Why I created this tool

When working on a major writing project such as a novel, it’s all too easy to find that distinctive words are overused. Sometimes you can get away with using a rare or unusual word twice in a novel, provided they don’t appear too close together, but spotting any such overuse during the editing process is not easy. I tried for years to find a tool that would help me do this, but Word and other software let me down. So I created Word Census. It does the job of separating character and place names from general language, and then ranking words by frequency of use within the novel. A scan takes mere seconds, and at a glance you can see if anything has slipped through your net. It also helps to see if you spelled something inconsistently (although that’s an accidental by-product of the main purpose of this tool!).

Please give this editing tool a go, spread the word through the social media links below if you find it helpful, and let me know through the contact page if there’s anything that needs improvement.

Stewart