Ah, yes, redundancy. I suppose I should start the chapter by writing a few redundant sentences. You know, sentences that are redundant. Sentences that serve no purpose, making them redundant. Redundant sentences. Unneeded sentences. Sentences that already repeat something that has been said before, and therefore, does not need to be said. Which makes them redundant.

Have I tired you out yet?

Basically, a redundant sentence is a sentence that you simply don't need. There are several reasons why you don't need them, and this is a topic I constantly find myself bringing up in my reviews.

But, before we get into the types of redundant sentences, let's talk about why they are such a problem.

There's only one main reason I can think of: they tend to interrupt the flow of your writing. In some cases, when you've repeated things so much, it even becomes annoying for the reader. It makes the writing seem unpolished, and if you've got a word limit to adhere to, then, well, it's certainly not helping your case.

Now, before we talk about the types of redundant sentences there are, please note: I am not a professor in redundant sentences. I am actually a professor in wondering why so many stories on Wattpad insist on including sensitive topics, such as mental illness, without doing an adequate amount of research on said topics.

Okay, no, jokes aside, these are official types of redundant sentences. These are just the ones I've noticed in my year and a half of reviewing. I've come up with seven, so instead of numbering them of, I'm going to make a rainbow.

Yes, I am drowning in irony. And yes, the title is an example of this type of redundancy.

Basically, it's where some words are unnecessary because the point would be made just as clearly without them. For example:

She held the rotten tomato in her hand. It had brown spots along the skin, and it was soft -- mushy, even -- to touch. It clearly wasn't edible anymore. It must have been edible a few days ago, but now, with the red faded to brown? With the mushy, overly soft skin? It was definitely too rotten to eat.

Okay, exaggeration, but seriously. We get it. The tomato is rotten. Leave it be. Don't eat it. And, if you do eat it, enjoy the trip on the wee-woo truck to the hospital.

Another example that you're more likely to see in stories:

The One Direction song was boring and dull. It made her want to sleep.

Boring... dull... they're basically the same thing. Why do you need to include both of them?

When you're rereading your story and you find yourself glossing over the words, or a friend admits they are finding a certain paragraph hard to engage with, double check to make sure you haven't fallen into this hole.

The most important thing to remember is that your reader is not stupid. Or, at the very least, we assume they are not. You don't need to spell out every single thing to them. For example:

Sunshine's stomach rumbled as approached the fruit platter. She picked a rotten tomato from the fruit platter.

We already know that she went the fruit platter. You don't need to tell us that the rotten tomato was specifically picked from the fruit platter. It is already implied, and your readers should be able to work it out for themselves.

This is less about unnecessary words, and more about your writing sounding clunky simply because you've repeated words (look! I did it, too!).

Sunshine shoved Waiting List away from her, but before she could turn on her heel and run, she felt pain lance through her heart.

And, as she turned, she realised that Waiting List had shoved a knife deep into her chest.

Though the word 'shoved' is used in different sentences and in slightly different ways, the repetition of the word is still noticeable -- as they are only a sentence apart. The best way to avoid this is to read your story aloud and spot these awkward little moments.

Again, this is less about unnecessary sentences and more about awkward structures. It is a very common one I've been seeing recently, so let's break it down with an example first:

He grabbed the tooth pick. He used the tooth pick to pull out a piece of chicken that had wedged itself between two teeth. He felt a sense of relief as the chicken slid out. He winced, then, as he realised that his gum was bleeding. He hoped his dentist would be proud, at the very least.

If you read it aloud, it sounds clunky and awkward. Why? Because here are all the sentences, broken down:

[pronoun] [verb] [everything else]

Once there is a pattern to all your sentences, it becomes really rigid and uncomfortable to read. It is also a clear indication that you are not mixing up your sentence structures enough.

This one gets a special place because I see it so much, and it's such a subtle thing. Let's have a look:

As well as being a vampire, he is also a werewolf, too.

You've already said 'as well.' You don't need the 'also' and the 'too'.

By the Dancing Noodle Gods, we get it. He has beautiful brown eyes that are the colour of rotten tomatoes. You don't need to describe it to us in every single chapter. You don't need to keep bringing up how beautiful he is. Please. I've read enough bad-boy books to know that they all have high cheekbones and sharp jawlines and abs. Don't bring it up all the time.

I love knowing what characters are thinking and feeling. I really do. However, there is one thing I see all the time that I, personally, feel is overdone.

Character A likes Character B. He describes his emotions in chapter twelve. Then, in chapter thirteen, when Character B walks into the kitchen, he describes those emotions again. Those feelings. The way he can't get over those beautiful eyes that are the colour of rotten tomatoes. The way his heart skips a beat.

Mind you, I'm all for feeling what the character is feeling. But if you describe a character's feelings towards another character in every chapter, it makes them sound lovesick and it makes the reader feel sick-sick.

Basically, if your character's emotions haven't shifted or intensified or changed in some way since the last time it was shown to the reader, then we don't need to see it again.

However, there are times where redundancy can be used I can't use rainbow colours anymore, but I'll get creative.

This is when you repeat words purposely for comedic purposes. Sometimes, it helps show how a character thinks, too.

But, no. He was stuck with fish. Sloppy, smelly, slimy fish.

Yes, the word 'fish' is repeated twice. Yes, we have a bunch of rather unnecessary words used to describe the fish. But, in this case, it was done to show how much the character despised his job without blatantly telling the reader that he hated his job.

Sometimes, when we are describing things, it makes sense to repeat ourselves -- sometimes, it adds rhythm to the writing. However, it has to be done carefully.

She could see some of them on the deck, raising their weapons at one another as they leapt and twirled and skipped. It was like a dance – a beautiful, fiery, and quick dance.

A dance with daggers and swords thrown into the mix.

We have the repetition of the word 'dance', and some would say that it's unnecessary to put it there. Why even bother with that last sentence? Why is it necessary, when the first paragraph basically already says that?

Now, we are creeping into subjective territory. Some would say to remove that sentence altogether, as it is redundant. However, some would argue that it works there -- because it reinforces a vivid image in the reader's head.

You usually see this in the climax of a scene. Something crazy intense is about to happen, and to really milk out the tension, the author repeats themselves.

She was shaking as she fell to her knees, as she begged for Lili to stop, as she cried and howled until her voice turned hoarse.

There is quite a bit of redundancy used. Cried and howled in one sentence? The constant repetiton of 'as she'? This is where we, once again, dive into subjective territory, because some would argue that it's over the top, while others would argue that the repetition adds a sense of urgency and desperation to the writing.

Another example:

She could feel the rough fins of the sharkscraping against her feet, could feel its hot breath as it opened its mouthwider and wider--

Some would argue that we don't need the second 'wider'. Some would argue that it is better with the second 'wider', because then the reader can feel themselves in the moment and can imagine the mouth opening.

So... Subjective, once again. I, personally, am an absolute sucker for redundancy when it is used like that (I mean, those examples are from my own story). My suggestion? If you are using redundancy, make sure you know you are using it and make sure you own it. It's kind of like wearing a bad outfit. You can make it look good as long as you show to others that it is an intentional look, and you express it with conviction.

In other words, You do not need to avoid redundancy altogether. However, there is one thing you must avoid when you do use it -- and that is boring the reader. If you, yourself, are glossing over your own writing, make sure it's not because of redundancy.

I hope you found this chapter helpful! If you have any questions or concerns, let me know. Additionally, if there are sentences that you are unsure of in your own writing, feel free to comment it in the chapter, and I'm sure myself and a few other readers can happily give you a second opinion.

Additionally, I'm always looking out for what you want to read about. So let me know what you want me to discuss!