#WEP June 2022 Challenge Winner Lenny Lee' on Pleonasms

Hi, it's Nila again. 

Lenny Lee won the June 2022 Challenge with his heartfelt, real-life entry Dear Mom. 

Here he shares a few things about pleonasms and how to get rid of them. 

THOSE PESKY PLEONASMS

Is your writing a victim of pleonasms?  Pleonasms, aka redundancies, are words and/or phrases that are not necessary and add nothing to the story. They slow action and add to word count. Once aware of these pesky pleonasms, you’ll find them everywhere, even in the works of well-known authors.

These intruders sneak onto the page and unless found and deleted or altered take up space. Finding and fixing them takes time and a keen eye. The results are worth the effort.

Here are some examples of pleonasms with suggested edits.  Can you spot the redundancies?

1.   Hillary won a free gift of cash money.     

Edit: Hillary won some money. Even better, Hillary won a million dollars! (Free and gift are the same. Cash and money are the same.)

 

2.   I saw the evil crow with my own eyes and heard him caw with my own ears. 

    Edit: I saw the evil crow and heard him caw.  (Whose eyes and ears are they but mine? Lol)

 

3.   Sharon ordered a tuna fish hoagie sandwich.

Edit: Sharon ordered a tuna hoagie. (Tuna is a fish. Delete fish.  A hoagie is a sandwich. Delete sandwich.)

 

4.   After he kissed her, she said, “It’s déjà vu all over again.”

Edit: After he kissed her, she said, “It’s déjà vu.” (All over again is the same as déjà vu.)

 

Here are a couple of not so obvious redundancies: Can you spot them? 

1.   He entered his PIN number on the ATM machine.

Edit: He entered his PIN on the ATM. (In the acronym PIN, the N stands for number and in ATM, the M stands for machine.)

 

2.   The invitation read please R.S.V.P.

     Edit: The invitation read R.S.V.P. (the P in RSVP is French for please.)       

While putting our thoughts on paper, it’s easy to overlook redundancies and let them slip onto the page. Whether you find these bugs while writing or when editing, it’s important to squash them. Readers don’t like a lot of unnecessary words. They want the story to keep moving without being distracted.

 Here’s a link to a website that provides pleonasm quizzes with suggested edits. https://kathysteinemann.com/Musings/?s=quizzes&submit=Search  The link will take you to a Master List of Redundancy Quizzes for Writers. It’s fun to test yourself. Also, this site is full of useful information. It’s listed as one of the 100 best websites for writers.

 Once you track down those pesky pleonasms, you’ll be surprised how many have taken up residence in your writing.  Editing them will reduce word count, stir action, and improve your MS/WIP.

Happy writing!

Hi!

I’m Lenny. I live in the peach state north of the Chattahoochee River (USA). I’m a freshman at the University of Georgia. I write poetry, short stories, chapter books, and I’ve begun my first novel. My biggest writing achievement was winning the WEP June 2022 challenge. I’m an animal lover, sports fan, gamer and junk food addict. You can find me on my blog - Lenny's World.

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Thank you Lenny Lee for the tips and congratulations once again for your winning entry! 

We'd love it if you could share this post on your SM platforms! 

#WEPPLEASEREADTHELETTER #WEPWinner  #guestpost  https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2022/07/wep-june-2022-challenge-winner-lenny.html   @DeniseCCovey, @YolandaRenee, @LGKeltner, @OlgaGodim @jemifraser #amwriting #writingchallenge

#WEPPLEASEREADTHELETTER #WEPWinner  #DearMom  #guestpost  https://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com/2022/07/wep-june-2022-challenge-winner-lenny.html@DeniseCCovey, @YolandaRenee, @LGKeltner, @OlgaGodim @jemifraser #amwriting #writingchallenge

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Aaaand the next Challenge will be upon us before you have time to say, 'August? Plenty of time!' We hope you will consider joining us next month for the prompt -  

Please remember that the outlines on the Challenge page are pointers only and there is absolutely no compulsion to use them to interpret the prompts. Feel free to take the prompt in whichever direction you are inspired to, genre no bar except erotica. Not mandatory either to know/listen to the music or what the sonata is...

We can't wait to see what you all come up with! See you here in August!

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Many have complained that they can't comment on several blogger blogs. Until Google fixes the problem, the solution is to return to the boring old pop-up comment system which doesn't allow individual replies. If you have a blogger blog, consider doing away with embedded comments for now. Pass the word! Better than nothing! 

And please remember to check the thread on WEP to find those who may have left a comment there.

Nila for the team