Pet Peeves, #1

Here are some of what I think might become over time a long list of writing pet peeves.  For now, just a handful:

1.  "I thought to myself":  If you don't get this one, you shouldn't be a writer.  And if your editor misses it, as one did in a special short story Sean Michaels, award-winning Canadian writer, wrote for the December 20, 2014 issue of The Globe and Mail, then he (or she) shouldn't be an editor.  Just saying.  

2.  The word "that":  Sometimes it's really needed to keep the meaning of your sentence clear.  Other times, it's just a pain.  Read your sentence over with it and without it.  Chances are, you can remove it, and your sentence will read more clearly. 

3.  Could/Can:  Unless you really mean to emphasize a character is capable of doing something, you don't need to include these words.  For example, "I could see down the valley to the river."  Instead, how about, "I saw down the valley to the river."  If you did it, it's assumed you could.  

4.  Ing:  I don't know exactly what this is called, but it's mostly unnecessary, and annoying as hell.  Example:  "I was thinking about calling him on the phone."  The word in question here is thinking, or the whole verb construction.  How about, "I thought about calling him on the phone."  Better yet, "I thought about calling him," since, if you're calling him, it's assumed you're using a phone. 

Whew!  I feel much better now, getting that all out in the open.