Heading Up

I’ve noticed an odd consistency in my writing recently, one that I don’t necessarily prefer, and have put forth a small effort to modify. As most writers probably do, I abhor word repetition unless it makes sense. To this end, I frequently re-read and edit using a thesaurus to identify words with similar meanings that I can use to replace words that occur with great frequency in a localized area. What I’ve discovered isn’t so much word repetition as a style flaw. In editing, I’ve identified an irritating propensity with two different words: “heading” and “up.” It’s not the words themselves so much as how I’m using them.

“Heading,” I frequently use to indicate motion. He’s “heading” out the door. She “headed” toward the wall. A character may say, “let’s head over there.” There are a lot of other words to replace “heading” with, such as: move, go, walk, run, skip, fly, race, float (among many others). Unfortunately my mind seems to be stuck on heading. When I “go” somewhere, my mind thinks I’m “heading” somewhere. It’s a strange idiosyncrasy that bleeds into my drafting. Sure, I can change it in the draft, but the point is that in writing it in the first place it provides an interesting insight into my own internal dialog.

Another oddity is the use of the word “up.” I frequently find myself using it to describe an action rather than a direction. You “cook up” a meal. You “clean up” a mess. You “back up” a vehicle. You “screw up” when you make a mistake. You “grow up,” to act mature. You “vacuum up” stuff on the floor. You “clam up” when you don’t want to talk. This all bleeds into my drafting, and when I see it, it flags a “style error” response in my head. It feels rustic somehow, like I’ve been polluted by my early childhood environment (which was innately rural by definition). If I were writing a western, this would be fine. But I don’t write westerns, I write science fiction, fantasy, and sometimes contemporary fiction. Usually, unless the character is from a rural environment and SHOULD have this vernacular, it doesn’t fit.

Thought for the day – mental editing. Altering internal style guide to avoid inappropriate terminology for the generation of source material. Now I’m heading back to what I was doing. I’ve got to draft up a mess of work for the boss. L8R y’all.