Read the disclaimer if you haven't already.

This chapter is self-explanatory. This is a list of words I hate for various reasons, though most are because they're overused in fiction, especially fanfics.

Remember word choice varies depending on the circumstance. This is a general list, but if you use any of these words, don't feel bad or embarrassed. Context matters, so there's a chance you use these words in ways I may like. And this is my personal preference, so it's really not that serious. This isn't me saying they're wrong, I'm only saying I don't like them. Use them if you'd like. Every writer has their own style, and every reader has their own preference. It doesn't make you wrong for using them, and it doesn't make me wrong for disliking them. 

Also keep in mind I have reviewed hundreds of stories on this website, and I'm not exaggerating. My review shop alone has about over 170 reviews (including public and private reviews). That's without factoring in my contests that also have hundreds of stories in them. So some of these boil down to words I see most often and don't want to see anymore.

Now, onto the list.

1) Cascaded - This word is overused and it sometimes annoys me when I see it since, again, it's used so often. I see this word in almost every story I read. Nowadays I just laugh whenever I see it in fiction. It's not that it's a bad word, it's that it's been used so much to describe hair that I can't take it seriously anymore. I'm not kidding, I read two books today and both of them used "cascaded" several times. It's to the point where even when it's used to describe things that aren't hair, I can't take it seriously anymore.

2) Orbs - I don't need to explain myself... but in case you aren't aware, I will anyway. "Orbs" is extremely overused to the point where it makes me have to take a pacing break if I see it used to describe eyes. It's become cliche, not to mention since there are so many ways to describe eyes, it makes me wonder why use it in the first place.

3) Throbbing - When used in a smut scene. When not used in a smut scene, it's fine, no issues. I don't know why, but seeing that word in a smut scene makes me laugh.

4) Growled - When a human is doing it. Animals/monsters doing it are fine, it's only for humans. If I had a dollar for every time a male lead did "*insert dialogue here*," he growled, I'd be a millionaire. It's overused and not a proper dialogue tag to begin with, so I hate it.

5) Random Korean words - When an author puts random words like wae, hajima, gaja, etc. it makes me sad. I don't mind when Korean is in a story, especially if the author is genuinely dedicated to learning Korean, but when the words are just kinda thrown around, you can tell the author doesn't know Korean and it risks being disrespectful to the culture. Most of the time the words aren't even used right. I also study Korean 24/7 since it's one of my fields of study, so sometimes I get tired of seeing it and want a break from it.

6) Beseeched - No. I can't take this word seriously. It's always used as a dialogue tag, but I can't stand it. Not only because Shakespeare overuses it, but because it feels overdramatic in most cases.

7) Most "fancy" dialogue tags - Similarly, most dialogue tags that aren't the standard ones make me aggressive. Most of the time it comes off as the author trying to hard. Words like shouted, whispered, murmured, yelled, etc. I don't mind and I myself even use them. I'm talking words like purred and bellowed. Purred especially cause it reminds me of growled. You're not a cat, why are you purring?

8) Testament - This is almost always used in a telling over showing way to tell the readers someone's personality. Like "...as a testament to his/her *insert personality trait here*." It's also commonly used in purple prose writing.

9) Look - There is nothing wrong with using this word, but the amount of times I've seen people use look like 10+ times in chapters that are less than 1k words is insane. It gets repetitive to me now and I always encourage you to find synonyms. You don't need to avoid this word like the plague or anything, just be careful not to use it too much. If you're using it 5+ times in a single chapter, I strongly suggest finding synonyms. Depending on the size of the chapter, I'd honestly argue to try and only use it 1-3 times.

10) Walk - Same as look. Not a bad word, it just gets overused. Consider using synonyms if you find yourself using it multiple times in a single chapter.

11) Adorn(ed) - Same as cascaded. There's nothing inherently wrong with this word, but it's like every writer on Wattpad saw cascaded and adorned and decided to use them. I see adorned in almost every fic I read to the point where it feels cliche and I don't want to read it anymore. It's overused and normally a sign of purple prose writing since purple prose writers in particular overuse this word.

12) Tendrils - Another case of an overused word in purple prose. Purple prose writers love adorned and tendrils, for some reason. Sleek, too, though I'm not going to put that on this list because I actually like sleek when it's used well. There's nothing wrong with tendrils, it's just that purple prose writers overuse it so much that I don't like it anymore.

13) Ubiquitous - I don't need to explain myself.

14) Cacophony - Okay, this is misleading because I like the word cacophony, the problem is too many purple prose writers use this word in the wrong way. Cacophony refers to sound. Please use it that way. I don't care about whatever metaphors you're trying to spin to justify cacophony being used to describe other things like taste, sight, touch, etc. It is for sound. If you're using it to describe other things that aren't sounds, you risk it coming off as you trying too hard to make a metaphor. There are other unique words to use for the five senses, so that's why I don't like seeing cacophony used to describe things that aren't sounds. I like it when it's used properly, though.

15) Meticulously - Another word that's overused in purple prose in particular. I'm fine with meticulous, but when used as meticulously, I start disliking it.

16) Quickly - Another adverb that's overused. Nothing wrong with using it here and there, but most authors I see who use this use it like 5-20 times in a single chapter.

17) Opulent (or any form of it) - Yet another word overused by purple prose writers. I also just hate the way this word sounds.

18) Luxury - Another another word overused by purple prose writers, and I also dislike this word because 9 times out of 10, it's used to not describe the luxury. It'll be said that "*insert thing here* is luxurious," but the author won't show the luxury. You saying something is luxurious doesn't narrow it down at all. It's a vague, general description. That's why I suggest being more specific and showing over telling. Don't tell us it's luxurious, show us.

19) Kaleidoscope - Same reason as the last two. Overused by purple prose writers. It's fine when used once or twice in a book, but too many people use it every other chapter because they think it's pretty. Repeating pretty words just takes away their prettiness. The more you use something, the less impact it has.

20) Mirth - This is the only one on the list not related to writing. I don't care if this is used in a book, I just hate the sound of this word. Like... mirth??? That's so silly, who made that word? It sounds like you're a muppet on crack when you say it. It sounds like derp's cousin. Ew. I really don't care when I see this in a book, but when I hear it out loud, that's when it becomes a problem for me.

So those are some words I dislike for various reasons. It doesn't mean the words are bad, I just personally dislike them. I think everyone has certain words they hate and can't stand, even if there's nothing "wrong" with them. Like a lot of people hate the word "moist." I don't mind it, but some people hate it.

Yeah. That about wraps it up. Not sure how to close this out so I'll just stare at you.

👁️👄👁️

~End~

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please let me know if you have any questions or have a specific topic you want me to cover.

Plenty more topics are coming like characters, purple prose, advanced dialogue tags, etc.

Thank you for over 2,000 followers and almost 2.1k only a week after getting 2k. That's wild, I can't believe how fast we're growing. As promised, since I got 2k by my birthday, I will release another story over the summer. To vote on what story you'd like to see, check the inline comment here to go to an anonymous form and vote!