Indeed, How I Loath Thee!

I cannot abide the over-use of particular words and phrases in a body of writing. The droning repetition of an otherwise good word makes my skin crawl. Literary abuse of this nature bears strong resemblance to the spoken ticks which public speakers strive to weed out from their orations.

The most blatant offenders of my sensibility in regard to word overuse have traditionally been college text books. I have seen more grammatical errors in the pages of my textbooks than I care to count. Adding the misuse or overuse of key words or phrases to these grammatical errors created an almost unbearable study experience. It was during this time of overwhelming frustration that my abhorrance for the word "Indeed" was born.

The author whose textbook bought about the downfall of this seemingly innocent word had several habits that I found irksome. He mixed first, second and third person perspectives, produced run-on sentences galore and often forced large, pretty words into unnatural contexts in ill-concieved attempts at humor (or perhaps simply to appear more intelligent). The greatest source of irritation he provided to me was the prolific use of the words "Indeed" and "However" followed with a comma at the begining of a sentence. There were several instances where this method of beginning a sentence made no sense in conjuction with the surrounding sentances. He may as well have been writing something like "Indeed, the sun is shining today. However, the sun will not always shine". The presence of the word "Indeed," at the front of a sentence became so distracting that I was often forced to read a phrase multiple times before being able to comprehend the meaning. I felt as though I was reading a stuffier, less talented and infinetly less enjoyable version of Tolkein. At least Tolkien's method of spinning words resulted in artistry rather than a great deal of useless drivel.

The impact this author stamped on my psyche has been so profound that I now avoid the use of the word "indeed" at any cost. The word "indeed" is now so intrinsically linked with egotism in my mind, that the only context in which I can imagine finding use for the word would be satire. I plead with my fellow authors to take care when arranging their words. If you find yourself using convoluted words, phrases or punctuation in order to make your grammar "correct" pease take the following mantra into account: "Reduce; don't reuse and recycle!"