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Overuse of the word had, Overuse of the word have, Overused Words, Self-editing, Strong vs Weak Words, Strong Words, Weak Words, writers, writing, Writing Advice, writing tips
The Honorable Supreme Court Justice Ima Writer sequestered me over the weekend and ordered the bailiff to unplug my Internet. Hence, you haven’t heard from me in three days.
You see, while giving advice on eliminating needless words in your writing to create robust sentences, I am guilty of not following my own orders. (See here if you don’t know what the heck I am talking about.)
When I ran across a problem word, I would fix a bunch in my manuscript and say, “Yup, that is a problem.” I would set aside my editing because I was excited to tell YOU about it. As a result, “justs,” “gots,” “wents,” and the like, continued to sit in my manuscript like the ugly stepsisters snubbed by the prince and forced to stayed home instead of attending the writing party.
The half-taken advice was haunting me. I closed myself off to the world at our cabin and snuggled with the sneaky little words “had” and “have.” The romance faded when I realized it would take me all weekend to do the edits on those two words alone. The argument that ensued wasn’t pretty.
Why am I bringing this up? Because I learned an important lesson while editing out dead-weight “hads” and “haves.” I became better at it the more I did it. It started out slow and painful, but two-thirds of the way through the process, I was flinging the words out with ease. I learned how to spot the easy “just hit delete” “hads” and “haves.” For the trickier ones, I became adept at seeing how the sentence could be reworked. In many cases, the entire offending sentence was dumped because it did nothing to advance the story. Yeah! More dead-weight eliminated.
At first, I was afraid I was over-editing and making my writing sound stilted. Was I erasing my “voice?” However, when I removed the excess baggage, my voice had room to come through the white noise.
Emboldened, I hit “seek and destroy” for a second round. I found sentences I thought were fine on the first round, but armed with the lessons learned while working my way through the manuscript, I knew how to dust, tidy, and freshen them.
My point? “Hads” and “haves are especially sneaky and they snarl when you first attempt to eliminate them. Sharpening your knife with practice eases the process.
Bonus tidbits I discovered. “Had” and “have” hide in the conjunctions “I’d” and “I’ve:”
I’d liked my manuscript until this weekend.
Clunky example, I know. Sorry.
I thought I liked my manuscript, but it became a masterpiece over the weekend after I edited out the “hads.”
~~~~~
I’ve got to spend more time editing.
Yes, you do.
I must dedicate more time to the fine art of editing.
“Had” and “have” also skulk around disguised as “hadn’t” and “haven’t:”
He hadn’t realized Robin the “Had Cop” was after him.
Isn’t she about as effective as Barney Fife?
He realized Robin the “Had Cop” was after him when she slapped the usage-cuffs on his scrawny wrists.
~~~~~
I haven’t seen Robin the “Had Cop” so angry in years.
Ooh, scary.
In anger, Robin the “Had Cop” fed his lousy manuscript to the grammar police.
For those of you scratching your head about “had” and “have,” take heart. It gets easier the more you exorcise them out of your writing. Trust me, I know.
Robin Coyle 
There, their, they’re……… Don’t be too hard on yourself. lol
Bawhahahahahaha.
I too created a .doc of these pesky words, Robin. Sometimes, I’ll be writing away and come to an abrupt stop, second guessing myself, wondering if I still have a grasp of the English language. Only time will tell. Multi-tasking isn’t like it used to be: so many rules to remember but I’m enjoying the process.
I do the same thing and think, “Aren’t you listening to your own advice Robin?” Geez. Glad you are enjoying the process Tess.
Yes ‘have’ and ‘had’ are sneaky little buggers and can really make a piece of writing feel far removed/disconnected from the reader. Editing is so much about knowing the craft and becoming self-aware, it seems like an endless journey at times, but hopefully a worthwhile one. I hope you are feeling empowered! You are making great progress and are an editing inspiration to those of us who have/had not contemplated our MS for quite some time! 😉
Sentences I thought were perfectly fine, when put under the editing microscope, looked sickly. Taking out the hads and haves was curative!
I do feel empowered by what I am learning and I love passing it on because it seems to resonate with other writers. Thank you for calling me an inspiration! I believe I am blushing Ms. Katy!
You certainly are! I am going to have to do the same to my manuscript. This will be my fourth edit, but I feel like I can do a far more effective job by using all of the tips that you’ve offered. You rock! 🙂
You rock too Missy!
They’re EVERYWHERE. Pesky little blighters. As I’m editing a chapter I do a quick count of all the weak words before I start and after I finish. I’m removing LOADS, which is helping my writing. You’ve inspired me, Robin. 🙂
Maybe I’ll change the name of this series to “Pesky Little Blighters!” Ha ha! Much catchier. I’m so glad I inspired you! You made my day Pete.
Ouch. I’m a little sore but I needed this! Thank you!
Sore from the editing? Or from reading my rambles?
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Yes, they do sneak in with things like “I’ve” and “I’d,” don’t they! Where would we be without find and replace?!
No, no, no. It is “Seek and Destroy!”
🙂
Are you having trouble with your notifications? Carrie and I have both noticed we’re not getting any “orange” light when someone replies to a comment we left on their blog. And the “comments I’ve made” feature on the dashboard may not be able to keep up….
Same problem here of late. Remember it used to be a number? Now (when working) it is a symbol. I understand the “conversation bubble” but what do the others mean?
I kind of like Elmore Leonard for the minimal writing style. I know his crime books don’t suit everybody, but the guy is great on putting a lot into a little.
At the opposite end I once read a tidbit which said putting in the odd big word that many readers might have to look up is fine, as most of us want to learn something, but do it too many times and the reader will spend too long on the dictionary. Which means you “have” lost them.
Ha ha! Good one Elliot. I would hate to “have” lost you.
I love the dictionary feature on Kindle. No need to put the book down, rummage around for a dictionary, forget where you are in the book, and then give it up.
I’ve never read Leonard but I understand he is the master of gritty, terse prose. No beating around the bush with him!
I remember feeling the same way when I first started editing out the passive words, about losing my voice. I was putting together sentences without them and they sounded more stilted and cold. I couldn’t navigate my way properly without them. But then, like you, with more practice (and help of my writer’s group), I started finding ways to string sentences with more fluidity and more active words. Just wait until you find yourself writing your first draft without those ugly had’s and that’s. Then the editing gets easier too. Good luck.
With all the lessons I learned while going through the self-editing process, I am curious to see if I remember them and not make the same mistakes when I write something altogether new.
I was writing short stories, and with each one I made the same mistakes, or new ones to cover up the old ones. Heh. I guess I have a thick head. Even now, I still have plenty of editing to do, but at least some of the things like ‘had’ and ‘that’ I’ve learned to eliminate without adding new mistakes. 😛
This is another great reminder of how we can trim our sentences so that they’re tighter and more powerful. I like how you justify the cuts–to give your language, voice more room to sing. It’s a valuable lesson, thank you!
It is funny how sometimes a simple sentence can pack more punch than a wordy one filled with expensive words.
While you were sequestered I used the time to go over your posts and create a “Robin’s tips.doc” which I open on another screen and refer to from time time as I type words which eventually become blog posts… it’s getting to the stage where I probably should give you credit, such is your virtual contribution 🙂
How lovely. I am a .doc. That makes me more happy than I would have thought possible mere months ago. The funny thing is, I refer to my own tips as I write. I cringe when I see something slip through the cracks, like a “people,” “just,” or “that.” Ella Dee – you made me smile.
I’m ready for the police. Send them over. ( Can sting come, he’s pretty cute?)
He is on his way. I think he is bringing you flowers. Act surprised.
I’ll have to hire grammar cops someday; there is no way I know enough to police my own little corner of the writing world!
Maybe I will improve if I hang out here, however. Thanks for the hope and the examples, Robin. Have a happy week! ~ Lily
We learn as we go, don’t we. I am my toughest critic but with every improvement I make in my writing, the easier I am on myself. You have a happy week to Lily!
I have a “that” problem. I unconsciously add them everywhere, and when I take them all out in the edit (well, most of them) everything sounds so much tighter. Thanks for posting this, as we all know it is very hard to edit yourself.
I now search for “that” in everything I write and a few still manage to worm their way in. Imagine “that!?”
Every once in a while a “that” is necessary to a sentence. Of course you can rewrite the sentence to omit it… but I used to work at a newspaper with an old-fashioned copy editor who waged war on “that” every deadline cycle. He took them all out no matter what! And we ended up with some weird sentences in the paper. Soon enough I learned to read behind him and if a sentence didn’t quite work, I could figure out “that” was gone!
Sometimes it is best to say, “I read that book,” rather than “I read the 500-page book with the green cover written by a Russian author on the table over yonder.”
Indeed!
You are so funny! Now if only I could get away for three days to write/cut words by myself…. 🙂
It was lovely, in a painful neck, sore shoulders, and headache kind of way. I am now pouring a glass of wine. Come on over.
Oh, wish I could. I know that neck pain. Why can’t comput screens be higher so you’re not looking down?
I piled two pillows on my chair in the hope that it would help but my doctor says I am the new Hunchback of Notre Dame.
I’ve been trying to cut back on my own use of “have/had” too. It does save a lot of words.
Of all the self-inflicted editing on my manuscript, eliminating the hads and haves has been the most curative. I’m exhausted by the cure.
I bet! But like you said, think of all the room you now have for all kinds of glorious words!
Thanks for sharing your “had” and “have” experiences. Might make the rest of ours a little more tolerable. 🙂
Ah, Carrie. I am exhausted and exhilarated at the same time. The writing is much better but alas, my word count is down. Small price to pay, eh? More room for words that sing!