Hi Nathan! This is a great point. It also works in dialogue. I'm not one of those who is dead-set against them, that's for sure. But I do find that it cleans up and simplifies narrative writing when you remove most of them.
One exception that makes these words helpful: they provide syllables or sounds to fill out a sentence or paragraph that wouldn't sound quite right otherwise. More applicable to poetry, but it can apply to prose as well
Eg, a messy improvised example
the really slippery snake slid up above the salad Tongs and stuck its tongue into the very tasty sugar cake, and honestly, though giggling, I told nobody what it did, that blessed thing, which totally just slipped away
Vs
the slippery snake slid above the salad Tongs and stuck its tongue into the tasty sugar cake, and, though giggling, I told nobody what it did, that blessed snake, which just slipped away
I think that authors often write their first drafts in the same way they speak, so that the dialogue is almost immediately good but the narrative needs a lot of work during revisions. Sometimes, we almost have to do this to avoid getting bogged down too early in the process.
Hi Nathan! This is a great point. It also works in dialogue. I'm not one of those who is dead-set against them, that's for sure. But I do find that it cleans up and simplifies narrative writing when you remove most of them.
Good article!
One exception that makes these words helpful: they provide syllables or sounds to fill out a sentence or paragraph that wouldn't sound quite right otherwise. More applicable to poetry, but it can apply to prose as well
Eg, a messy improvised example
the really slippery snake slid up above the salad Tongs and stuck its tongue into the very tasty sugar cake, and honestly, though giggling, I told nobody what it did, that blessed thing, which totally just slipped away
Vs
the slippery snake slid above the salad Tongs and stuck its tongue into the tasty sugar cake, and, though giggling, I told nobody what it did, that blessed snake, which just slipped away
I think that authors often write their first drafts in the same way they speak, so that the dialogue is almost immediately good but the narrative needs a lot of work during revisions. Sometimes, we almost have to do this to avoid getting bogged down too early in the process.