phase/faze

Phase - a noun; a part of something measured in time. He is going through a phase. Do you know the phases of the moon?

Faze - a verb; refers to being disturbed or upset. When the car broke down it didn't faze me.

Averse/Adverse

People are averse, when they have an aversion to something. I am averse to eating Brussels sprouts.

Conditions are adverse. There is a blizzard. I don't want to hike under such adverse conditions.

complement, compliment

Compliment - Something nice you say about someone. Pay someone a compliment.

Complement - Something that makes something complete. The fort has the full complement of troops. That tie is a complement to that suit.

Weeding Out Adverbs

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. Usually (but not always) it is better to eliminate the adverb. Instead, choose a better word to replace the word being modified.

"He ate his food quickly" could be "he bolted his food" or "he wolfed down his food." "She said loudly" could be "she screamed," "she shouted," or "she bellowed." The version without the adverb is actually more descriptive, as well as stronger.

Adverbs that modify adjectives are equally suspicious. "Very small" could be "tiny." "Fairly fat" might be "chubby." An adverb that is modified by another adverb can probably be replaced. "He fights extremely well" is not as elegant as "he fights superbly."

Not every adverb needs to be removed. Consider the above example, "he fights superbly." There isn't a good verb that means "fight superbly." Sometimes the adverb should be left alone.

Adding Variety to your Sentences

If your writing becomes monotonous, you may need some variety among your sentences. If you use the same sentence structure more than twice in a row, your readers may become bored. You can mix things up by adding a particularly long sentence, allowing your prose to flow and swirl as you explore an idea in depth, but what can you do after that? Sentence fragment! Break the rules to give your paragraphs some zip.