Making a Way and Other Overused Expressions
May 4, 2009 by Lillie
Most of us tend to overuse certain words and phrases. Sometimes we recognize the problem. I often reply to comments with “I’m glad you found the post helpful/useful/valuable.” I know I’m repeating myself, but few blog visitors read comments and those that do probably read the comments on a single post rather than on multiple posts. So readers may not notice the repetition of an expression that I use a lot because, unlike many overused expressions, it says what I mean.
Often, however, we don’t even realize we are repeating ourselves. Someone else can pick up our overused expressions easier than we are ourselves—that’s one of many reasons having other people read your work can improve it. A couple of advance readers of Dream or Destiny pointed out how often I used the word “rage,” often when it wasn’t a good description of the character’s emotions. I searched for the word and was amazed at how many times I’d used it. Replacing that repeated—and often inaccurate word—with a variety of other words made the book much stronger.
Lately, I’m seeing “making [a] way” overused in almost everything I read. Just as you may never have noticed blue cars before, as soon as you bring your own new blue car home, you see blue cars everywhere. Since I’ve been paying attention, I see “making [a] way” everywhere.
I first noticed it in a popular novel written by a best-selling author and published by a large, traditional publisher. It went something like this:
She made her way down the hall to the kitchen for dinner. After she ate, she made her way to the study to think about how hard it was for a single mother to make her way in the world. She had to make a way to earn more money. Her thinking didn’t produce any good ideas, so she made her way to the bedroom to get ready for bed.
Of course, this is what my husband Jack calls “embellished for effect.” However, “make a way,” “made her way,” or some variation appeared every few pages. The story was great, but I almost quit reading the book because the repetition of that phrase distracted me so much. How did the overuse of that phrase escape the editors?
After I finished the book, I started to edit a nonfiction book manuscript. I found the author “making his way” repeatedly. So I took a break from that job to do a sample edit for a client wanting a quote for editing a novel.
Yep, in the five pages I edited as a sample, I pointed out nearly a dozen repititions of “make a way.”
Am I seeing blue cars (“making a way”) just because I saw so many in that first novel or is everybody “making their” way time and again today?
Whether it’s “making our way” or “rage” or another overused expression, we strengthen our writing when we eliminate repetitions of the same word or phrase.
photo credit: Paul Beattie
In my humble opinion, if I can stop repeating words, then I can stop repeating phrases. I have a serious phobia about using the same words repeatedly!
I frequently use the thesaurus to help me find new words or to simply remind me of other words to use instead. However, this can sometimes lead to using an inaccurate word.
English is my third language. It took me years to understand the nuances and the many cultural aspects of the language. I still feel unsure about my real understanding of a complex and often baffling language!
The many perils of writing should stop me from ever writing again, but the words swim in my head and demand to be written. These are the ruminations of an unconfident writer!
Thank you for your gracious comments on my blog! It definitely encourages me to continue writing!
I hope your Monday is a pleasant one!
p.s. I found your personal story of overcoming a stroke inspiring! I’m an occupational therapist by trade, so I’m very knowledgeable about this illness and how hard you have worked to heal! Congratulations!
You might want to check out my other blog! It’s documenting my journey muddled with a variety of illnesses. You might find it interesting.
http://therapeuticinspirations.blogspot.com
or simply click on the link from my memoir. It’s on the right bar.
This is a post in itself! No? (Spanish)
Beatriz Kim´s last blog post..Death 1-5
Beatriz,
Yes, your comment is almost a post itself.
I’m glad you left it.
I’m editing a spiritual journal right now, and I’m leaving a few repetitions of words and phrases because the book is designed to read like the personal journal that it is. Certain words and phrases are part of that writer’s voice—I’m just being careful to avoid repeating them too often. You may do the same thing in your memoir—one or two expressions that you use often repeated a few times but not overdone. Of course, that is a fine line.
Don’t worry about getting it right the first time. That’s what editing is for!
I am amazed that you are writing in your third language. I’ve never even mastered a second language. You are writing a compelling story—keep it up.
Thanks for the comments about my stroke. I’ll check your other blog.
Lillie, I was laughing, nodding and cringing as I read! While I don’t “make my way” I do have my own set of signature expressions. Some, say what I mean and others are just repetition! You are right that having your novel reviewed by multiple eyes can eliminate the repetition. *sigh* I guess that means that when the time comes I’ll have to overcome my shyness and allow people to read my manuscript.
Great advice Lillie!
Karen Swim´s last blog post..Vision or Lie?
Karen,
It’s so easy to see other people’s pet words and their mistakes … and so hard to see our own.
Yes, you need to get others to read your manuscript. Just remember that you are still the writer. Listen the advice you get, and when you cringe and say “Yikes! Did I really use rage that many times?”, make some changes.
If you think “What’s wrong with them? That’s a poetic sentence—one of the best I’ve ever written,” it’s probably time to “kill your darlings.”
But if you stop and think about it and still like what you’ve done better … stick with your instinct, your voice.
I like to use big words. It helps to add punch to my sentences.
Richard T´s last blog post..Why Running Is Important
Richard,
Sometimes big words are the best in a given situation. However, as writers we have to realize that readers don’t like to work too hard to understand what we write. If we use too many big words that are not part of most readers’ vocabularies, they may decide it’s too much work to look up the words to see what they mean. Like anything else in writing, there needs to be a balance.
My personal philosophy is to write simply to be understood. Of course, that could be because I’m pretty simple-minded.
I really do the same thing without even noticing it half the time, but I have to say that often times repetition is something that gives each writer their own personality. I guess it should just be done in moderation.
C,
I mentioned in a reply to an earlier comment that sometimes a few pet words or phrases can be repeated several times because they are part of the author’s voice. There’s no reason to try to avoid ever repeating a word or phrase.
However, when readers start noticing and being pulled out of your story or article because they are tired of seeing the same words repeated over and over again … that’s too much. The key is not using them too much or too close together.
Lillie, I think we always repeated the same old things day after day. Sometimes, I’m also found myself fallen into this dilemma and when I noticed it, I’ll try my best not to repeat it over and over again!
wilson,
All of us tend to repeat ourselves frequently, and usually it’s not a problem. It becomes a problem when it distracts the reader or listener.
My laptop gave me serious problems which kept me away from Internet for a week. But I’m back now..
IMHO, more often than not every person will use a common word or a phrase either in their writings or in their general life while talking etc. But as you said, it’s only after we bring a blue car home, that we find many blue cars on the streets. Not that they are in existent before but because we found something similar to ours.
sriraj´s last blog post..Federal bank clerks, officers recruitment
sriraj,
Sorry to hear about your computer problems. I know from experience how frustrating that can be! Glad you’re back online now.
It’s OK to see a bunch of blue cars, but when that’s all you see … that’s not good. Especially in an article or a novel. We certainly don’t want our readers saying, “Enough! No more blue cars!”
True! We sometimes tend to use words repeatedly without us noticing. If we are able to avoid redundancy, we could have a better way of writing.
aventbreast´s last blog post..Health Benefits of Breastfeeding With or Without an Avent Isis Breast Pump
avent,
If we pay attention and start to recognize our patterns of repetition, we can begin to correct them.
I have the same problem occasionally noticing overused words and expressions. I thought I was on my own with this. Thanks for the post.
Steve,
You’re certainly not alone. Though some do it more than others, we all do it to some extent.
Hi Lillie,
Just wanted to thank you for replying to my comment. Few blog owners take the time to write replies to each one of their comments. Thanks again, and take care always!
Please forgive me as this is off topic.
Steve,
You’re very welcome. I always respond to comments. To me the comment section is a conversation, and you can’t have conversation when you don’t reply.
Anyone who reads the press or listens to political discussions on National Public Radio or watches news programs hears certain expressions over and over. Probably the most-overused expressions these days is “having said that” or “that said.” Some talking heads on television seem to use one of these two expressions every fourth or fifth sentence. What did people say before these overused expressions became the norm? They used the very serviceable word “however”. I would like to see the word “however” reintroduced into intelligent discussion.
In the semiconductor industry, an overused expression is “the food chain”, which means…. To tell you the truth, I’m not positive what it means, but I think it may be a hackneyed way of saying “hierarchy”.
“Comprises” and “is comprised of” are expressions that are often confused, although they have opposite meanings. I suggest the less-confusing alternatives “makes up” and “is made up of”, which writers are more likely to use correctly.
The expressions “I could care less” and “I couldn’t care less” also seem to have opposite meanings, but some speakers confuse them, saying “I could care less” when they don’t care at all. Why not just say “I don’t care”?
I was smiling while reading your post. I like it. Keep it up.
wedding (if you wrote YourName@Keywords, I could address you as a real person, and you would still get your keyword link),
You’ve pointed out some other notorious overused expressions. Media and politics are rife with trite expressions, as you say, and so is business. It seems that everybody above the lowest level employee is an “executive leader.” Are there any followers?
I think we all have our “pet” words that we like but don’t realize how often we use and reuse them. Careful proofing of our own work helps, especially if it is a shorter story, like a magazine article.
When I write, I like to keep open thesaurus.com which allows me to take a word and find a synonym for it. For example the word “rage” returned the following results:
acerbity, acrimony, agitation, animosity, apoplexy, asperity, bitterness, blowup, bluster, choler, convulsion, dander, eruption, exasperation, excitement, explosion, ferment, ferocity, fireworks, frenzy, furor, fury, gall, heat, hemorrhage, huff, hysterics, indignation, ire, irritation, madness, mania, obsession, outburst, paroxysm, passion, rampage, raving, resentment, spasm, spleen, squall, storm, tantrum, temper, umbrage, uproar, upset, vehemence, violence, wingding, wrath
Some have far different meanings from what you may have intended to use, but they each have their place when used in the proper context.
Matt Keegan´s last blog post..Bank Demolishes New Homes In Depressed Market
Thanks, Matt. I use the thesaurus when editing to find options for the words I’ve used … but often I end up rewriting the whole sentence to show the action rather than change a word that only tells it. I don’t use a thesaurus when writing the first draft—I’m of the school that I get the words down first, then work on improving them.
You are a person after my own heart, to risk a phrase that may also be over used! I also have gone after this in the way of one of the first comments made on your post, I think that if I can focus on not repeating words – I can make progress towards not repeating phrases. Along with a family ‘word of the day’ pulled from the dictionary or thesaurus I have found great value in the ‘increase your vocabulary’ type books. By being able to add less common words to my repertoire (see there is a less common one now) I have more unique content and phrases to work with in general. Thank you for the post and bringing up the subject
bert´s last blog post..Increase Your Summer Sales
bert,
Good suggestions to build your vocabulary and increase your repertoire (good word). Thanks.
When I was doing presentation, I kept using “basically” or “let me see”. It was so embarrassing.
—–
Peter from http://www.dealsvista.com
Peter,
Recognizing you’re repeating certain expressions is the first step to eliminating the habit.
This is true. I sometimes used repeated words in my writings without noticing it and that they might have lost their original effect and, at times, appear generic and insincere to the reader.
Your article is a good reminder. Great post!
rowenalee,
You’ve pointed out something important—words and phrases lose their impact when overused.
Big words are very hard for non english speaking people,i like simple english posts.
Nancy´s last blog post..Cleveland CG11 Black Pearl Wedge
Nancy,
Good point. I use big words from time to time if they are the best way to say what I want. But usually someone who doesn’t know the word can figure out the meaning from the context. In general, I write simply.
We had this very conversation in our writers group last night. One of our writers uses the same beginning in about three of her stories. She changes up the facts a little, but it’s the same. She does it on purpose for some reason. Another writer used words like “rant and rave” and I used scenes with leaning elbows a lot. Go figure!
Lori,
If I read three different stories with essentially the same beginning, I would think I’d already read the story and not go any further. Interesting the different patterns of repetition the writers in your group have.
Great! With your suggestion I will surely enhanced my vocabulary and I will definitely learn how to avoid repetitions. Thanks!
medelastyle,
You’re welcome.
I am a professional trainer. I not only use the same words every day; but, I actually repeat myself more than I would like … even when not training.:)
I have been making a conscious effort to correct this. It’s nice to see someone else have similar problems.
True (if you wrote YourName@Keywords, I could address you as a real person, and you would still get your keyword link),
Repetition is probably a good thing in training … at least to a certain extent. But otherwise, it’s a good habit to break.
I’m not really a writer and I don’t know if I overuse expressions. But, have you seen Manny Pacquiao’s interviews? He says “I mean” or “you know” a LOT.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Just an example of how you would sound if you overuse words or expressions.
Terry,
Those two expressions are overused by a lot of people.
Lillie,
I agree. In cases where the same expressions are used over and over again, the writing tends to lose its sense of natural flow, and becomes extremely frustrating to read.
With respect to the novel that you refer to, I would have stopped reading just after that one paragraph.
Andrew´s last blog post..Pehaps Hong Kong’s tycoons don’t always get their way after all
Andrew,
Of course, I exaggerated the overuse in the first example, but it was enough to lessen my enjoyment of the book.
I couldn’t help but think about my teenage girls as I read your post…like, you know, the, like, odd manner, you know, in which, like, their vocabulary has, like, you know, begun to sound like, you know, a broken record.
(Not that they would know what that was, either.)
Thank you for this post. I’m forwarding it on to the ones who, like, you know…really need to read it.
Marty,
Teenagers and “like” and “you know”—a great example of overused expressions!
I’ll be sure to avoid repetition in my essays!
Leon,
Being aware is the first step, but sometimes it’s not as easy as we think. I have expressions I overuse even though I can spot them easily in other people’s writing.
But when we proofread our own writings, I’m sure we can spot some?
Absolutely, Leon. We just have to pay close attention because it’s easy to miss them because they’re so familiar to us. Once we identify the expressions we use a lot, though, it gets easier, because we can search for those specific phrases.
I usually start all my comments with ‘I think’. Tried to get rid of the habit but its really really hard.
Andrew,
You’re starting off right by recognizing what you’re doing. I pointed out to my husband the other day that two guest experts on a TV talk show started the answer to every question with “Well … look …” It might not have been so noticeable if both guests weren’t doing exactly the same thing.
English is our 2nd language and we start learning the language at pre school. When we are outside the classroom we use national language but whenever we enter the school premises we are forced to speaks English for we could be fine.
Imagine your allowance will be spent in fine for not speaking English inside the classroom. Fortunately after 30 years i can now understand and write English why a blogger like yours will not understand my 2 more local language.
Regards
Lance,
I admire anyone who is fluent in more than one language. I took Spanish for two years in college and live among many Spanish-speakers, but I can’t carry on a conversation. I can understand more than I can speak, but it’s very difficult for me to learn another language.
I think that it’s easy to see only the one phrase/coloured car in life, it can really drive you nuts actually. Somebody pointed out my manager’s love of the phrase “ya know” and now I can’t unnotice it. Thanks a lot scott…
Scott (thanks for including your name—you can also include it in the name section and still keep your keyword link by writing YourName@Keywords),
I like your expression—it’s so true: I can’t unnotice it!
It’s probably fine in regular usage to use common phrases and idioms, but we should avoid using them in business writing.
And that paragraph you used as a sample…. scary. That writer needs to mix it up a bit. Maybe she should, “Make her way” to a creative writing class.
Wes Upchurch´s last blog post..Making a Crisis Worse: The Biggest Mistakes in Crisis Communications
Wes,
I love your comment that the writer should “make a way” to a creative writing class. As I said, I did exaggerate a little—”embellish for effect” as my husband says—but the original was really bad.
Of course common phrases and idioms are not good in business letter or article. However, i enjoy it when reading these words in a blog for the reasons that i feel the first experience while reading and its goes naturally.
I have seen a lot of blogs that write on their personal experience using common and repeated idioms and it was nice.
lance´s last blog post..How Small Businesses Can Use Outsourcing to Grow
Lance,
I’m not opposed to using common words and phrases. I’m just pointing out that some people have “pet words” they use over and over and over and over a … That becoming irritating.
Yeah there are so many proverbs and idioms that repeating one too many time is not necessary.
Eddie,
Great writing happens when we can say the same thing in a new or more creative way.
i agree that sometimes it’s hard to notice ‘blue cars’ until you buy one for yourself… and it helps a great deal to have your work checked by someone else so as to spot overused expressions, they also might have a few neat ideas to improve your work too..
James,
You’re right. Any time you get input from someone else, there is a chance that person will give you valuable feedback on a lot of things.
I noticed someone commented about how repeating a phrase is fine in casual conversations but not in writing. What if the author is actually trying to achieve this same ‘casual’, conversational effect in his/her writing, so that it’s easier to read perhaps?
Jeff,
It’s all a matter of degree. Think of a teenager who says either “like” or “you know” every other word. Even when it’s in casual conversation, it can drive me crazy after a few minutes. Likewise with other pet expressions that people use.
An occasional repetition is fine, but when it starts to become irritating to listeners or readers, it’s too much. Why would you want to limit yourself to one word or expression when there are so many that you can use to liven up your speech or your writing?
it is strange that the writer repeated the same phrase 5 times in one small paragraph. usually writers tend to repeat certain words but this one is irritating.
medical (if you wrote YourName@Keyword, I could address you as a real person, and you would still get your keyword link),
I did admit I “embellished for effect”—in other words, I exaggerated.
But it was used enough to become very annoying after a while, as it was used often throughout the book.
sorry lilli now you can adress me as areal person.
Thank you, ahmed!
I’d much rather talk to ahmed than to medical books.
Many people don’t realize how Keyword Luv works so I always point it out when people use keywords instead of names.
Reminds me of watching the Bob Newhart show. They said “Bob” so often that it spawned games to play from it. One of which a drinking game!
Next time you happen to stumble on it, count the word Bob just in one segment. It’s incredible.
Sean McRoy´s last blog post..Physican of Internal Medicine
Sean,
That show was a long time ago—I’d almost forgotten about that.
I remember when I was a student, many of my teachers have their own set of words being used over and over again and my classmates and I made fun of them. But when I try to take note of my speeches, I also have it. Funny, isn’t it?
Jun,
It’s so easy to notice when other people do this and so hard to recognize when we do it—even harder to get out of the habit. I do it, too.
“At the end of the day” – Ha. The average person only has a vocabulary of 5000 words so get used to some repeated expressions
Utility (if you read the note above the comment box you will see that I ask for your name—if you write YourName@Keyword, I can address you as a real person, and you will still get your keyword link),
You’re a little off in your numbers. The average adult knows about 5,000 word FAMILIES and about 50,000 WORDS.
Even with that many words available to us, we still will repeat words and phrases, of course. My point is that there is no need to repeat the same word or phrase over and over and over and over and over and over …
This is indeed something I have noticed in my own writing. I tend to use the word “However” quite a bit. I would have said “a lot” but I overuse that one as well.
Serena´s last blog post..My Career Step Experience
Serena,
“A lot” is one of my overused expressions also. One of my clients uses “much” too much
and I catch myself changing it to “a lot” a lot. 
So then I have to edit my own editing.
Lillie and Serena – However, it’s such a great word to use and less stuffy than alternatives.
Yes, guilty of using this a lot and find myself going back to rework sentences so that it is not needed. Thanks for the smile and the shared writing trials.
Karen,
However, a lot of the time we can find other words.
It is true, however, that however and a lot can be used effectively a lot more than “making a way.” 
I have a tough time choosing the right set of words to use on my blog, I keep thinking there has to be a better way to express myself
Kylie,
Don’t get too hung up trying to find the perfect words. Writing is a skill that takes lots of practice. Sometimes, worrying too much can make your writing stilted and awkward. Write naturally, then watch for overused words and expressions when you edit.
I believe that the best way to write is to speak to the page. Once that is done, go back and do some edits.
.-= Hanna @ Watch Live TV on Computer´s last blog ..Watch Dog Shows on Your PC =-.
Hanna,
That’s an interesting approach. I write much better than I speak so I don’t try to write what I say.
I have been practicing writing in my blogs for almost a year now. Progress with quality content is good but i do accept i tend to overuse some words and phrases.
Essay Writer (if you wrote Your Name @ Essay Writer, I could address you as a real person rather than a job function, and you would still get your keyword link),
Most of us do have pet words and phrases we overuse. I’m editing a book now—this is the fourth time I’ve been through it, and I’m still noticing a word and a phrase that are overused. I thought I had caught them all in earlier edits, but there were so many that I didn’t get them all.
I read an article about good writing the other day and it turns out I use some terms too much. I say ‘allow’ in a formal manner too much, like “allow us to help you” and I don’t know where I get that from or how I can possibly change it.
jenni,
“Allow” is a perfectly good word and your example is correct usage. However, any word can be overused, and each of us has our own pets. You may want to look “allow” up in the thesaurus and find some synonyms that will work.
I believe that writing should be simplistic and easily understood by everyone. Some people think that using bombastic words can improve the whole article. I think that the most important thing is vision and writing should be clear enough to illustrate it.
Arvind,
I agree completely. I was just helping a client edit an academic paper, and I find that very difficult because I want to make the paper readable instead of academic.
Of course we can write perfectly understandably and still repeat ourselves and overuse specific expressions as this post talks about.