Porthole

Never use the same word twice?

bobturn writes in his blog: "never use the same word twice - especially close together."

Yes, I can see this if 1. the word is unnecessary, 2. another word is available, 3. the word unduly calls attention to itself like an odd or very long one does. 4. repeating the word adds nothing.

4. I try to limit "the' and 'is". Neither is very informative. "the" is just a place keeper denoting the following word as a noun, (kinda like "a" in Spanish is used before a proper name to distinguish someone from an object). "is" means a verbal =, as in "the house = red". One may as well write "the red house". "is" actually just links a noun with an adjective; nothing is happening. To avoid either? A plural noun doesn't necessarily need "the" and "is" can be left out or replaced with an action verb. Make those red houses DO something! "Red houses line bays, lean into water to peer at fish, warn children at night, 'time to go home.'" I had to edit to remove a couple "the"s and an "is". In poetry and short fiction every word has weight.

That said... if "THE" pronounced "thee" or yelled "THE" for emphasis is intended... feel free to capitalize it. In that case you are intentionally drawing attention to it. And "is' cannot always be easily avoided in phrases like "it's a boy". In longer prose one may not even notice these short words, but eliminating some makes the writing tighter.

3. I tend towards short Anglo-Saxon words. Long Latinate or French words have too many unstressed syllables (and can sound overly-educated). Not a problem in French but it affects the rhythm in English. I do borrow from other languages and make up words. Using them once is usually sufficient.

2. The Thesaurus or here, the Ideanary, is a great tool. At times English has many words for the same idea or object. Some can be quite nuanced. No need to hammer away at a nail unless that is intended. Beyond simple words, many can be substituted with metaphoric phrase or kennings.

1. What is necessary? If I am trying to maintain a rhythm or rhyme certain words may be difficult to avoid. If I am trying to communicate directly and repetition is not desired than it's better to just cut them, especially for dialog. Few people speak in iambic pentameter.

As I told Bob, one needs to learn rules... and then one needs to learn how to break them.

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