Woah! Where are all of these coming from?

He ran fast, quickly.
She snored, sleeping.
She smelled like a fresh flower, roses, lilies, carnations.
He muttered, whispering softly.

Is this a new trend? First off, pick and choose your descriptive details…once. Don’t be redundant. May read like a new method but it’s nonetheless repetitive, redundant, similar, the same. Get my drift? You’re not inventing a creative voice. Just adding extra words for no reason that will be edited, or at least a good editor should catch and comment to reword. Everything in moderation, please. No overkill.

He ran fast, quickly? Pick one.

She snored, sleeping. Um…is there any other way to snore without sleeping, unless you have a nasal problem.

She smelled like a fresh flower, roses, lilies, carnations. “A” is the optimum word here so pick one.

He muttered, whispering softly. Not sure about you but when someone mutters it’s because he’s eating his words and whispering. Then again, maybe the folks I hang around with are just plain weird.

So, how many other words have you come across while reading that are redundant and feel like yelling at the writer?