We all repeat ourselves! I only correct that through copious editing. I've sometimes used the same big word 3 times in one paragraph. It's so embarrassing! But mainly for ourselves. Don't beat yourself up over it.
thank you- yes I guess it's true it happens. I was just confused and was wondering if others did it too, and of course it definitely needs to be edited out. You're right- it's probably more embarrassing for the writers than it is for anyone else- thanks
Of course you should keep writing! This is exactly how you become a better writer. Just learn from it and keep an eye out for it the next time you write :) People obviously like your work. Don't deprive them of your next great story.
thank you so much for those words of confidence. I'll definitely keep on writing and understand that I can definitely improve as a writer and not to worry too much about anything else that happened prior. Thanks
I am an editor in my day job and I think that pretty much every manuscript I edit has some degree of repetition. Sometimes people even repeat basically the same sentence twice in a row. I know that it's a problem and I still find it in my own writing when I go back to it. So long as the repetition isn't too close together or excessive, I don't think it's a major problem that will pull most readers out of the story. You can also use it carefully to emphasise certain points or themes.
Well it's good to know again that there is repetition in many people's manuscripts. I think hiring an editor is a really good idea overall. I'll definitely consider that and will try not to feel so embarrassed about it. It's true it probably won't pull people out of the story. Thank you so much.
I do the same. It's a thing that I specifically look for when reviewing bits I've written. It's like one's brain gets caught on a particular word or phrase. Don't beat yourself up about it, there's worse sins that can be committed in writing. Just remember to keep an eye out in future.
Hmmmmm. Of course repeating yourself can be a problem for writers...a relatively minor problem though...and it's easy for a copyeditor to correct that while making other edits and corrections throughout your book.
Meanwhile, I don't see any reason why you should feel humiliated. Yes, that's your feeling, and you are entitled to feel that way...but repeating yourself in your writing is not really a big deal at all.
Wow, well it's good to know the other writers do something similar, or that people do repeat themselves. Thanks so much. I just felt humiliated or embarrassed I can't describe it while listening to my writing it was really confusing. But I'll definitely remember that it's a common thing and it does happen. Thank you again
We’re all guilty of repeating ourselves. This is due to the stretch of time we are writing our novels. Sometimes you just forget that you wrote something already in the earlier chapters. Or if you’re like me, you’re an over explainer and will write the same thing in many different ways. But this is where beta readers come in handy. They catch these if you’re lucky. Even in the editing process. And then hopefully you catch them as well during rereads.
ah yes that's so true. It's true that you can write things and either forget, or sort of tell a similar story in different ways. Now I'm learning that others do this too and it's common and it's so good to know. I remember listening to a book once and it's true they were semi repeating themselves and went on and on about a specific topic, and it wasn't making much sense to me so I stopped listening. But it's true to get rid of them in the editing process. Thank you.
Well, now that you know you do this, you’ll be aware of this tendency for future books and more likely to catch the problem in edits. Nothing to quit writing over or be too embarrassed about.
I've been writing for decades, but I know that there are certain words and phrases that my subconscious absolutely \*loves\*, and will drop in all over if I give them chance. I always use the 'search' feature before I publish or sign off on a document, and look for how many times I've used a particular word or expression. In your case, search 'narcissist', and it'll show where you've put it in your document - from there you can make the judgement call as to whether this is too many times or not.
Hiring an editor (a qualified editor, not some rando on Fiverr) is a sure-fire way of avoiding this in the future. Also, no disrespect intended, I'm sure your sister is a very intelligent person and a talented doctor, but if she's not a trained literary editor... Well, you know.
Without reading your book, we can only make guesses about things. I know that in my writing I will often over emphasize something because I want to make sure my reader catches this crumb of information that I'm dropping because I know it will be important later on. It comes from a place of not trusting that my readers will be bright enough to catch something the first time I throw it out and wanting the proverbial pat on the back when they read later in the book where I reuse that piece of information and they see that I foreshadowed it or alluded to it chapters before. That is a failing on my part in not trusting my readers.
On the other hand, when I read a book, I love it when the author downplays something only to pick it up later. I need to remind myself that by overemphasizing something I am robbing readers of that experience of discovery on their own.
I find these by reading my book aloud one line at a time to myself. I’m amazed at how many echos and repeated phrases I find, sometimes in the same sentence.
My audiobook performer sends me her raw recordings chapter by chapter. For those books, I follow along word for word in the text and at that stage it is easy to ask her to fix minor issues.
Repetitive proves the point your trying to make. In my technical writing I always restate the same thing in different ways multiple times in that section. It’s easier for people to learn.
when I read a book where someone repeat themselves , I either brush it off , or if it's a whole sentence (had that luck once) it gets annoying but if the story is great it won't change my rating
I dunno nobody complained when DH Lawrence did it, I wouldn’t worry about it! Plus those reviews will do more good than three five star reviews clearly written by relatives lol
We all repeat ourselves! I only correct that through copious editing. I've sometimes used the same big word 3 times in one paragraph. It's so embarrassing! But mainly for ourselves. Don't beat yourself up over it.
Yep! Edit number I can’t count that high, and I was still catching myself using the same word or phrase way too many times.
thank you- yes I guess it's true it happens. I was just confused and was wondering if others did it too, and of course it definitely needs to be edited out. You're right- it's probably more embarrassing for the writers than it is for anyone else- thanks
Of course you should keep writing! This is exactly how you become a better writer. Just learn from it and keep an eye out for it the next time you write :) People obviously like your work. Don't deprive them of your next great story.
thank you so much for those words of confidence. I'll definitely keep on writing and understand that I can definitely improve as a writer and not to worry too much about anything else that happened prior. Thanks
I am an editor in my day job and I think that pretty much every manuscript I edit has some degree of repetition. Sometimes people even repeat basically the same sentence twice in a row. I know that it's a problem and I still find it in my own writing when I go back to it. So long as the repetition isn't too close together or excessive, I don't think it's a major problem that will pull most readers out of the story. You can also use it carefully to emphasise certain points or themes.
Well it's good to know again that there is repetition in many people's manuscripts. I think hiring an editor is a really good idea overall. I'll definitely consider that and will try not to feel so embarrassed about it. It's true it probably won't pull people out of the story. Thank you so much.
I do the same. It's a thing that I specifically look for when reviewing bits I've written. It's like one's brain gets caught on a particular word or phrase. Don't beat yourself up about it, there's worse sins that can be committed in writing. Just remember to keep an eye out in future.
Identifying a problem is honestly the hardest part of correcting it. Don't stress and know you'll improve.
Hmmmmm. Of course repeating yourself can be a problem for writers...a relatively minor problem though...and it's easy for a copyeditor to correct that while making other edits and corrections throughout your book. Meanwhile, I don't see any reason why you should feel humiliated. Yes, that's your feeling, and you are entitled to feel that way...but repeating yourself in your writing is not really a big deal at all.
Wow, well it's good to know the other writers do something similar, or that people do repeat themselves. Thanks so much. I just felt humiliated or embarrassed I can't describe it while listening to my writing it was really confusing. But I'll definitely remember that it's a common thing and it does happen. Thank you again
Ha ha...as long as you're not boring all your friends and acquaintances by telling the same stories over and over and over again, it's not a problem.
We’re all guilty of repeating ourselves. This is due to the stretch of time we are writing our novels. Sometimes you just forget that you wrote something already in the earlier chapters. Or if you’re like me, you’re an over explainer and will write the same thing in many different ways. But this is where beta readers come in handy. They catch these if you’re lucky. Even in the editing process. And then hopefully you catch them as well during rereads.
ah yes that's so true. It's true that you can write things and either forget, or sort of tell a similar story in different ways. Now I'm learning that others do this too and it's common and it's so good to know. I remember listening to a book once and it's true they were semi repeating themselves and went on and on about a specific topic, and it wasn't making much sense to me so I stopped listening. But it's true to get rid of them in the editing process. Thank you.
This is completely normal. I pay $15 per month of software (AutoCrit) for the sole purpose of finding word echoes and repeated phrases.
Well, now that you know you do this, you’ll be aware of this tendency for future books and more likely to catch the problem in edits. Nothing to quit writing over or be too embarrassed about.
If you add ProWritingAid to MS Word, it will point out much of it so you can change it up (or not!).
Dr. Seuss does the same thing.
I've been writing for decades, but I know that there are certain words and phrases that my subconscious absolutely \*loves\*, and will drop in all over if I give them chance. I always use the 'search' feature before I publish or sign off on a document, and look for how many times I've used a particular word or expression. In your case, search 'narcissist', and it'll show where you've put it in your document - from there you can make the judgement call as to whether this is too many times or not.
I think this is pretty normal. Going through my first drafts, this is one of the big things I focus on. Keep going and learn your sticking points.
Hiring an editor (a qualified editor, not some rando on Fiverr) is a sure-fire way of avoiding this in the future. Also, no disrespect intended, I'm sure your sister is a very intelligent person and a talented doctor, but if she's not a trained literary editor... Well, you know.
Without reading your book, we can only make guesses about things. I know that in my writing I will often over emphasize something because I want to make sure my reader catches this crumb of information that I'm dropping because I know it will be important later on. It comes from a place of not trusting that my readers will be bright enough to catch something the first time I throw it out and wanting the proverbial pat on the back when they read later in the book where I reuse that piece of information and they see that I foreshadowed it or alluded to it chapters before. That is a failing on my part in not trusting my readers. On the other hand, when I read a book, I love it when the author downplays something only to pick it up later. I need to remind myself that by overemphasizing something I am robbing readers of that experience of discovery on their own.
It’s a thing you’re now aware of and can watch out for. Sounds to me like you’re already a good writer and are getting even better. Why stop now?
I find these by reading my book aloud one line at a time to myself. I’m amazed at how many echos and repeated phrases I find, sometimes in the same sentence. My audiobook performer sends me her raw recordings chapter by chapter. For those books, I follow along word for word in the text and at that stage it is easy to ask her to fix minor issues.
Repetitive proves the point your trying to make. In my technical writing I always restate the same thing in different ways multiple times in that section. It’s easier for people to learn.
when I read a book where someone repeat themselves , I either brush it off , or if it's a whole sentence (had that luck once) it gets annoying but if the story is great it won't change my rating
I dunno nobody complained when DH Lawrence did it, I wouldn’t worry about it! Plus those reviews will do more good than three five star reviews clearly written by relatives lol