Cool Tool for Writers

Hey gang!  Going to keep this short and sweet today ...

I stumbled across this extremely interesting and (probably) useful little tool the other day and wanted to share it with you fine folks.

Every writer has their own personal brand of crack when it comes to overusing words and phrases.  Some love "the" others "however", and I personally find it ridiculous how many times I can use the phrase "she couldn't" in a single short story.  Anywho, I  found a little gadget to help you find your word crutch and kick its verbose little tush.

CLICK ME, I'M FRIENDLY AND COOL

Basically, you just copy/paste whatever text you want it to analyze into the little box and it spits out all of this crazy data.  It'll tell you the number of sentences you use, how many syllables were used, the most frequently used phrases (starting with 8 words and going down), and even provide a list of every single word you used and count how many times it appears.  Is there ever REALLY a need to have the word plethora in a work of fiction?  I think not ...

Apparently I have a real thing for the word "the", because in the sample I used it popped up 698 times!  (nearly 5% of the words used)  Seriously, it's like I'm stuttering with my keyboard or something.  I thought you might find some practical use for it, or maybe just use it as an excuse to not do laundry or something.

Hope you're all well!

~EJW~

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26 comments:

  1. Luanne G. SmithJune 22, 2011 at 7:11 PM

    I'm scared to plug my work in. There will probably be a plethora of looked, saw, turned, liked, and was.

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  2. Alex J. CavanaughJune 22, 2011 at 7:18 PM

    I need that! Although I figured out how to find those words in Word.

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  3. Intangible HeartsJune 22, 2011 at 7:41 PM

    I love taking out my overused words. I use just too much.

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  4. Summer RossJune 22, 2011 at 7:55 PM

    Interesting- I have it bookmarked so i can use it later. Thanks for the link

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  5. NormaJune 22, 2011 at 7:57 PM

    I've found some good tools, too--Dropbox and Evernote. I have them on my computer and my smartphone, so I can work anywhere and have everything when I need it!

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  6. L.J. KentowskiJune 22, 2011 at 8:21 PM

    Awesome tool, E.J.! Got it bookmarked. Thanks for sharing!

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  7. Tanya ReimerJune 22, 2011 at 8:36 PM

    Thanks for sharing, someone passed me autocrit.com so I'll share it with ya all because it rocks like that too. Lots of fun things it can do with your text.

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  8. LibbyJune 22, 2011 at 9:07 PM

    I've heard of that and it is such a good idea. I use "Gently" way too often. In real life, I do nothing gently.

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  9. Rebecca ChristiansenJune 22, 2011 at 9:23 PM

    Hmmm... I use the verb "to want" in various forms a LOT. Good to know.

    But... I don't think it works too well :P I don't think the phrase "lyrics lyrics lyrics lyrics lyrics lyrics lyrics lyrics" appears multiple times in my novel! LOL!

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  10. shellyJune 23, 2011 at 7:11 AM

    YUP. Love that tool.

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  11. LizzJune 23, 2011 at 7:54 AM

    Sounds like an awesome tool but I'd be afraid to try it with all the crazy stuff I write....

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  12. Misha GerrickJune 23, 2011 at 12:30 PM

    Hehehe yWriter has something similar built in. :-)

    I know that I have some crutch words that I'll have to get rid of later.. But first, I want to sort out story.

    :-)

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  13. raisingmarshmallowsJune 23, 2011 at 5:19 PM

    I've seen more and more of these sort of sites.

    In my WIP I found that I over use the word feel or felt in the first two chapters, so I went back a revised. It reads so much better now!

    Great tool, I bookmarked it! Thanks.

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  14. William KendallJune 23, 2011 at 5:43 PM

    I have an overabundance of nows in my text!

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  15. CMSmithJune 23, 2011 at 6:47 PM

    Thanks I sent a link to myself. Cool little gadget.

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  16. Vicki TremperJune 23, 2011 at 6:51 PM

    That's pretty neat. I use a tool called autocrit (on www.autocrit.com) to find those pesky repetitive words and phrases. I overly rely on could.

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  17. Michael Offutt, Phantom ReaderJune 27, 2011 at 10:01 AM

    Writers have crutches? I never woulda known. Color me shocked.

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  18. Lydia KangJune 27, 2011 at 11:56 AM

    I have a lot of literary crutches I use. Usually I don't even see them until my third pass through, and then I'm groaning in embarrassment.

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  19. AnonymousJune 27, 2011 at 1:46 PM

    This is going on my bookmark list. It will come in handy when I start to revise my short stories and what not.

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  20. CathyJune 27, 2011 at 3:55 PM

    Very interesting. I know that I'm guilty of "really," and "even," or "even so," and probably a few more. I'll try the tool. Thanks.

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  21. Misha GerrickJune 28, 2011 at 9:22 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  22. Misha GerrickJune 28, 2011 at 9:24 AM

    Hehehe the worst thing is that people are carrying on about this, while most of us video gamers and violent book readers seem to grow up quite well balanced...

    So that makes me think one big question: What is the point?

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  23. KM NalleJune 28, 2011 at 6:52 PM

    Awesome! Thanks EJ. I'm a little scared to use it, but I know it will be a learning experience.

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  24. Laura JosephsenJune 29, 2011 at 8:26 PM

    Oh, neat tool! I'll have to try it out...and try not to let myself get distracted by it in the process. ;)

    (New follower--just found your blog. :))

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  25. Linda H.July 2, 2011 at 3:45 PM

    Sounds useful. Thanks for the link. I'll have to try it out sometime.

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