I don't want to ruin every book you're going to read from now, but have you noticed they all have the word

[Cify]

Detritus.... in therm?

And now I've noticed it I can't stop seeing the word in everything I read.

And yet I've never heard a single friend complaining about the detritus in their kitchen.

Please tell me I'm not alone? Do you notice certain words or phrases (that people don't actually say in real life) being used over and over again in novels?

Gold.

There are a few descriptive ones that get over-used:

motes of dust (usually dancing)
shards (usually glass but can be something else)
clouds scudding across the sky

Funny links - I read Game of Thrones at the beginning of the year and mentioned that Daenerys line to my husband - I said he’s meant to be in her point of view but he’s writing that for himself, not the character. It pulls you out of the story and is not good writing.

Years ago I used to read Katie Price books- got sick to death of 'she flashed her emerald cat like eyes....always thought Oh Fuck Off Katie.

Ian Rankin and Val McDermid characters often eat something 'washed down with' whatever they're drinking. Aargh! Must be a Scottish thing

Ian Rankin says "meaning" a lot.

when two characters no something the other person husband say or something has gone on and the character doesn't no and they "look between them/looks passes between the two,the tw awkwardly look at eacohter over others head.guitly look between the pair. etc.do people really do this.

Thanks to this thread I've just noticed flashing eyes and hot liquid in the last four pages of my book

Oh and the woman is forever piling her hair on top of her head.

Oh we have a gulp! It says "another gulp" but the first time it said it was a sip.

I read that as she stepped out of the shower and slipped on a linen dress meaning she fell down!! Was thinking she should not have left the dress in the floor to slip on

Yy to women 'scooping' things up... usually children or laundry . Men never 'scoop'

'Expensive buttery highlights' for the heroine's hair, anyone? (Buttery hair sounds like a complete pain to wash and a bit rancid after a few days, surely? )

Hermione's shrillness annoys me, but not because of Hermione IYSWIM. It's almost as if it's put in by the author to remove any strength and credibility she might have as a female character. Shrillness is like nagging: only applied to females, in order to trivialise their experiences.

Yes... shrillness winds me up no end. It is always, without fail, used when referring to females, never males. The other word that annoys me also is 'feisty'. Also appears to be only used for uppity females.