Hello, loves!
I'm sure I've done one of these before but I'm going to make a list of all the words to get rid of or search for in your writing for deeper POV.
Feeling Words
Angry, Sad, Happy, etc.
Gotta go. Cut as many of them as you can and replace them with actual feeling. Did her stomach sink? Did time stop? Did her blood boil? Did he smile so hard it hurt?
Useless Words
Began, Ended, Started, Stopped, Kept
Examples: He started to play the song.
Up, Down.
He stood up.
That, Just, like.
The book that he held to The book he held.
Rethink Phrases
Search adjectives and adverbs. Go search and highlight -ly.
He walked briskly could be He scurried.
Highlight the FAN BOYS
For And Nor But Or Yet So
Let's be honest. The more of these phrases we have in a given sentence, the harder it is to read.
More Phrase Enablers
To From Some
To lift his head. He lifted his head.
From the sheath. She unsheathed the sword.
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Obviously some of these need to stay. Deep POV isn't a total destruction of these. But there should be more cutting in a first draft than leaving.
