Writer Wednesday: A Very Good Habit

Mark Twain famously advised writers to substitute “damn” every time they wanted to write “very.” The editor, Twain said, would remove the expletive, leaving the writing as it should be.

Almost eighty years after Twain’s death, in the film The Dead Poet’s Society, Robin Williams stood in front of a classroom of boys and told them that using “very” was lazy, especially when it came to wooing women. He encouraged them to find different, stronger words that could stand alone without the need for modifiers.

So as an editor, how do I feel about using “very?” 

I think it’s a damn bad idea.

I’m fond of tight sentences that say exactly what the writer wants to say. Anything extra, anything that clouds a thought or adds confusion is a barrier to communication between an author and a reader. While a modifier like “very” isn’t a big deal (most readers overlook it), there’s no reason to include it.

Go back and read that last sentence. The part in parenthesis.

Most readers overlook it.

So why include it? 

If someone is pissed, use that instead of “very angry.”

If someone is weeping, use that instead of “very sad.”

If someone is exhausted, use that instead of “very tired.”

Because if your readers are going to overlook “very,” you’ll have characters who are angry, sad, and tired, not pissed, weeping, and exhausted. There’s a difference there, and it’s one that can change your story.

Twain also observed that the difference between the right word and the almost right word is the same as the difference between lightning and a lightning bug. With that in mind, it’s damn important that you leave “very” out of your work, and strive to find the right word for the task.

To do anything else is very lazy.