That word

There was a great news satire television program in the 1960s called "That Was The Week That Was." To people who remember it, it is just called TW3.

It is a great title for the program although it uses the word 'that,' one of the most overused words in the English language. The problem is it doesn't have much meaning yet is so often used. While I was in college, I remember the editor of our college paper lecturing us on eliminating the word from our writing. And it is something I have tried to do.

So imagine my surprise last Saturday when one of the other writers in my writing group who was conducting a critique on the first two chapters of my book cautioned me about using 'that' too often. I didn't realize it was a problem.

Well, apparently it is __ I checked.

In the nearly 57,000 words I have written for "Death at the Jungle-bunny Journal" I used the word 'that' 647 times, which is nearly twice as many times as I use the name 'Jason,' which appears 396 times. And Jason is the main character in the book.

I highlighted every time I use 'that' and plan to go through and examine each case. But because it will be so time-consuming, I won't do it until before I start the second draft.

So be careful with 'that.' It may fit perfectly in TW3, but in other places it is overused and unnecessary.

Thanks for reading and have a great evening. And most of all, don't give up on writing.