I've been preparing my current wip for submission, i.e. the synopsis and first 3 chapters, and though I've been using my Kindle for a while now to read aloud which is a really useful tool for hearing problems with spellings, context, sentence structure and punctuation, I've also found another useful feature. As well as using the stylus to highlight a particular word and it's meaning, it also searches for that word throughout the extract.

So I knew that I overuse the word 'clearly' as well as a couple of others, and I thought that I would search for how many times I'd used it. I was a little shocked by the results - I'd used it 12 times in three chapters. That might not seem a lot, but when the search brought back each sentence/passage I'd used it with, I found myself cringing. Now, thankfully, I'm down to just two out of twelve 'clearly's.

That's a great tip. Thanks Lorraine. I had no idea I could do this on the Kindle.

Clearly, I've learned something new today

Just being aware you're overusing a word is the key.

I tend to overuse 'just'.

My MS is peppered with 'really', but my MC uses it frequently in thought and speech, so it's clearly okay.

Interesting to know you can do that on the Kindle, though I have a basic one without a stylus. You can also do it in Word using the Find function, though it only highlights it one instance at a time.

There's a couple of good websites too that will analyse your text and show up all the repetitions.

Alan, I overuse 'just' all the time. Trouble is it's such a handy little word, with lots of nuances that can be very difficult to replace.

Trouble is it's such a handy little word, with lots of nuances that can be very difficult to replace.

It is. I need to use it only when nuance is required.

The difference is Emma is that it gives you a list that you can scroll down showing each sentence/passage you've used it with. Word can't do that, and I don't know any other app that can (although I'm sure there are probably some out there).

The difference is Emma is that it gives you a list that you can scroll down showing each sentence/passage you've used it with. Word can't do that,

I have a small laptop with Word 2010. If you do a find you get a scollable window showing each occurrence of the found word (unless you choose a word like 'the', when it refuses). Immensely useful as you can go straight to the page you want.

I use the Prowriting Aid website - basically free editing. You can paste sections of your book in and it comes up with all sorts of helpful info about your text - grammar, spelling, repetitions of words (the most useful aspect - I overuse 'just', sentence structure etc. Find on Word is good too as it shows all the occurrences of the word in the box on the left.

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Sorry about the icon - didn't mean to wink there.