Housebreaking Your Manuscript

Personally, I'm a dog person. Cats...not so much, or rather, not at all. I grew up with a possessed demon of a feline. 

Generally, most people fall into either the kitty or puppy camp, but for the rare few, I'll include bunnies, birdies, and Cuban rock iguanas. Whatever your choice of little beastie is, there's just no getting around the fact that people love their pets.

And writers love their pet words. What in the world am I talking about? 

The overuse of certain words. 

For most writers, this is a subconscious kind of nervous tick. You don't even realize you've typed the word 'niggle' fifty-two times in one chapter. But your reader will pick up on it after the second or third time and likely fling your book across the room. As a writer, it's your job to find unique ways to express yourself. Newsflash: 52 niggles is NOT unique.

So, what's a writer to do? This is where your critique buddies come in handy. A good critter will sniff out your pet words so you can go back and clean up the doo-doo. When you're all finished, you'll have a sparkly manuscript that'll make editors sit up and beg.

Oh yeah, and don't forget to throw your critters a bone every now and then. Chocolate is preferable.