“Look” is my nemesis when it comes to editing the first draft. My characters are always ‘looking up’ or ‘looking down’ or ‘looking here’ or ‘looking there’. Most of the time, I’ll search for ‘look’ and delete the reference entirely. It’ll go on the pile of culled words and I’ll find a new action for my character. But sometimes, the action is right.
I generally go through each use of the word ‘look’, and decide whether a better word can be used. I’ll ask myself questions of the scene and the character’s motivation. For instance, there is a world of difference between, “she glanced”, “she gazed”, and “she glared”. Yet, each example gives a much fuller picture in your mind than “she looked” ever could.
It seemed only fair that I share this infographic with fellow serial lookers. It makes the third in my Synonym Series. Here are the links to the others:
Happy Writing, Writerly Friends.x
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