Candle Craft: Writing Tics

In this special edition of Candle Craft, Andrew and Megan talk about how to identify and edit out writing tics!

What is a writing tic?

A writing tic is a word or phrase (or even sentence structure) that writers overuse in their work without realizing it. The repetition of those phrases can be distracting or boring for readers… or it may be something only the writer notices when they go back and reread their work.

All writers have writing tics, from the newest amateur to the most seasoned professional. You may notice more in the work of an amateur, however, because professionals do their best to eliminate them during the editing process.

One of Andrew's writing tics is describing everything as "elegant", even when it doesn't necessarily make sense.

What do you do about them?

At first, nothing! Writing tics aren't inherently bad, and the most important thing to do while writing is to get words on the page. Don't let yourself get distracted by editing as you're writing; do it separately.

Once you sit down to edit, be on the watch for words or phrases that are overused. Reading your work out loud while you edit can help you catch this.

Have other people read your work. Fresh eyes can go a long way in identifying changes you want to make.

Andrew identifying one of Megan's writing tics.

Once you know your writing tics, you can try to actively avoid them as you're writing in the future, but only if it doesn't slow down your momentum. If you find it's too distracting, then keep a running list of things to look out for while you're editing, with your writing tics at the top.

Final Thoughts

Your writing tics will change over time. As you learn to stop leaning on certain words or phrases, others will take their place (sometimes while you're in the process of editing out the first writing tic!). The important thing is to try to reduce them so there's less to distract the reader from the parts of your writing that really shine.