Warning: every new writer I see uses 'suddenly' to start a scene

I mean, I get it, it's a crutch we all leaned on at 16, but 20 years later reading the same prompt thread and every third entry opens with 'Suddenly, the door burst open' drives me up a wall. Anyone else notice this or am I just old and grumpy?

2 comments

2 Comments

valwest1mo ago

Is it just me or did we all get the same writing handbook in middle school? I swear every single story I wrote at 14 started with 'Suddenly' or 'All of a sudden'. But here's the thing, I see it now in published books too, not just fanfic or prompts. Editors should be catching this, but they let it slide because it's an EASY way to build tension without actually writing a good transition. It makes me kind of sad for new writers honestly, because they probably think it's a PRO move and not a lazy shortcut. I bet if you scanned a hundred bestsellers from the last five years, you'd find it in half of them.

johns181mo ago

Totally feel you on this. I see it all the time in writing spaces I hang out in, and it’s like a reflex people can’t kick. Last week I read a short story where the third paragraph hit me with "Suddenly, the lights flickered" and I just sighed out loud. Valwest makes a good point about editors letting it slide, but honestly I think a lot of them just don't want to rewrite half a chapter when they can slap 'suddenly' on the front and call it done. It’s a bummer because good tension comes from the buildup, not a lazy word.