Today's Rant: How many stories have we read in which the author engages in boring hyperbole by saying the character "almost" threw up, died, twisted in his/her grave, met their maker, tripped, etc., etc., etc., as a way to heighten the drama of the moment? EITHER THE CHARACTER DID OR DID NOT DO THE ACTION OR SUFFER THE RESULTS. Leave off with the "almosts" already!
Closely related is the "nearlys." Give it a rest. Have your character do or not do, feel or not feel, experience or not experience, the events. Your prose will be cleaner and even more emphatic. Save the "nearlys" and the "almosts" for rare times when the close shave really is that narrowly averted. Thanks, rant over.