I hate when they invade my writing.
The 2 I’m trying to address are verbal: “so” as a sentence opener and frequent conjunction; and “right” as a sentence ender and frequent conjunction (with “and” and the afore mentioned “so”).
“So” is the pernicious one. I use it as an interrupter, as a non-sequiter bridge, and general purpose conjunction. “So” infected my writing, especially informal writing like email and on this site.
Solution: I’m highlighting my use of “so” in my main writing platform, Gnu Emacs. I’m going to find a way to mark it in other apps in order to review my “so” use.
“Right” is something I picked up listening to a colleague. His speech is littered with “Right?” when he is trying to make a point. He uses it as I describe above. Talking with my colleague I often point out where his “right” is wrong. And now I hear myself using it in the same way, when I’m making points and convincing someone (maybe me?) that I’m correct.
Solution: a long term one, I am training myself to become hyper aware of “so” and “right” in my speech, similar to how I’m hyper aware of when I sound like my Dad. I love him, but I prefer to fight my own verbal ticks.
