The "Forbidden" Word

There is a very common word that I do not use in my writing. I banished it after finding four instances in a single paragraph. I won’t even allow characters to say it. I deem it weak, lifeless and lazy. Blasé sentences can be made dynamic by the disuse of this word. It took some doing to eliminate it from my writing vocabulary. I often sat pondering how to rework sentences and still convey the same meaning sans the word. At first it proved rather cumbersome. But now sentences flow easily and I am quite glad to be free of it.

However, it does exist in Peter Pan’s NeverWorld. But only for two special cases. First, I am quoting passages from another author (not Barrie, as one might imagine) and cannot very well make a revision to his work. Second, one of the Lost Boys uses it in a play on words with an old adage.

Which word do I shun? Don’t worry about it. You’ll never know it’s missing.