I hate very

FOUND ONLINE: She seems very likely to serve personally in a very senior staff role in a Clinton administration, so she’s a natural pick for an important transition job.

I hate very, and there two too many uses of very here. If you take out both words, the meaning is pretty much the same. A senior staff role and a very senior staff role: What's the difference? And do you need the word personally?

She seems likely to serve in a senior staff role in a Clinton administration, so she’s a natural pick for an important transition job.

MORE VERY: Arthritis is very common; however there may be more serious causes for difficulty and lack of movement.

Again, very isn't necessary. Arthritis is common works just fine.



ANOTHER PROBLEM: As chief executive of the Trump campaign, Bannon, it's fair to assume, will have free reign to shape the message that the Trump campaign projects.

I've said this before (and I'm sure I'll say it again); it's free rein, not free reign. It's like a horse's reins.

CONTACT: Email me at tgilli52@gmail.com or nc3022@yahoo.com. Also, my Twitter handle is EDITORatWORK.

More EDITOR@WORK blog entries

• You really DO need an editor

• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I do when I'm editing

• What I charge (it's a deal) and what I edit

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

• Rookie mistakes for magazine writers

Entries from The Dog Blog

• Katie cried

• Growl and pull

• 13-plus years with my dog Lady

• ... said the spider to ...

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• YIP! YIP! The stereo-sound huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

Blog entries from The Auto Racing Journal

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing

More blog entries by Tom Gillispie

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

Anecdotes by Tom Gillispie

• Good Samaritan

• The PRESS cap and my friend Mike

• Watching TV

• No luck with Billy Sims

• Wipeout at Death Valley

• Days with rainbows

• A desperate writer working in the dark

• Yer outta there!