1. missbelief

    missbelief New Member

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    oh so much

    Discussion in 'Word Mechanics' started by missbelief, Aug 14, 2008.

    I was born with a reading and spelling problem and over the years it caused me to hate writing and reading but now I love it...

    But here is my problem when I write I repeat myself and use could, just, and there WAY to much...is there anyway to help me with that...

    If you can help I will be greatful.

    thanks
     
  2. Cogito

    Cogito Former Mod, Retired Supporter Contributor

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    Read it back out loud to yourself afterward. Then thr overuse will be obvious and you can fix it.
     
  3. Nilfiry

    Nilfiry Senior Member

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    Use synonyms or equivalent short phrases? I don't think you really need to worry about those words unless theres like a swarm of them on every page. As someone once advised me, read it backwards, you'll notice mistakes easier.
     
  4. Rei

    Rei Contributor Contributor

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    How are you at dictating? If you can get out what you want to write by talking, and can afford it, there are computer programs you can use that you talk into and they type up everything. If that's too expensive, yellow or green paper have been shown to be very successful.
     
  5. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

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    If you can find a kindly soul to read your work to you, even better. I do extra housework so that I can guilt my boyfriend into reading my stuff to me!

    Listening to someone else read your work will take the work out of your inner voice, the voice which originally wrote the work, and was probably happy with it the way it was. Having someone else read the work will point out the concerns you have mentioned. It will also point out things that are unclear or clumsily written. You will literally hear the mental trip-up in the voice of the other person. Even when the sentence or phrase is grammatically correct, it may not be logically clear, and you don’t want that happening in your work either.

    If you can find someone to do this for you, treasure this person. It’s a rare find. :rolleyes:
     
  6. NaCl

    NaCl Contributor Contributor

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    Another possibility is to remove those three words from your computer's dictionary. This will cause them to be highlighted every time you type them. Then, force yourself to "write around" those key words, thereby discovering other ways to express yourself . . . essentially, you're training your mind to "think" differently.
     
    1 person likes this.
  7. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

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    Ooooooo! I like that! I can see many uses for such a trick. :cool:
     
  8. mammamaia

    mammamaia nit-picker-in-chief Contributor

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    and another is to use the 'find' option in the 'edit' menu to highlight all repetitions of each word in your current document... seeing all of them popped out like that and peppering your work will show you how much you're overusing them and help you to give it a second thought before you type them...
     
  9. architectus

    architectus Banned

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    I usually do what maia suggested. I use the find feature for words like and, just, though, because. Often times changing because to for workes better, that is why I search because.

    However I think I will try removing them from my dictionary so that they are underlined in red. I really like that idea, and I am going to give it a try.
     
  10. Honeybun

    Honeybun Active Member

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    I believe what you really need is to train yourself on 'drafting' and 'editting' your work...as other fellows mentioned above, it is very useful to have others read your work and give you some insight on what they think... don't refer to those who would immediately praise your work, 'cause that's what we would call 'empty praise' and it won't do you any good.
    In addition to that, it's useful to spend some time going through the dictionary... you get to learn synonyms and other new words on the way.

    Good Luck
     

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