Writers Tips

Repetition

Be careful of repeating words within too short a space in your text. A lot of authors do this without even noticing. It is easy for this to happen subconsciously. If your readers catch you though, it will stick in their minds. They are likely to be pulled out of submersion and start to take notice of the text from then on, ruining the flow of the story.

Additionally, refrain from giving the reader information more than once (unless it is in a recapping of events). For example…

Repetition – Example I)

Jim was low on capital. His farm had been making a loss for the last three years. His savings were almost depleted. He went out into the field, eager to discover whether the seeds were starting to shoot.

Nothing. Not even a sign of green. He stamped his feet in frustration. Then marched back to the farmhouse.

‘You don’t seem yourself these days. What’s wrong?’ Jim’s wife said.
‘Our money has almost all gone. We haven’t made a penny in three years and to top it all, the latest crop hasn’t taken seed.’
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Do you see how the dialogue in the latter part of the text is now old news? We know all of this already, so it is superfluous. The way to clear this up and make for a tighter read is obviously to remove one instance where the information is imparted. In this case, it is preferable to keep the dialogue and remove the description from the beginning. This is because the description is telling, whereas the dialogue is showing.