Rewording

Fiction Liner adds a wavy orange underline to phrases and words that can be changed or removed. Examples include,

  • “Start to” phrases. start to + verb puts the focus on starting rather than the verb itself. Sometimes this is the desired effect but in many cases the writing is more succinct by just using the verb. For example, replace started to drive with drove.
  • Redundancy in a phrase. Redundancies exist in many common phrases that we use. For example, exact same is no different in meaning from same; your copy will likely benefit from dropping the word exact. Phrases starting with each and every will not change in meaning if the and every is dropped. Of course, you may have intentionally used each and every for emphasis and should leave the phrase as it is.
  • Redundant words. Some words can be dropped with no change in meaning or feeling to a sentence. The most common candidate for omission is really.

(Fiction Liner does not scan dialogue when looking for rewording opportunities.)