable it is, how soon you repeat it. Generally, I don't like to repeat something if it stands out -- but that's an incredibly vague way to put it. It's just one of those things -- I know it when I see it. You can also repeat a word or phrase to some effect if you do it intentionally. There's no good way to answer this that I can think of. Just play it by ear.


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## Dictarium (Apr 10, 2013)

If it's a very distinctive word -- usually an adjective or verb -- which is used twice or more when it would be just as easy to use some synonym, I immediately tack that down as something against the paper, and as someone who helps out friends a lot with their papers for school, I see it often. If you can't be bothered to come up with a synonym for an adjective or verb to the point where you use it ad nauseum in an unironic, nonpurposeful way throughout a work, then I'm going to dock it a few points in my head.


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## jayelle_cochran (Apr 10, 2013)

I'll echo what the others have said.  When I write I try not to repeat myself often.  I sometimes will find after I read what I wrote that there are a few words which stand out and are too close together (such as an adverb used twice in the same paragraph).  It's difficult sometimes.  I also try to avoid having more than one paragraph or sentence on a page begin with the same word if I can avoid it.  Naturally there are some words that will be used with more frequency just because of what they are.  However, if I can avoid it then I will.

Now...if only I can stop repeating myself in my first drafts....

*hugs*
Jayelle


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## JosephB (Apr 10, 2013)

You probably don't want to repeat a word if it's going to be noticed -- unless it's done for effect. If you miss it at first, it's the kind of thing that you catch when you're editing. If you don't -- hopefully someone else will at some point. What more can you really say about it?


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## philistine (Apr 10, 2013)

Repetition is good; it makes things sound really, really good.

Bad jokes aside, there's something quite germane to the topic that I'd like to mention here. I've noticed certain writers (I remember Proust, Marquez, and James doing this) will insert a particularly uncommon or little heard of word at some point in their work, only to repeat that word the very next sentence, or very shortly thereafter. I've noticed this dozens of times in various works over the years, and I can't help but think it must have been common practise- at least to some authors.

My theory on the matter is that an author will repeat the word by dint of them being very uncommon; i.e: they will use again to either a) reinforce it into the reader's mind, and/or b) to emphasise the definition as to the context. I remember Marquez did this with the words 'promontory' repeatedly, and 'marasmus', too- both of which I hadn't heard of previously.

Of course, it could simply be that these words were favourites of the authors, and any opportunity they had to use them- they did. We all have favourite words, after all. Hell, there's a thread dedicated to them on this forum!


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## Staff Deployment (Apr 10, 2013)

With a large enough vocabulary this becomes less of an issue. Further down the line, usually several drafts inward, a good technique is to develop your own specific _internal_ vocabulary for the story, essentially words and phrases that take on certain contextual meanings when evoked and repeated throughout. This brings out thematic links that you can then play around with.


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## Skodt (Apr 10, 2013)

It's almost a style question it seems. I mean if you repeat a certain word over and over it shows your style of writing. You get into your own groove and type/write what you already know about vocabulary. Writers do it all the time and it really helps you develop a knowing of that writer. Take Edgar Allen Poe for instance; his work showed a lot of repeats for style. 
[SIZE=+3]T[/SIZE]RUE!_ --nervous --very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses --not destroyed --not dulled them. Above all was the sense of hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell. How, then, am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthily --how calmly I can tell you the whole story.

_Just the opening of his Tell Tale Heart short. He repeats a lot for dramtic effect, and also for story progression, character development, and just because he did it a lot in his writings._ I don'te_think there is a clear cut answer for repeating; unless the words He/She are repeated countless times. Or a certain other title repeated until it bleeds out of your eyes, but words can be repeated for many different reasons.


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## Morkonan (Apr 10, 2013)

belthagor said:


> ...So what do you think?



I make a determined and conscious effort not to repeat words if it can be avoided.


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## Angelicpersona (Apr 11, 2013)

I've joked with friends that if ever my purse were stolen the thief would likely think that I'm a little crazy because I keep a pocket thesaurus in there. I really hate repeating adjectives in particular, and I'm always looking for a synonym if I'm feeling the need to use the same word more than once within a few paragraphs.


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## belthagor (Apr 11, 2013)

philistine said:


> Repetition is good; it makes things sound really, really good.
> 
> Bad jokes aside, there's something quite germane to the topic that I'd like to mention here. I've noticed certain writers (I remember Proust, Marquez, and James doing this) will insert a particularly uncommon or little heard of word at some point in their work, only to repeat that word the very next sentence, or very shortly thereafter. I've noticed this dozens of times in various works over the years, and I can't help but think it must have been common practise- at least to some authors.
> 
> ...



about the thread dedicated to them, link please?


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## Staff Deployment (Apr 11, 2013)

belthagor said:


> about the thread dedicated to them, link please?



Here's one. There may be more.


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## luckyscars (Apr 12, 2013)

Repetition can be an effective stylistic tool when used well. However its not something to do frequently. Also it really depends on the word and context. I find words to be like spices, the more complicated they taste the less they should be used.


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## Robert_S (Apr 17, 2013)

I like to avoid repeating myself, over and over (yeah, it's a joke), but...

It can lend itself to symbolism or if you have a good one line (Vonnegut's "so it goes") it can pay off, big time. Also, Hemingway used it to great effect in "For Whom the Bell Tolls" for scenes that were indescribable for some reason.


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## Leyline (Apr 17, 2013)

Do you mean in close succession, like:

_Diane sneered as she ground her heel into Danny's eye, merciless, as the merciless sun blinded the other_?

If so, yes, it's annoying and should be avoided.

Repetition of phrases though can be an effective thematic tool if done well. Single words, usually those with multiple meanings, often become thematic symbols -- I'm particularly fond of _eyes_ and _fire_, because they are almost universally resonant with people, and can be used poetically in countless ways.

Now that I'm thinking about it, I'd bet you could even use something like my example above, if you did it properly. Say singularly, at the beginning of the story, where the lack of mercy from every observable facet of existence is driven home for the poor guy being blinded. Might give that a try later.


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## Staff Deployment (Apr 17, 2013)

The wisest piece of advice I ever received:

"Reiterate, reiterate, reiterate ...reiterate reiterate reiterate reiterate reiterate reiterate..."

yo this is totes my 800th post dawg


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## Blade (Apr 17, 2013)

Morkonan said:


> I make a determined and conscious effort not to repeat words if it can be avoided.



I take it that way as well. I figure that the small words do a lot of the work and so when the eye comes to content it registers as something special. Repeating thus induces confusion as the mind has the same importance signal in different places and contexts.

I am reminded of a line from an old Firesign Theatre record referring to "The Department of Redundancy Department, Sector R". My reminder. :cool2:


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## sophiagia10 (Apr 23, 2013)

belthagor said:


> Have any of you experienced that essay/whatever where you are not repeating words for a very long time and it flows smoothly. I hate when I repeat words, I have tried this method while writing fairly effortlessly without repeating my words and noticed that it looks really nice, in my opinion.
> 
> So what do you think?



How many times in one paragraph or on a single page do you use a particular word relative to your subject matter?


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## Staff Deployment (Apr 23, 2013)

You should also avoid tautology. It's best to keep away from circumstances where you state the same idea, but in different words.

ha ha get it because i said the same thing twice in different words ha ha * sound of balloon deflating *


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## luckyscars (Apr 23, 2013)

Like Leyline alluded to, whether repetition works is very much a combination of factors: Word choice, context, and the writer's style.

Simple and short words, I find, tend to work better for stylistic repetition. When done well it does one of two things: It gives a childlike quality to the narrative (useful for when the narrator is a child or simple - see Forrest Gump). It also serves to reinforce the idea captured in that one word.

For example:

'He looked at her eyes and saw the cold. A deep and bottomless cold.'
'When he woke up he saw the sky was alive with sun's fire and her face alive too with a different sort of fire'


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## JosephB (Apr 23, 2013)

Or this: 

When he woke up on fire he saw the sky was alive with sun's fiery fire and her face was fiery too with a different sort of fire, a fire that burned like all the fires that had ever been fired.

No?


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## shadowwalker (Apr 23, 2013)

I like to use whatever word works best.


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## J Anfinson (Apr 23, 2013)

I just reread what ive written, and if the repetition makes it awkward ill replace it. Sometimes it doesnt.


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## Blade (Apr 23, 2013)

JosephB said:


> been fired.



I think this part works.


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## tepelus (Apr 23, 2013)

JosephB said:


> Or this:
> 
> When he woke up on fire he saw the sky was alive with sun's fiery fire and her face was fiery too with a different sort of fire, a fire that burned like all the fires that had ever been fired.
> 
> No?



[video=youtube;SOMJKl4DcFE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOMJKl4DcFE[/video]


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## VoidMoon (Apr 24, 2013)

I always make it a point to never repeat the same word that stands out in 2 adjacent sentences. Things that come to mind are usually names, he said - she said, and places. It just sounds clunky and amateurish to me.


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## Staff Deployment (Apr 24, 2013)

Re: Voidmoon, "said" is a word that people skip over unless attention is drawn to it. Often I find myself organising three-way or four-way conversations and that "he said she said" dichotomy helps to establish the speaker without sacrificing too much of the rhythm. In fact, sometimes it adds its own kind of quirky rhythm, especially right at the outset if it's only two people speaking.

_He said, "Hey."
She said, "Hey."
He said, "Long time."
She said, "Yep."_

(then the actual conversation begins)

_"How could you have sex with a penguin?!"
"Your mother paid me thirty dollars to film it!"
"My mother is dead!!"
"She wasn't your real mom! I'm your real mom!!!"
"NOOOOOOOO"_


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## DH-Biker (Apr 26, 2013)

belthagor said:


> Have any of you experienced that essay/whatever where you are not repeating words for a very long time and it flows smoothly. I hate when I repeat words, I have tried this method while writing fairly effortlessly without repeating my words and noticed that it looks really nice, in my opinion.
> 
> So what do you think?



 I must admit its one of my gripes with my own writing is repetition in wording. Every time I come across a word I've repeated, I have a think to see if there are any alternatives I could throw in instead. Connecting words tend to be my most often repeated, but I've certainly found I'm doing it a lot less to my credit. Typically I can find other words to fit into a sentence and I've also found that this usually helps the overall sentence sound better. 
 Finally, I've found the internet to be literally brimming with pages dedicated to alternative words to others. All of which have been instrumental, so whenever I write now I keep a little notebook by my computer and just jot down alternatives words by the word I'm trying to stop repeating.


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## Kyle R (Apr 26, 2013)

I try not to concern myself with repetition during the writing phase. But during the editing phase, repetition is one of the first things I look at.

If it's for effect, I leave it. But if the repetition is due to lazy writing (using the same adjectives or adverbs just because I couldn't think of anything better) then I'll look to change it.

I've noticed it can lead to issues, though, if, by trying to avoid repetition, I begin to force my prose into awkward contortions. Sometimes I'll repeat the word "sky" in the same paragraph, rather than plunk a lot of clunky synonyms in its place like "air" and "atmosphere" and "wind and clouds", where it becomes obvious that I'm just throwing thesaurus words in its place. 

Sometimes the best word is the best word for a reason, and clarity and precision supersede any concerns of being repetitive. Usually the reader is more focused on the content of the story, on seeing the events unfold in that vast, colorful stage of their imagination, and minor things like word repetitions are not even noticed (except by us writers).


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## Kyle R (Apr 26, 2013)

JosephB said:


> Or this:
> 
> When he woke up on fire he saw the sky was alive with sun's fiery fire and her face was fiery too with a different sort of fire, a fire that burned like all the fires that had ever been fired.
> 
> No?



Sounds like something Cormac McCarthy might write.


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## J Anfinson (Apr 26, 2013)

This is also where a thesaurus can come in handy, as long as you only use it to find words that you already know. Thesaurus.com is handy at times.


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## xwolf910 (Apr 27, 2013)

I hate repeating words and I am constantly googling synonyms for words that just seem to keep popping up. I really hate it when I end a sentence with a word and then it seems to come back in the next sentence two or three more times. It takes practice to memorize words so that you don't repeat yourself.


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## Srand-us (May 7, 2013)

If you find yourself repeating words, they may be cliches. Words can be cliches, too! "Very," for example, is deadwood and shouldn't be repeated even once - shouldn't be used at all. The prose is cleaner when freed of such stuff.


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## Folcro (May 7, 2013)

[Sorry, clumsy double-post]


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## Folcro (May 7, 2013)

I tend to avoid repeating not only words, but ways of using them.

For example, in (at least) two of Stephen King's books (The Stand, and  The Eyes of the Dragon) he uses the word "ropes" to describe the  splashing of a dense liquid (Flem in the stand, and soup in the other).  Now, I admit I am very picky about this (especially as it pertains to  two separate works) but it bothered me. I would of course, give that one  a pass. But had it occurred twice in the same book, it would have  really annoyed me. So as a rule, I try to avoid doing such things in my  writing.



J Anfinson said:


> This is also where a thesaurus can come in handy, as long as you only use it to find words that you already know. Thesaurus.com is handy at times.



Already have that and dictionary bookmarked. Love them.


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## Staff Deployment (May 7, 2013)

Folcro said:


> Now, I admit I am very picky about this (especially as it pertains to  two separate works) but it bothered me.



Yes, that is very picky.

Consider that it's often a good idea to build up a consistent vocabulary of phrases within a work in order to draw parallels and thematic links between scenes and subject matter. Avoiding a re-use of the same words in the same context completely prevents you from exploiting this.

For example, in _Remainder_ by Tom McCarthy, the ending scene carries with it an incredible sense of poignancy because there comes a point where you come to the same conclusions as the narrator, and, when I read it, it absolutely crushed me how inevitable it was. McCarthy used the exact same tone and vocabulary to talk about the movements of an airplane as he did right at the beginning, when the narrator was trapped walking around in a figure-eight – and when we're reminded of that, we know how the next two pages will end. It's really sad.

Anyway your methods would prevent that from being written, which is also really sad.


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## Folcro (May 7, 2013)

Staff Deployment said:


> Anyway your methods would prevent that from being written, which is also really sad.



Oh, you have to understand that in order to fulfill a literary objective, I would gladly do what must be done. But if the only reason is that the author ran out of things to say, or liked that word or description so much they used it again in the same way... that method I tend to avoid. I don't think King was trying to be poignant.


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## Srand-us (May 8, 2013)

Terminally picky. Great advice, Adept.


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