Word Over-Use

Over using phrases like "there is", "there are", "it is", "it was", and other such things can be a big problem for beginning writers. When we use these too often in our writing they lose their meaning and what's worse they can frustrate the readers of our novels.
For example, writing: There are likely to be many parents concerned about the new bus schedule. Using “there are” obscures the main subject and action of the sentence. It should correctly read: Many parents are likely to be concerned about the new bus schedule. In the first sentence, the words "There are likely to be" is just too many small words put together in one verbal phrase.
The most common way to organize a sentence is to put the subject first and then the verb. Here is an example: The boy runs to school. When we use the words “there” or “it” first followed by a verb it can confuse the reader because "there" and "it" are not the subject of the sentence. This is a good rule to follow when writing action sentences and any time you need your subject to be clearly performing the action.
When overusing these words our writing becomes complicated and wordy rather than concise and easy to follow. "There is", "there are", "it was" or "it is" are called expletives. In the world of grammar, expletives aren't swear words. They are words that serve a function but don't have any meaning. These words do not add any meaning or structure to our sentence. I know it is not forbidden to use them of course. "It was a dark and stormy night" can be a perfectly good beginning sentence, look at popular books and see how experienced authors use expletives.
These expletive sentences are different because if we change “there” or “it” with a different noun the sentence meaning changes. They serve a purpose but they don't really have a meaning; not the same way that a sentence subject does. For example “There is a coffee and donut shop” is another sentence that makes perfect sense to us. What is the subject of that sentence? "There is" is not the subject. You can replace it with: “Dave is a coffee and donut shop”. Dave is a noun and is a fitting subject for any sentence - a subject that makes sense to us. And in this case he is a coffee and donut shop. Nouns can be a subject of the sentence in a way that an expletive cannot.
How do I avoid this trap? This can be as simple as rearranging a few words in your sentence. Sometimes it means stepping away from your work as a writer and looking at it as a reader would. Just examine the words, look at your sentence and find the real subject of the sentence. What verb does this subject need, add it here and create a meaningful sentence. I think this especially would be the case in a romance novel, or erotica fiction. It is important that our subject be clear.
Here is another word of caution for beginners, choose a verb carefully. It may seem simple to read it here but we have to remember that singular subjects require singular verbs; and plural subjects require plural verbs.
Don't over-use words, and use care when using expletives. This becomes ever more critical in the age of online books, as readers may become more transient and we want them to come back for more. Just making small, subtle changes we can clarify the meaning of our sentences and give our readers something truly enjoyable to read.