This week, I received a 300-page editing project from one of my oldest clients. I’m about 20 pages in, and one thing I’ve noticed is that this client seems to prefer the phrase “looking for”. It’s something I’ve seen quite a bit actually.
Here’s an example of what I mean:
- Elvis, anxiety, and exorcism: Ex-preacher still looking for apology after being cut out of church (CBC News)
I’ve talked before about replacing prepositional phrases with single words. This post is specific to alternatives you can use for “looking for”. The handy thing about this phrase in particular is that there are lots of alternatives.
Here are just 5:
- Want: Ex-preacher still wants apology after being cut out of church.
- Seek: Ex-preacher still seeks apology after being cut out of church.
- Expect: Ex-preacher still expects apology after being cut out of church.
- Require: Ex-preacher still requires apology after being cut out of church.
- Desire: Ex-preacher still desires apology after being cut out of church.
These aren’t the only options either. You can probably use any synonym you can find for these words.
Repeatedly using the same phrase or word keeps your writing stale. Plus, using two words when one will do just fine seems excessive. If you regularly replace these words with alternatives, on the other hand, you freshen your writing and engage your reader.
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