A Writers Least Favourite Word

Do you have a least favourite word?

Possibly.	100.0%	[ 4 ]
Total Votes:			[ 4 ]

[princessMeep]

Other than those already mentioned,* I hate "member" and "shaft" when used to describe male genitalia, and "sex" to describe either gender's genitalia. gonk
(Of course, using "sex" to describe one's overall physical gender is another matter, but I hate seeing it used to refer to one specific organ. What, pray tell, is my "sex" when used in this sense?)

I also can't stand abusing synonyms for "said." They're appropriate sometimes, but not always. (Ditto always putting an adverb after said. "She said sadly," or "he said angriliy" works a few times, but don't over do it!)

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*well, I only skimmed, maybe someone's already said these, too

[Destruc]

I hate most words that are contractions, or abbreviations. They aggrivate me more than any one word.

[Prairie_Fire]

c**t is an ugly word, it's not meant to be loved.

[MarchinoCherry]

Any "-izzel" word. They aren't real words. They have no place in literature unless your character is a follower of Snoop Dawg.

That's another word I hate. "Dawg." It's dog. D-O-G. One of the first words we, as literate humans, will every learn (next to "Mom," "Dad," and "no." wink

Please, someone, kill me before spelling incorectly and adding "-izzle" to every word becomes a norm. burning_eyes

[Anime Lover Lara]

Sorry to break it to ya, but 'Magik' is actually the original way Magic was spelled. It's either in the Vikings or in the Gaelic language derivation, and the English changed the 'k' to a 'c'

[Kiiroi Rin]

I dislike the words Luna, Sapphire, any person in a story who's named after a gemstone for that matter...also I dislike the word color spelt colour (same goes for favorite...) and the word Gay in which saying something is soo gay because you know, not everything is homosexual or happy...

[princessMeep]

anime_worshipper

Sorry to break it to ya, but 'Magik' is actually the original way Magic was spelled. It's either in the Vikings or in the Gaelic language derivation, and the English changed the 'k' to a 'c'

Do you have a source for this? I've heard conflicting accounts of the spelling of magic/magick/majik, and worst of all, majik. (Also, as far as I know, the Vikings and the Gauls didn't use the Roman alphabet, but I could be wrong.)

Wicca for the Rest of Us

Aleister Crowley is the one responsible for adding the word "magick" to the occult vocabulary. He did express the wish to separate "real magic" from stage magic ... Crowley also gave reasons why he changed the word by adding a "k", such as the mystical significance of the numbers 6 (the number of letters in "magick" wink and 11 (K is the 11th letter of the alphabet). ... Yes, "magick" was once considered an acceptable spelling of the word, just as "olde" was an acceptable spelling of "old". That doesn't make it any less pretentious now.

(source)

[wonkyspoon]

anime_worshipper

Sorry to break it to ya, but 'Magik' is actually the original way Magic was spelled. It's either in the Vikings or in the Gaelic language derivation, and the English changed the 'k' to a 'c'

So? It's still an ugly word. And pretentious to boot.

[Blood Talyn]

Modifiers in place of "said." Said is fine, no need to have your character babbling and exclaiming and apologizing everything. Sometimes people just say things.

Not sure if that counts, but hey.

[Dragon Of Ice404]

"but" and "it". Even when you don't mean to use them, they pop up everywhere.
But I hate hate HATE rude words that will offend or seperate groups by race, religion, or sex, such as c**t or ni**er.

[Cat_Burn]

"said" that gets so redundant when every time a character says something, the writer always puts, "he said" it's just so ammiture

[princessMeep]

Cat_Burn

"said" that gets so redundant when every time a character says something, the writer always puts, "he said" it's just so ammiture

While at the same time, constantly using an adverb or synonym sounds just as amature, and purple to boot. The key is to find a balance. (Once I've established a scene and characters, I often just leave off the "he said/she said" stuff.)

[RubberDuckyPinwheels]

(( Ahem, A comment on 'magick' it's not bad spelling, 'magic' and 'magick' are two different things...learn this. Magick is used commonly for 'real' magick, and magic is more commonly associated with stage magic...it's really not all that difficult ))

That being said...I'd have to say, my least favorite word...is Said

He said, she said, they said...it gets really quite annoying after a while...

(( Edit: This was written before I realized the person above me said it ))

[Blood Talyn]

Cat_Burn

"said" that gets so redundant when every time a character says something, the writer always puts, "he said" it's just so ammiture

It's an all-purpose word. It's good for about any dialogue that's spoken in a normal tone and doesn't warrant a modifier.

[princessMeep]

Tyn_Dawn

(( Ahem, A comment on 'magick' it's not bad spelling, 'magic' and 'magick' are two different things...learn this. Magick is used commonly for 'real' magick, and magic is more commonly associated with stage magic...it's really not all that difficult ))

Again: source, please?
... are we going to start changing all of the English words with dual meanings so that they can be more easily differentiated?