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Tip Tuesday #80

Tip Tuesday is a recurring feature where blog readers send in tips for fellow writers. If you'd like to send in a tip e-mail me at agentspotlight(at)gmail(dot)com.

Today's tip was sent in by children's book writer Carrie A. Pearson. After you check out her tip, please visit her lovely website. Thanks for the tip, Carrie!

This website is helpful for longer works because it counts how many times a certain word shows up in the text you cut and paste. I am always on the lookout for "the" and inactive "to be" verbs. Also, everyone has those words or phrases that are overused. This will ferret them out like a feisty little rat terrier.

http://www.writewords.org.uk/word_count.asp

-Carrie
on Tuesday, March 15, 2011

9 comments:

  1. Natalie AguirreMarch 15, 2011 at 12:32 PM

    Great tip Carrie. I am always on the look out for redundant words. It's amazing how many there are when you start looking.

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  2. AnnieMarch 15, 2011 at 12:39 PM

    Awesome link! I know one word I overuse is "just"--this will be a great resource in catching justs.

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  3. UnknownMarch 15, 2011 at 1:39 PM

    This is great! I've seen things like this before, but I love the simple interface here.

    Perhaps even cooler is the phrase frequency counter available at the same site. It lists most commonly used word combinations, and is adjustable by size. My most common 2-word phrases are "of the" and "it was." For three word phrases, it was "there was a" and "shook his head" (guess I need to cut down on some head shaking!!).

    Very, VERY cool.

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  4. JeighMarch 15, 2011 at 5:50 PM

    This is a great tip. I've used the find and replace in Word, but that requires me to remember what I've been overusing. I can't wait to try this out. Thanks!

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  5. Martina BooneMarch 15, 2011 at 8:09 PM

    Great tip to catch crutch words! I was just looking back through my notes trying to find a reference to this. Brilliant that you posted it today!

    Thanks so much,

    Martina

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  6. Jennifer PickrellMarch 15, 2011 at 8:11 PM

    Thanks for the tip, I've seen a few similar sites before, but not this one. I'll have to try it out.

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  7. Sherrie PetersenMarch 16, 2011 at 4:26 AM

    Cool tip! Thanks for posting this. I'll be using it a lot :)

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  8. Alexandra LoewenMarch 16, 2011 at 12:49 PM

    Excellent tip, thanks! I'm off to try it right now...
    PS- Casey- love the blog's new look!

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  9. Christie Wright WildMarch 17, 2011 at 12:03 AM

    What a great tip and such a cool website! Thanks!

    Casey, I have another award for you on my blog. It's one you've never received before!

    ReplyDelete