SATW: 60 Second Travel Writer #14 – Redundancies

In your writing, watch out for redundancies.

Here’s a 60-Second Travel Writer Tip from LA Times Travel Editor Catharine Hamm:

All bullies are mean, all jinxes are bad luck, and all redundancies are repetitive. We’ve all done it, and it’s embarrassing when we don’t catch it.

Sometimes these creep into our writing because they’re part of the vernacular and they don’t sound wrong. Here are some to watch out for:

Past history, Small village, Tiny berg, My own personal experience, The reason is because, General public, Advance planning, Exact replica, Still remains, Serious heart attack, About half a mile or so, Close proximity, Song lyrics

Make every word count by scrutinizing your sentences and plucking out those phrases that take too many words to say one thing. Otherwise, you may look like a foolish half-wit.

For SATW Professional Development, I’m Westways Travel Editor Elizabeth Harryman.