I don’t like using the word ‘very’ for various reasons:
It sounds insincere
It is overused
It is not professional
<insert your own>
And yet there are times when that is the only word that I can come up with, almost like a shortcut. The problem with shortcuts is that they are context specific and subjective which can lead to a lack of understanding. So a quick way to communicate can turn out to be just the opposite.
I was delighted to read this morning Writers Write blog post on 45 Ways To Avoid Using The Word ‘Very’ – click on the link to get a useful table of what words can be used instead.
Writing is supposed to become easier when it is done to express rather than impress. With the latter, to impress, the inner critic comes out, editing in real-time. With the former, to express, it comes out easily and unfiltered. I might have mentioned in a post many moons ago that to write unfiltered takes courage…because…
…and every day I pick up the quill, gingerly dip it into the slippery inkwell of inspiration to catch dripping thoughts before they fall away into the dark depths of the soul.
Mozambican-born Portuguese South African; reflecting on travel, writing, editing, life, family and change that has social impact; chief wide eyed in wanderer, wonderer and bottlewasher
