words not to use in creative writing

17 Weak Words to Avoid in Your Writing

Want to make your writing a little stronger? Check out these 17 words to avoid!

Exact Words to Avoid

1. “really,” “very”

These words are usually unnecessary and can be cut out. If you need a stronger adjective, find one rather than adding “really” or “very” to it. (Exception: can be used sparingly in dialogue because it makes a character more realistic.)

2. “just”

“Just” is another word similar to “really” and, for the most part, should be deleted.

3. “that”

In general, beginning authors use too many of this word in their writing. Even old pros often search this word during the editing process to delete those that are unnecessary. Deleting extra words strengths your work.

4. “totally,” “completely,” “absolutely”

Like the previous words, these words don’t add to the sentence and can often be removed. Try using actions to show the feelings instead.

5.  “thing,” “it”

“Thing” is vague and weak. Instead, replace “thing” with whatever you are talking about. Do the same with it. Unless you’ve already used the object you’re talking about in the sentence, don’t use  the word “it.”

6. “there was”

Instead of starting of a sentence with the words “there was,” try rewording to put the action back in.

7. “as” used as a subordinate conjunction

“As” is confusing to the reader since it has two meanings: it can show that two things are happening at the same time, or it can show one thing is happening because of the other. Instead of using “as” for the second meaning, use the word “because” or “since” to make the meaning clear.

8. “down” or “up”

When used with a verb, these two words are usually unnecessary. For example, “He sat down on the dirty floor” should instead be “He sat on the dirty floor.”

9. “armed” in “armed gunman”

If the person is a gunman, then they are armed. Again, be careful to avoid redundant phrases.

10. “brief” in “brief moment”

All moments are brief; that’s why they’re moments.

11. “have got”

Avoid “got” where possible. Instead of saying “have got,” just use “have.” And actually, “got” isn’t a very useful word in any situation. Consider using the word sparingly. Instead of “She got to her feet,” you can say, “She leapt/jumped/climbed/hurried to her feet.” Anything to show better action.

12. “then” and “next”

When used to describe a sequence of events, these words are weak transitions. Sometimes you can remove the word without consequence; other times, you need to rewrite the sentence to show the sequence through action. For more examples, please see our post Make Your Book Stronger by Avoiding “Then.”

13. “literally”

Is it actually  literal? Avoid this word unless using it in dialogue (and even then it can get old fast).

Types of Words to Avoid

14. be-verbs

Be-verbs (was, is, are, were, etc.) are weak and boring. Instead try to use action verbs. Especially avoid be-verbs paired with -ing verbs when they aren’t needed. For a simple example: “She was running through the forest when she tripped on a raised tree root” can be changed to “She ran through the forest and tripped on a raised tree root” or “Running through the forest, she tripped over a raise tree root and sprawled on the ground.” You get the idea!

Note, though, that sometimes a be-verb is what you need. We only advise that you avoid them when you can, without writing an awkward construction.

15. -ly adverbs

When you use -ly adverbs, you are telling instead of showing (which, in case you haven’t heard, is bad). Use -ly adverbs sparingly when writing fiction and instead, describe an action! We talk about this more in our post on dialogue tags (tip # 7) .

16. “shrug,” “nod,” “reach,” “grin,” “sigh,” or any dialogue beats you overuse

We’re not telling you to  not  use these words. These words are examples of dialogue beats that often get overused , but each author has their own habits and their own words. Are your characters always shrugging, grinning, or sighing? Find out what words you overuse and try to edit some of them out—those listed here can get you started.

17. Nominalizations

A nominalization is when you take a verb or adjective and turn it into noun, making the sentence wordier and even pretentious. This includes words like accuracy, intention, disagreement, slowness, analysis, collection, and suggestion. When possible, turn that noun back into its original verb or adjective form (like accurate, intend, disagree, slow, analyze, collect, and suggest).

What words are on your “words to avoid” list? We’d love to hear in the comments below!

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Leave a Reply

This article is a lifesaver! I only write for fun but since I like to post my little snippets and drafts, I want my small audience to stay engaged. I have this bookmarked and try to check every piece according to this guide, so it’s appreciated!

What about the word: “try”

We are trying to teach ….. Why not say “we teach….”

I definitely have a problem with sighing and nodding. My characters also seem to frown quite a lot! One thing that you mention is ‘down’ etc. I find when reading, that many writers overuse prepositions, generally. So often they aren’t needed. I have a bit of a thing about them.

I’m reviewing a manuscript and hunting down the word “the.” I’m finding many places where it isn’t necessary. I haven’t seen any articles published on this, but have recently heard from other writers that they too are cutting back their use of “the.” Has anyone else out there heard talks or read blogs about this?

I’ve been removing “the” and sometimes I have to put them back to make the grammar checker happy. My least favorite is dueling grammar checkers with opposing suggestions. This seems to happen a lot with commas and “is this one word or two” (time line vs timeline, minigun vs mini-gun, etc.)

I’ve never heard of that.

“Said” is WAY too overused, and there are so many synonyms and more descriptive words rather than “said”.

I agree. It gets boring, yet we are constantly told ‘use said’ as it’s not noticed by readers.

Great article! I have a list of words I tend to overuse. I do a Find search through my manuscript to get rid of them.

Thanks for the article, it will help me greatly. I recognize several weaknesses in my writing from the words to “avoid”. My principals are the to be +ING and the word that, it is very difficult for me to change my sentences construction.

Having difficulty refraining from using the word ‘since.’ Since X happened, (then) Y occurred. Multi-syllabic synonyms don’t get the job done as well.

Hello, I’m looking for a “style” guide to tell me if a word is now considered or IS rude, offensive, pejorative, belittling of a person, and/or just plain ignorant.

In The Searcher, Tana French repeatedly has characters say things with a grin. It is driving me nuts.

These are dull and colorless compared to concrete nouns, powerful verbs, and vivid adjectives. Good writers try to avoid these empty, weak words and replace them with strong words.

Enjoyed. Thanks.

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Home / Book Editing / Words to Avoid in Writing: Weak Words to Find, Cut, and Replace

Words to Avoid in Writing: Weak Words to Find, Cut, and Replace

When you're writing your book, it is common to include a lot of words that you don't need. This doesn't mean you are a bad writer, because everyone does this.

Additionally, there are so many words that are unnecessary, and many authors don't even know it. As you gain experience writing, you will find that these words feel stale, and there are better words to replace them.

Thankfully, using the advice in this article, you can turn weak phrases into good writing and become a better writer in the process.

So what do you do about all of these words, and how can you find them?

• The different types of words to cut
• A list of specific words you should avoid
• How to find and replace these words

Note: in this article, we will be using ProWritingAid and Atticus as software examples to get this job done. These are our best recommendations for a proofreading software and a writing software, respectively. However, much of this can also be done in almost any writing program you use. It just might take a little longer. Some of these links may also be affiliate links.

Types of Words to Cut

While we do provide a list of the most common words to look for, there are whole categories of words that you should avoid in your writing, unless you have a specific reason to use them.

Adverbs are words that usually end in “–ly”. They can be helpful, but should not be overused. Adverbs are a good example of “telling, not showing”, when there is a better action verb or descriptor to convey the same information.

To Be Verbs

To be verbs include the words was, is, are, were, etc. While these verbs are certainly necessary, they often act as a big signpost that a better verb could be used.

For example, instead of saying “John was tired,” you could say, “John rubbed his eyes,” or, “John collapsed in his chair.”

Once again, to be verbs provide a clue that you are telling instead of showing.

To be verbs are also a potential sign of passive voice. For example, instead of saying “the ball was thrown by John,” you could say “John threw the ball.” 

Prepositional Phrases

A prepositional phrase is a short phrase that ends with a noun, phrases that often increase the length of the sentence.

An example could be, “at the store,” or, “near the middle,”. There are usually better ways to phrase these sentences.

Run-on Sentences

While a little harder to spot using a find and replace feature, run-on sentences are sentences that go on for too long. There are two kinds of run-ons: fused and comma splices. A fused sentence consists of two independent clauses  fused  together with no punctuation; a comma splice has two independent clauses joined together by a comma.

To fix them, you must either insert a coordinating conjunction, separate them into two separate sentences with a period, or use a semi-colon.

Some tools, such as the Hemingway app , as well as a report in ProWritingAid , will help you identify potential run-on sentences.

Nominalizations

Nominalization are verbs or adjectives that are turned into a noun, when it would be better to keep them as an adjective or verb.

Examples include words like collection, analysis, slowness, intention, accuracy, disagreement, or suggestion.

For example, the phrase, “she performed an analysis,” would usually be better off said, “she analyzed.”

Tautologies

Tautologies are words and phrases that mean the same thing, meaning you can cut one of the words.

Examples include things like “evening sunset”, or “autobiography of her life.” In these examples “evening” and “of her life” mean the same thing as “sunset” and “autobiography” respectively. You don't need both.

Excessive Dialogue Tags

Dialogue tags are necessary when constructing good dialogue, as they inform the reader who is speaking.

However, if you have a conversation between two people, putting a dialogue tag at the end of every single piece of dialogue becomes excessive. Sooner or later, the reader will know who is speaking, and the tags begin to slow down the pacing.

Therefore, when you have two people talking, include the dialogue tags at the beginning of the conversation, but remove them as the conversation progresses.

Overused Words

We all have these, and it is different for every author. There are words that you rely on more than others. These could be words like grin, sigh, suddenly, etc.

Get to know your own personal writing style and identify the words you use as a crutch. ProWritingAid can help with this, as they have a tool that quickly identifies your most-used words.

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Specific Words to Avoid

Now that we've covered some of the basic categories of words to avoid, let's look at individual words that should be a big warning sign for you.

Feeling and Thinking Words

These are words like felt, feel, think, thought, wonder, ponder, understand, realize, or believe.

All of these words are usually unnecessary, and they are signs that you are telling, not showing. There are usually better verbs to use, or you can rephrase the sentence to show more.

This way, you are not distancing yourself from the viewpoint character. You can get directly inside their head, instead of describing what they are feeling.

Example: instead of saying “I thought the food tasted horrible,” you could say, “Yuck! That food made me gag.” 

“Then” is a commonly used word to transition in a sequence of events. It is overused and can sound basic. Try rearranging your words, and use “and” instead.

Example: instead of “I tripped on the dance floor, then fell flat on my face, then everyone laughed at me,” say, “I tripped on the dance floor, fell flat on my face, and everyone laughed.”

Words like breathe, breath, inhale, exhale, etc. are words frequently relied on by authors to show an internal character emotion. I know for myself that I relied far too heavily on “let out a breath I didn't know I was holding” in my early books.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it can get overly repetitive. Instead, change it up by finding another way to show what caused that character to breathe differently.

Example: instead of “David rushed around the corner and I inhaled sharply,” use, “David rushed around the corner, a manic look in his eye, and my body tensed.”

Shrug, Nod, Smile, Reach

These are common words used by authors over and over again. While this doesn't make them bad, you want to make sure there isn't a more accurate and specific way of describing the situation.

Sometimes, a smile is just a smile, and you don't need a more specific word or phrase, but sometimes you've used it too often, and you need a better way of saying it.

Example: instead of, “He reached for the hammer,” use, “He lunged for the hammer.”

Really, Very

Really and Very are heavily used in writing but are almost always inferior. In almost every situation, there is a stronger adjective that will describe the situation more accurately (the exception, of course, is when a character might use them in dialogue).

Example: instead of, “the giant was very big,” use, “the giant towered over me.”

Just is a word, similar to “very” or “really” that can be easily deleted. It is unnecessary in most situations, and often doesn't even need a replacement.

Example: instead of, “he just wants to be loved,” say, “he wants to be loved.”

“That” is a necessary word, but is often overused. There are many instances when you can remove the word and maintain the meaning of the phrase.

Example: instead of “Dave told Jason that that explosion was deliberate,” say, “Dave told Jason the explosion was deliberate.”

Overused -ly Adverbs

Adverbs should be reduced in general, but there are some that are overused more, including: totally, completely, absolutely, literally, definitely, certainly, probably, actually, basically, virtually.

All of these words add nothing to the sentence, and you can usually remove them. An action word makes a better replacement.

Example: instead of “the drawer was completely full of socks,” say, “the drawer was full of socks.”

“Thing” and “It” are vague words that don't accurately describe what you're talking about. When possible, replace these words with a more specific word to describe the object you are referring to.

The exception for “it” occurs when you have already used the object's name in a sentence, in which case you can use “it” as the correct pronoun going forward.

Example: Instead of, “Bring me that thing,” say, “Bring me that book/smartphone/food/etc.”

Start, Begin

Words like start, begin, began, and begun are often unnecessary, as you can just describe the action instead, with the “starting” of that action already implied.

Example: instead of, “she began to run,” say, “she ran”.

“There was” is a common way to start a sentence, and can be easily replaced by a more descriptive action.

Example: instead of, “there was a cat scratching at the door,” say, “a cat scratched at the door.”

“Up” and “down” are often unnecessary words, since the direction is usually implied by other words in the sentence. Analyze whether you need these words, and delete if necessary.

Example: instead of, “she sat down on the carpet,” say, “she sat on the carpet.”

“Have got” is a tautology, meaning that both words mean the same thing. Instead, you can just use “have”.

Additionally, “got” is not a useful word overall, and you can usually find a better word to use instead.

Example: instead of, “she got to her feet,” say, “she leapt to her feet.”

“Literally” is a word that is often used out of context, in a situation where it is not meant to be taken…literally. Make sure that when you use this word, that it means what it says.

There are exceptions, like when a character is supposed to talk that way, but generally you should avoid it.

Example: instead of “The sun was so hot, John was literally melting,” you can remove the word “literally” or replace it with a word like “practically”.

“About” is a vague word that doesn't specify anything. You can use words like “approximately” or provide a more specific range instead.

Example: instead of “the wall was about 10 feet high,” say, “the wall was between 10 and 12 feet high.”

Filler Phrases

There are a lot of filler words and phrases that can be entirely cut from your manuscript. These words and phrases include:

• Each and every
• In order to
• At the end of the day
• As a matter of fact
• For all intents and purposes
• For the most part
• With regard to
• In reference to
• Needless to say
• It is important to note that
• During the course of
• When it comes to
• Due to the fact

All of these phrases are empty, add no new meaning to the sentence, and should be avoided.

Example: instead of, “At the end of the day, it is important to note that, as of yet, we have not found a cure for the common cold,” say, “We have not yet found a cure for the common cold.”

Sort of, Kind of

These two phrases are used often in spoken language, but are unnecessary in writing. They are empty phrases that mean nothing and you can easily eliminate them.

The meaning can shift slightly when you eliminate it, so make sure that there isn’t a better way to say it, or that it means what you want it to say.

Example: Instead of “The meeting progressed kind of on schedule,” say, “The meeting progressed on schedule.”

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How to Cut These Words From Your Book

The best tool to cut an unnecessary word from your creative writing is a standard Find and Replace feature. While you can access this in Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and others, I’m going to be using Atticus , which uses a special system built specifically for writers.

In Atticus , you can access the Find and Replace feature by selecting the More Tools button on the top right, then selecting the icon that looks like a magnifying glass.

Then, you have a number of options.

• You can select whether to search through a single chapter or the whole book
• Input the word you are searching for into the Find section
• You can select whether to match the whole word or match the case
• Scroll through the Previous and Next copy of that word
• Input the word you want to replace (if needed)

Once you have inputted your word into the “Find” field, you can then see how many times that word appears in each chapter, as shown in the chapter menu.

Simply Find and Replace, or Find and go through them one by one to ensure the change is what you want.

If the Find and Replace feature isn’t enough, you can use a program like ProWritingAid (which also integrates with Atticus).

ProWritingAid is better than Find and Replace for some types of word searches, such as overused words that you might not know you are overusing, or cases of passive voice and filler phrases.

Those who purchase the lifetime version of ProWritingAid through our link get a 20% off coupon ! That’s a huge savings for the lifetime package, which provides incredible savings on its own. 

ProWritingAid is (by far) our top pick for authors. It’s great for long-form writing, academic writing, or a blog post, and has more reports than any other grammar checker.

So take these tools and writing advice and use them to improve your academic paper, short story, or novel.

Jason Hamilton

When I’m not sipping tea with princesses or lightsaber dueling with little Jedi, I’m a book marketing nut. Having consulted multiple publishing companies and NYT best-selling authors, I created Kindlepreneur to help authors sell more books. I’ve even been called “The Kindlepreneur” by Amazon publicly, and I’m here to help you with your author journey.

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43 Words You Should Cut From Your Writing Immediately

by Diana Urban | Feb 8, 2018

When revising any piece of writing — a novel, a news article, a blog post, marketing copy, etc. — there are certain words I delete to make the text stronger and cut my word count. When I’m writing a novel, one of my last drafts focuses on cutting these “filler” words. Removing them helps speed up the pacing of both action and dialogue. In my business writing or blog posts, cutting these words makes the content feel more polished (at least, IMO!). While this might not be the ultimate list of all words you could remove, these are the ones I personally look for when I’m revising, so I thought other writers out there would find this helpful! Also, my examples below might be exaggerated, but I hope they get the points across.

Always remember, though, that there is no one correct way to write. Writing is art, and it’s always subjective. If you want to include these words in whatever context (e.g. to make dialogue sound more natural) that’s 100% your call! This is just my personal list of words I try to limit my usage of as much as possible, and I’ve shared it here in case it’s helpful to anyone else.

Words you should delete

Really, very. These are useless modifiers. You should be able to find stronger verbs or adjectives for whatever you’re trying to enhance. For example, “He ran very quickly along the really long field.” can be, “He sprinted across the vast field.”

That.  If a sentence still makes sense after removing “that,” delete it. For example, “This is the most amazing blog post that I’ve ever read.” can be, “This is the most amazing blog post I’ve ever read.”

Just. I have a hard time removing “just,” especially in dialogue. But for the most part, you don’t need it, and too many can make your dialogue or prose repetitive.

Then. When showing a sequence of events, either remove “then” or try using “and” instead of “then.” Using “then” frequently sounds repetitive and even juvenile. “I shut the car door, then tripped over the sidewalk. Then Bob pointed and laughed, and then my cheeks flushed.” sounds better as, “I shut the car door and tripped over the sidewalk. My cheeks flushed as Bob pointed and laughed.”

Totally, completely, absolutely, literally. These words don’t add information to a sentence. For example, “The box was completely full of clothes.” reads the same as, “The box was full of clothes.” or better yet, “The box was stuffed with clothes.”

Definitely, certainly, probably, actually, basically, virtually.  Again, these words don’t add information. If the sentence makes sense without these words, remove them.

Start, begin, began, begun. These words are unnecessary unless an interruption to the action soon occurs. But for the most part, you can remove these words.

Rather, quite, somewhat, somehow. A movie doesn’t have to be “rather dull,” it can just be “dull.” Delete!

Said, replied, asked, and any other dialogue tag. Dialogue tags slow your pacing and distract readers from the conversation. You can keep these tags for the first couple sentences of dialogue, but once you established who says the first couple lines, readers can follow the conversation back-and-forth for themselves. Also opt for surrounding dialogue with action instead of dialogue tags. Action will let us see what the characters are doing besides talking, and offer character trait information as well. For example:

“I don’t know where I’m going,” said Derek.

“You have a map,” said Ramona. “Figure it out.”

“Haven’t you been here before?” asked Derek.

“It’s been twenty years,” said Ramona. “How am I supposed to remember?”

Derek frowned at the street sign overhead. “I don’t know where I’m going.”

“You have a map.” Ramona took a drag from her cigarette. “Figure it out.”

“Haven’t you been here before?”

“It’s been twenty years. How am I supposed to remember?”

Down, up. Usually, these words are unnecessary and you can remove them. For example, “I sat down on the floor.” could be, “I sat on the floor.” and “I stood up.” could be, “I stood.”

Wonder, ponder, think, thought, feel, felt, understand, realize. When you add any of these terms, you’re removing readers from the introspection and adding useless words. For example, “I wondered whether Johnny was the murderer.” could be, “Was Johnny the murderer?” If the narrator questions, “Was Johnny the murderer?” it’s self-explanatory that the narrator is wondering it. This also helps readers feel closer to your narrator, and more involved in the speculation.

Breath, breathe, inhale, exhale. These are far too commonly used by many authors to describe character internals, including me! Instead of deleting, you’ll have to find an alternative way to describe how a character is reacting to whatever has made them breathe quickly, exhale sharply, or “Let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.” Ick! I highly recommend The Emotion Thesaurus  in paperback, not digital, so you can skim through any time.

Shrug, nod, reach. Every author has her own quirks, and over time, you should become familiar with your own. These are a few of mine — in my first drafts, I have characters shrug, nod, and reach for things way too often — and I know a lot of other writers include these, too. Always have second readers, whether you’re writing a novel or blog post. They’ll be able to point out actions that happen too frequently better than you can, because you’ll usually be too close to your own writing to notice.

How to find these words in your writing

If you’re using Word, it’s easy to find these useless words. First, make sure to select a highlight color from the toolbar besides white.

Click Edit > Find > Advanced Find and Replace . Click Replace and the little down arrow.

Enter the word you’re seeking in both the Find what: and Replace with: fields. When your cursor is still in the Replace with: field, click Format > Highlight .

Click Replace All . Repeat this process for every word you want to find in your document. Then you can scroll through your writing and easily spot these words, and decide if you want to delete them. Doing a Find/Replace to delete these words isn’t a good option because there will be some instances when simply removing the word muddles the meaning of your sentence. Sometimes a sentence will need to be reworked.

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Filter Words and Phrases to Avoid in Writing Fiction

 Filter words act like a veil between the reader and the character

by Kathy Steinemann

This article provides a list of writing filters, with practical examples of how to replace them. You’ll also find exercises that can double as story prompts.

All words exist for a reason. Use them wisely to create engaging narrative.

Why the fuss?

Filter words form a barrier that distances readers from a story.

Bertie felt the warm sand between her toes as she walked.

Bertie’s experience is relayed secondhand. When word economy is critical, this approach works. However, wouldn’t you rather become so involved that you almost feel it yourself?

With a few tweaks, we can strengthen the sentence.

The sand trickled between Bertie’s toes, radiating warmth with every step she took.

Strong verbs, trickled and radiating , amplify the sensory impact.

Five senses? Six? Twelve?

Most people can name five senses: sight, smell, hearing, touch, and taste. Add ESP to the list, and it grows to six.

Some pundits expand to include pain, balance, motion, sense of time, temperature, and sense of direction. You might even discover lists that include miscellaneous emotions such as hunger, happiness, fatigue, and rhythm.

For the purposes of this post, we’ll stick with the five senses we learned about in elementary school.

Popular advice recommends that writing include all five senses whenever possible.

Let’s evaluate a paragraph that complies with this recommendation.

Patricia heard steps on the front porch, and she smelled sulfur. She could taste bile rising into her throat. She couldn’t see anything in the dark, so she groped until she felt the familiar cold metal of her son’s baseball bat.

“What’s wrong with that?” you might ask. “The paragraph embraces all five senses.”

Please review the underlined words. They filter the events through Patricia’s perceptions. Let’s consider a different version.

Someone—or something—stomped across the front porch. The reek of sulfur overwhelmed Patricia’s nostrils, and bitter bile burned her throat. She groped in the darkness for a weapon. What was that? Ah, the comforting cold metal of her son’s baseball bat.

The second version employs strong verbs to transport readers into the action. Patricia hears stomping, she smells sulfur, she tastes bitter bile, she sees darkness, and she feels cold metal.

Or something , set off by em dashes, adds to the tension. The reek of sulfur leaves no doubt that the odor is unpleasant. Bitter bile burns her throat—a more effective taste reference. Familiar cold metal changes to comforting cold metal , a tell that adds to the paragraph.

All filter words ( heard, smelled, taste, see, felt ) were traded for active replacements.

If you don’t know what filter words are, you can’t avoid them.

Let’s review a partial list of filters and their close relatives. I tried to classify them logically, although some words could appear in multiple groups.

See : appear like, become aware of, detect, discern, distinguish, give the impression of, identify, look, look like, note, notice, observe, perceive, realize, recognize, reveal, seem, sense, sight, spot, watch

Smell : detect the smell of, diagnose, get a whiff of, scent, smell like, whiff

Hear : catch, eavesdrop, overhear, listen to, sound, sound like

Touch : feel, feel like

Taste : appreciate, delight in, enjoy, like, relish, savor, take pleasure in

Know : ascertain, assume, believe, bring to mind, decide, deem, discover, gather, get, glean, guess, infer, intuit, learn, posit, regard, remember, suspect, think, understand, wonder

Experience : be subjected to, face, go through, live through, suffer, take in, undergo

Be able to : be capable of, be equal to, be up to the task, can, could, have the ability to, have what it takes to

Dialogue to the rescue?

Consider the following sentence pairs.

Fabrice stared into the water. The creek looked cold.

Fabrice stared into the creek. “Wow, look at that ice. It must be at least three inches thick.” She shivered.

Sneaky, but effective, this provides an example of a filter word that doesn’t function as a filter. Fabrice describes the ice on the creek, and readers will understand that it’s cold. The shiver reinforces her statement.

Arno heard ringing in both ears.

Arno cupped his ears with his hands. “Will this infernal ringing never stop?”

A combination of body language and dialogue shows readers what Arno experiences, without using a single filter word.

This was crazy. Royce knew it, but he couldn’t stop himself from popping the question.

“Um,” Royce whispered, “I know this is crazy, but would you … will you … marry me?”

Another filter word sneaks into dialogue without functioning as a filter.

By the way, saying that a character knows something is discouraged by editors. Of course your POV character will know _____ [fill in the blank].

If you need to introduce facts, please find a way that doesn’t rely on know/knew or several paragraphs of internal monologue. Overdoing a character’s private thoughts is another practice that annoys readers.

Double-up = double-bad.

Do I need to explain why the following examples represent abuse of filter words?

Vivienne listened and heard _____.

Orson looked and saw _____.

Alice whiffed and detected the smell of _____.

Frank tasted and relished the flavor of _____.

Mallory touched her lips and felt _____.

Each sentence repeats the same sensory filter—double-slap on the wrist for offenders. I can’t administer your punishment, but dissatisfied agents, editors, and readers will.

More examples of filter rescues.

The corporal saw a grenade fly by and land in the foxhole.

A grenade flew by the corporal and landed in the foxhole.

Joe’s belches smelled like booze.

The stench of booze accompanied every belch that Joe disgorged.

Kristina heard a loud scream in the darkness.

A loud scream pierced the darkness surrounding Kristina.

Alva’s fingers touched something wet and sticky.

A sticky liquid adhered to Alva’s fingers.

Johanna smiled. The cake tasted moist and delicious.

Every delicious morsel of cake melted in Johanna’s mouth.

Quint knew Sandy wanted to go out with him.

Sandy wanted to go out with Quint.

Experience :

Emil experienced a huge stress reaction.

Emil’s heart pounded like a gavel, and heat radiated to every extremity.

Be able to :

Raquel was able to sleep well for the first time in days.

For the first time in days, Raquel slept well.

Are you ready to attempt a few filter word exercises?

Try to edit away the filter words. If you like an idea, you’re welcome to snag it as a story prompt.

A few of the suggested solutions include what some editors would classify as filter words, but as I stated at the outset, all words exist for a reason. If you have to hunt through the solutions with a magnifying glass to find the filters, they’ll likely pass muster with most people.

Exercise #1:

Guido felt a host of humongous spiders skittering up his arm. Then he felt several sharp pains. They were followed by the feeling that he was suspended, swaying, trapped in a giant web. He heard a squeaky noise somewhere behind him, but he was unable to turn his head to discern what it was.

Suggested solution :

A host of humongous spiders skittered up Guido’s arm and sank their fangs into his skin. After a moment of disorientation, he found himself suspended, swaying, trapped in a giant web. Somewhere behind him a disembodied squeak sent a shiver down his spine, but the sticky trap immobilized his head, preventing him from investigating the source of the noise.

Exercise #2:

Looking up, Prisca noticed that she and her cohort were standing in the blind spot between cameras. Feeling emboldened, she extended a one-fingered salute in the direction of the CEO’s office. Then she heard a voice bellow from somewhere to her left, “Prisca, you’re fired.”

Prisca ensured that she and her cohort were standing in the blind spot between cameras. Then, she stuck out her tongue and extended a one-fingered salute in the direction of the CEO’s office. A voice bellowed from somewhere to her left, “Prisca, you’re fired.”

Exercise #3:

All Luisa could hear was silence, a silence so complete she could hear her own pulse. She felt nauseated. Where am I? The last thing I remember was stepping into the elevator.

The silence surrounding Luisa was so complete that the ka-thump of her pulse pounded in her ears. A wave of nausea engulfed her. Where am I? The last thing I remember was stepping into the elevator.

Exercise #4:

The restaurant smelled like garlic, charbroiled steak, and a faint odor that could have been licorice or fennel. Clint felt hungry, but not hungry enough to chance being poisoned again.

Delicious aromas of garlic, charbroiled steak, and a faint suggestion of licorice or fennel beckoned Clint toward the restaurant. However, his hunger wasn’t powerful enough for him to chance being poisoned again.

Exercise #5:

Sir Edgar decided he would never be able to reveal his love for Princess Edwina. He knew she loved him too, and she would be in danger if their enemies thought they could get to her through him.

The bitter truth forced itself on Sir Edgar: He must never reveal his love for Princess Edwina. She loved him too, and she would be in danger if their enemies could get to her through him.

By Kathy Steinemann, @KathySteinemann , June 11, 2017

Her writing tips blog has won multiple awards as one of the top blogs for writers.

Her career has taken varying directions, including positions as editor of a small-town paper, computer-network administrator, and webmaster. She has also worked on projects in commercial art and cartooning. You’ll find her at KathySteinemann.com , Facebook , Twitter , and Pinterest.

What about you, scriveners? Do you look out for filter words in your writing? I’m editing the new Camilla book now, and these tips are really helping me. But do remember these are guidelines, not hard and fast rules!

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About Anne R. Allen

Anne writes funny mysteries and how-to-books for writers. She also writes poetry and short stories on occasion. Oh, yes, and she blogs. She's a contributor to Writer's Digest and the Novel and Short Story Writer's Market.

Her bestselling Camilla Randall Mystery RomCom Series features perennially down-on-her-luck former socialite Camilla Randall—who is a magnet for murder, mayhem and Mr. Wrong, but always solves the mystery in her quirky, but oh-so-polite way.

Anne lives on the Central Coast of California, near San Luis Obispo, the town Oprah called "The Happiest City in America."

June 11, 2017 at 10:32 am

Thanks for your informative blog, Anne!

The advice in this post would apply to non-fiction as well. In a memoir, biography, or news story, filter words distance readers just as much as they do in fiction.

June 11, 2017 at 10:45 am

Unique post, Kathy! Thank you. My advanced students will benefit from this, and I’ll point them to it.

June 11, 2017 at 10:51 am

My pleasure, Melodie.

Thanks for stopping by.

June 11, 2017 at 10:52 am

Kathy, thanks for an informative post–made even better by your excellent examples. Now off to check my WiP for no-nos! 🙂

June 11, 2017 at 11:04 am

Heh heh, Ruth. I feel for you.

June 11, 2017 at 11:02 am

Wish I’d known all that before I began writing. Felt was definitely a word I overused and in all the wrong places. Excellent examples – thanks, Kathy!

June 11, 2017 at 11:07 am

Thanks for stopping by, Alex. Reading older works is like viewing photos of the past. We grow as writers with every word we type.

June 11, 2017 at 11:57 am

This was fantastic! Thank you. I’m so glad Alex tweeted this article.

June 11, 2017 at 1:09 pm

Thanks, Elsie!

June 11, 2017 at 12:42 pm

Thank you, Kathy, Great advice and the exercises were fun. My WIP is in first person and my protagonist has a very expressive voice. I’m thinking I should probably be more diligent with my efforts to keep her in check!

June 11, 2017 at 1:07 pm

Hi, Christine.

First-person narration involves people in a way they don’t experience with second and third person. Although it can cause excessive filtering, curbing the filtering isn’t impossible.

See http://kathysteinemann.com/Musings/i-i-i/ for a few suggestions.

Good luck with your WIP!

June 11, 2017 at 1:11 pm

Thank you for your excellent advice, Kathy. I’ve bookmarked this post for future reference. Really enjoyed having a go at the exercises.

June 11, 2017 at 1:18 pm

Thanks, Wendy.

With hundreds of thousands of words to choose from, the options for the exercise solutions are almost unlimited.

June 11, 2017 at 1:39 pm

Thanks for the lesson, Kathy. A word of caution may be helpful here. I think some inexperienced writers go overboard in trying to avoid certain no-no’s, such as filter words. In their zeal, the sometimes end up with convoluted sentences or words that don’t really serve their purpose.

June 11, 2017 at 1:49 pm

Good point, Tricia. Most “rules” should be treated as guidelines. Writing is a creative process–not a series of formulas. So far, computers haven’t been able to duplicate creativity, although scientists at Dartmouth College tried to develop a poetic computer.

http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/06/27/480639265/human-or-machine-can-you-tell-who-wrote-these-poems

June 11, 2017 at 2:02 pm

Thanks for the tips on words to avoid, Kathy. I have a whole list of words to avoid and will add these to my list. Your suggested changes made it easy to see how using filter words really weakens your writing.

June 11, 2017 at 2:04 pm

Thanks for reading the post, Natalie. I’m glad you found the examples helpful.

June 11, 2017 at 2:29 pm

I just caught one in my WIP due to reading this earlier. I have returned to say thanks for writing this post. I shall bookmark it for later.

Have wonderful evening.

June 11, 2017 at 4:10 pm

I’m glad you found it helpful, Jacqueline!

You have a wonderful evening too.

June 11, 2017 at 3:48 pm

It seems to me that it would be easier to write the first draft using filter words (at least for me) and then go back and fix them in the second draft. at least until someone (like me) gains more experience writing and can naturally write without using them naturally.

June 11, 2017 at 4:14 pm

Hemingway would agree with you, RJ. A book requires multiple edits before it’s ready for readers. Some writers like to catch this potential problem in the first draft. Others prefer to wait.

June 11, 2017 at 4:41 pm

OW! Your itty bitty heel just crushed my size 12 foot. Or is it WOW! Did I just get schooled on filtering. Did not even know that was something to watch out for. Thank you. Now off I go to sign up for your blog. Then to my WIP for serious edit/rewrite.

June 11, 2017 at 4:51 pm

Heh heh. Do you need an itty-bitty bandage or a humongous pressure dressing, David?

June 12, 2017 at 9:38 am

A humongous pressure dressing. My WIP is hemorrhaging all over the page.

June 12, 2017 at 10:45 am

Haha. Maybe apply some styptic powder as well?

June 11, 2017 at 5:11 pm

Fantastic article from Kathy on word filtering and I enjoyed tinkering with the exercises too. Thanks Kathy and Anne. 🙂

June 11, 2017 at 7:10 pm

Thanks, DG! It would be interesting to see some of the exercise solutions. I should have requested that in the post.

June 12, 2017 at 6:49 am

Yes! I actually did a few of them (in my head of course). Great explanations and examples Kathy. 🙂

June 11, 2017 at 7:24 pm

Excellent post. Thanks heaps to both of you.

June 11, 2017 at 7:29 pm

Thanks for stopping by, CS!

June 12, 2017 at 12:30 am

Kathy, this is brilliant advice! I think, nay, I’m sure I’ve overdone practically all those “filter words”! As English is my second language, it makes it all that much harder to figure out what is and what is not a filter word.

But now I see the point. Filter words are over-used because they are “catch all” and so they lose their own personality. They lose meaning. They don’t evoke anything in the reader’s mind. The verb to feel is a perfect case in point: you can feel hot, cold, scared, happy, sad etc. and even feel hate for someone!

Many thanks, this was an eye-opener.

June 12, 2017 at 5:19 am

I’m pleased this post is helpful for you, Claude, and I applaud you for writing in English even though it’s not your native language.

As I say on my website in the blog post that links to this one, filters “act like a coffee machine. Water takes time to drip through the filter while you wait for the reward: a delicious cup of aromatic ambrosia that glides down your throat.”

The fault is not with the words, but with when and how often they appear.

June 12, 2017 at 1:23 am

Thanks for providing such a nice information on Writing , Excellent article! I make this mistake all the time. It is amazing how much losing those filter words improves the story.!

June 12, 2017 at 10:43 am

Thanks for stopping by, 3.

June 12, 2017 at 4:21 am

Wonderful post Kathy! I especially appreciate that you mention the distinction between effective and redundant filter words. I’ve seen my share of editors who fail to distinguish, a one-size-fits-all strategy that leaves manuscripts devoid of these words and, consequently, deprives us of fhe interior aspect of story. We do need to look inside sometimes! What we don’t need it to be told when someone is looking outside because the nature of POV itself implies what’s being related is the inner experience of the outer world. What I truly love about your examples here is how you demonstrate the abstract to concrete conversion writing undergoes when one clearn the fog, so to speak — because that’s exactly what a paragraph or sentence is like when we’re being told what the POV character is experiencing rather than shown. Beautiful and insightful stuff! Thank you!

June 12, 2017 at 5:34 am

Thanks, John.

Yes, filter words are like salt. Sprinkled with caution, they augment writing; used too frequently, and they smother it. If anyone suggests the complete removal of any word, I recommend that they take a page of their WIP and eliminate every the . Not a pretty result.

Words exist for a reason.

June 12, 2017 at 7:40 am

This is excellent and really helpful. I love the exercises. They’re great examples of how to write in a way that will engage the reader by not “telling” him/her everything that’s going on with the character. Thank you.

June 12, 2017 at 7:53 am

Thanks, Patricia. Telling sometimes gets a bum rap, but it’s generally better to show .

June 12, 2017 at 9:59 am

Excellent advice. Thank you for all the examples. I learn best from those. <3

June 12, 2017 at 10:49 am

Thanks, Colleen. I learn best from examples too.

June 12, 2017 at 10:11 am

Great post. With a search feature, a writer can hunt out these mistakes and rewrite. Deep POV pulls readers into the heart of the story and avoids cliche writing.

June 12, 2017 at 10:46 am

Thanks, Beth. Yes, search works well as long as a writer knows what to search for.

June 12, 2017 at 1:24 pm

A most helpful post. This is another to archive for future reference.

June 12, 2017 at 2:33 pm

Thanks for stopping by Anne and Ruth’s blog, V.M.

June 12, 2017 at 2:51 pm

I wasn’t going to bother reading this post, Kathy, but apart from being very funny in places, it turned out to be a good reminder of the need to be more direct in our writing. So easy to fall back into the old habits!

June 12, 2017 at 7:19 pm

I’m glad you stayed long enough to read. Have a great week!

June 13, 2017 at 2:56 am

A Very helpful post. Loved all the tips mentioned by you especially the exercises. Thanks!

June 13, 2017 at 10:31 am

Thanks, Feelings . Interesting filter name. *grin*

June 13, 2017 at 4:09 am

Love it! I am so sharing this with my critique group! I found these exact issues in the MSs I read last night….now I have a name and a fix for them to share with the group as well as reminders for myself on what to avoid-:D

June 13, 2017 at 5:49 am

Thanks, Cat! I wonder if a Filter Addicts Anonymous group would fly. Oh–FAA. I think … nope. The Federal Aviation Administration might object.

June 13, 2017 at 8:40 am

Top notch. Many writers don’t understand or even know about filter words. Excellent info.

June 13, 2017 at 10:30 am

Thanks, Paul. English contains so many filter words, but I picked those I considered most likely to be overused.

June 15, 2017 at 5:51 am

I think the only one I disagree with is the restaurant example. (She frowned at the post and sat scanning through its lines at top speed. Suddenly, upon reaching a particular example, a pang of dismay shot through her! How could she disagree with something so well written?!)

While it’s telling, I think it’s dependent on whether or not this is some huge plot driven thing or just a passing thought in the character’s head that may end up on the cutting room floor anyway.

Still, this has me going back through my (many, overwhelming :v) WIPs now, today, to eyeball them. It’s a hell of a good point to make and I see a lot of this getting through editors, especially in YA fiction. I guarantee we all do it, but we shouldn’t~!

June 15, 2017 at 10:26 am

Thanks for stopping by, Lizzy!

The first sentence in the suggested solution for Exercise #4 takes smells that are filtered through Clint’s senses and presents an active portrayal of the aromas. Although the second sentence is tell , it’s unrealistic to use show everywhere without creating word bloat.

I’m reminded of an author who sometimes takes several paragraphs or pages to describe a scene (show) . I end up flipping through the pages, ignoring his brilliant writing, until I reach the meat of the story.

Good luck with your WIPs. Plural? Excellent. You’re a busy writer.

June 15, 2017 at 11:03 am

I think some of this just goes back to the good old “don’t write in passive tense”. If everything is active and popping, even if Bill is just snoring on his lounge chair, it’s more interesting than hearing that bill’s snoring in his loung chair. It’s tricksy. This is still a primo article though.

And yeah, quite a few WIPs. Everything actively getting written on, too. It’s fun to have everybody hollering in your head at the same time 😀 Thank you though!

June 15, 2017 at 10:03 am

This is the most useful advice on craft I have seen in a very long time. Thank you so much for this!

June 15, 2017 at 1:09 pm

Thanks for stopping by, Amy.

I’m always on the prowl looking for new topics and overused words to research for my next book. Do you have any nemeses?

June 15, 2017 at 1:12 pm

I need to go back over my WIP. I know I’ve used filter words. The question is, as someone said earlier, do I do it now, or do I finish the first draft and then go back and kill them off?

June 15, 2017 at 1:16 pm

Well, V.M., many authors like to rush through the first draft, like basting a hem on a skirt, not worrying about filters, grammar, or clichés. Others prefer a more cautious approach. Whatever works best for you is right.

June 15, 2017 at 8:26 pm

Terrific article. Thanks for sharing Anne… I was lucky only found one in my latest short….Not too bad. LOL… There are were many I learned about that I didn’t know were filters….

June 15, 2017 at 8:46 pm

When I saw “only one,” I just about swallowed my tongue–and then you said it was a short. 🙂

Thanks for your comment, Michael. Filter words are tricky. We use them all the time in speech and writing. Not having any in a novel is unrealistic, but it would be interesting to see someone try. Best seller?

June 16, 2017 at 9:11 pm

LOL… It was a really short, short, Kathy. Only about 700 words. If I were you I would probably have reacted the same way. Thanks again for informing us of the DANGERS of Filters.

It would be interesting to try a novel …. It would probably take years and the author may lose his/her sanity. I think I’ll pass.

June 19, 2017 at 1:53 pm

Excellent article on the virtues of showing instead of telling. I’d never heard of filter words, so it was educational.

June 19, 2017 at 4:01 pm

Thanks, Thomas. Telling can be useful if not overdone. Likewise with filters.

June 19, 2017 at 4:16 pm

Kathy, I can’t thank you enough for this fantastic post. It’s been one of our most popular posts ever, with over 5000 hits in a week! Ruth and I are so happy you visited us! Thanks!!

June 19, 2017 at 4:19 pm

Thanks for the opportunity to participate with your readers, Anne and Ruth!

June 19, 2017 at 4:20 pm

Duh. “Interact” is a better word. I’ve been out in the sun too long murdering dandelions with my Dynasteam.

June 30, 2017 at 6:04 pm

Great advice.

June 30, 2017 at 8:14 pm

Thanks, Rugby!

July 1, 2017 at 2:18 am

Great post. I love the added exercises 🙂 — Suzanne

July 1, 2017 at 5:52 am

Thanks, Suzanne.

July 1, 2017 at 10:23 am

Fantastic post – and one I really needed to hear! Love the examples and the additional exercises. Thanks so much!

July 1, 2017 at 12:39 pm

Thanks, Julia!

July 1, 2017 at 11:37 am

Thanks for the informative post and practical tips. A big help!

July 1, 2017 at 12:40 pm

Thanks, Paula!

July 1, 2017 at 12:41 pm

Oops. Your name is probably Paul. 😉

July 4, 2017 at 3:03 am

You’re right. I would love to translate your book. When I’m translating a book, I’m always thinking: “Oh, she’s FEELING again!”… As a translator, I become bored with books full of “he said, she told, he asked”. Please, writers, try to make your vocabulary richer. Try to make us translators suffer in each line. 🙂

July 4, 2017 at 10:44 am

Thanks for your comment, Rosina.

Heh heh. It would be interesting to see a book about grammar and English translated into a different language. 😉

July 4, 2017 at 5:26 am

Excellent tips. I know I’ve overused them in early works and I still catch myself using some here and there. Thankfully I don’t think I’ve ever doubled up though. I’ve employed the dialogue cheat once in a while too haha

July 4, 2017 at 6:19 am

Thanks, Pat.

The dialogue cheat works well. Too many writers ramble on for page after page without dialogue, creating a story that leaves readers disconnected.

July 9, 2017 at 3:43 am

Very useful post. Thanks.

July 9, 2017 at 9:05 am

Thanks for stopping by Anne and Ruth’s blog, Norah.

July 26, 2017 at 1:15 am

Thanks Kathy for your informative article and Anne for posting, as well as reblogging on Chris The Story Reading Ape’s blog. I’ve shared via https://twitter.com/SuzanneNewnham & https://www.facebook.com/suzannenewnhamwriter/

July 26, 2017 at 10:39 am

Thanks, Suzanne!

August 2, 2017 at 7:27 am

What a great list! The examples are very helpful and a good reminder. It’s easy in the first draft to use filter words just to get the story out. I’ll use this blog in my next copy edit. Thanks,

August 2, 2017 at 9:39 am

Thanks, Kristina! I feel as though your blog will look like you realize the importance of avoiding filter words. Whew. How many did I just cram into one sentence? 😉

September 8, 2017 at 2:56 pm

Totally useful blog post. I’m going to print it out and keep it near my keyboard for quick reference. I have a question for you that perhaps you’ve already covered in another post. What to you think of the overuse of words in dialogue, such as: well, yes, no, ah, oh, etc.?

September 8, 2017 at 4:22 pm

Thanks for stopping by, Carol!

October 4, 2017 at 9:01 pm

I just got my first novel back from the editor and “filter words” and “changes in POV” were the two biggest issues. I hope to use the advice here to go find the filter words and edit because I didn’t even know what that meant.

October 5, 2017 at 5:30 am

Good luck with your edits, Myloe!

March 4, 2018 at 2:26 am

Thank you for this informative article. You can never know enough about sentence structuring and conveying stronger meaning in writing.

September 16, 2018 at 10:13 am

Sorry for the late reply, Robbie. Thanks for stopping by Anne and Ruth’s blog!

June 7, 2018 at 12:08 am

I really enjoyed this post on filter words. Yours is one of the best. And I LOVED that you included some exercise passages for us to work on. I went ahead and wrote my own before looking at your suggestion solutions. It is interesting to see how different writers work out problems in sentences and passages.

I thought I might share a couple of my own reworked passages from the exercise examples too :)!

Exercise #3: Silence enveloped Luisa. A silence so complete that her own pulse thumped in her ears like the boom of a drum. Her stomach turned with nausea. Where am I? The last thing I remember was stepping into the elevator.

Exercise #5: Sir Edgar could never reveal his love for Princess Edwina. It wasn’t that he was unsure of her reciprocation. Indeed, it was true that she loved him in return. No. It was their enemies he was afraid of, whose twisted ruthlessness knew no bounds. They would do anything to get to Princess Edwina. His silence would keep them safe, though this fact did little to comfort Sir Edgar’s yearning heart.

September 16, 2018 at 10:16 am

Thanks for sharing your workarounds, Lily. I enjoy seeing how other authors approach creative writing.

June 7, 2018 at 5:52 am

Thank you for that, Kathy. I’ve just finished the first draft of my latest novel and this will be most helpful in the rewrite. I’m sure I have LOADS of filter words in there. I’ve got your Writers’ Lexicon. It’s most useful.

September 16, 2018 at 10:19 am

Thanks, Vivienne. I must have unsubscribed to post comments when I cleared out my WordPress subscriptions early this year. 🙁

I’m glad you find The Writer’s Lexicon useful, and thank you for commenting both here and on my own website.

Have a great week!

June 8, 2018 at 10:43 pm

Good post, Anne. High on information, low on self-aggrandizement.

Thanks for reading and commenting, Rod.

September 25, 2018 at 12:41 pm

I have praise for your assistance, but also feel marginalised by one of you examples:

“A host of humongous spiders skittered up Guido’s arm and sank their fangs into his skin. After a moment of disorientation, he found himself suspended, swaying, trapped in a giant web. Somewhere behind him a disembodied squeak sent a shiver down his spine, but the sticky trap immobilized his head, preventing him from investigating the source of the noise.”

I tried my own version that was based on the minimal information given in the prior text. My outcome was poor in comparison (correct, but lacking the direction you took), because you had a literary license to write what you want.

In other words you guessed, or knew, what the predicament was in the first place.

In the first passage there is no mention of a spider web, and you have presumed an immobilised head, whereas the story could have been referencing total immobilisation.

A further observation:

There are times in a novel you want a secondary character’s involvement to be limited, so a quick option drives the story past the incident and back to the main characters (as per a movie hero rescuing in the damsel, though we no involvement in how the damsel came to be in the predicament).

You’ve no mention or guidance as to how such situations can be treated even though they exist in most stories.

It was an excellent piece and I learnt much from the article, thank you. Leo

September 25, 2018 at 1:09 pm

Thanks for stopping by, Leo.

Rather than provide iron-clad answers, I prefer to offer guidelines.

A writer’s imagination keeps readers engrossed. You thought of another scenario. Thumbs up. That’s what makes you different from me and millions of other writers. Readers don’t want the same-old same-old

September 25, 2018 at 1:13 pm

It’s fine to gloss over secondary characters if they slow the narrative. Readers balk when forced to remember endless names of people who don’t contribute to the main storyline.

September 18, 2019 at 9:11 pm

Excellent list and exercises, Kathy. Thanks for sharing this.

January 8, 2020 at 2:17 pm

So I guess the MC kvetching about something is out too.

January 17, 2020 at 6:35 pm

I love showing in writing. Yet I’ve had people tell me I was using too much description (maybe I was) and that the writing flows much faster when you just tell. I disagree. To me, showing immerses you deeper into the story.

August 12, 2020 at 7:50 am

This article completely transformed my writing! I had no idea what filtering was and I realized I had at least one filtering word in every sentence of my novel! So far this is the most detailed and helpful article I’ve read about filtering.

November 2, 2020 at 9:25 am

Great article! I’ve shared it with other writer friends and re-read, at times, before diving into edits.

I’m obliged to caution against the EXCESSIVE elimination of filters, evidenced by one of the examples in this article, which eliminates one problem by creating two others:

Know: Quint knew Sandy wanted to go out with him.

The suggested “fix” does NOT communicate the same thing as the original sentence. The original sentence is written in Quint’s POV and expresses his understanding of what Sandy wants. The ‘fix’ sentence is in Sandy’s POV and only states her desire; Quint’s knowledge of it was lost entirely.

Both issues could probably be fixed by context; if the whole chapter is narrated by Quint, then it can be assumed that Quint knows everything that’s narrated.

For the sake of the example, suggest adding an active reaction on Quint’s part to what he knows.

Sandy wanted to go out with him! Quint shivered as a thrill of excitement shot through him.

May 14, 2021 at 5:46 am

A good reply. Authors must be careful not to take these kinds of blog posts as rules of thumb. The use of verbs often helps eliminate excessive description which can also cause distance.

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Words To Avoid In Writing That Say Or Do Next To Nothing

If you are a writer, I’m sure you have a list of words to avoid in your writing.

They might be words you use too often, by habit, or that you know are weak or vague.

Writing is not as easy as it seems. For new writers, it takes time to realize that certain words and phrases can weaken a text.

But discovering the most common words to avoid or delete is a pretty rapid process once you set a simple rule. If it says or does nothing, delete it.

Article Contents

How do you determine words to avoid in writing?

Every writer will have a different opinion, depending on the type and style of writing.

A fiction writer and an article writer will have different ideas about words that work and those that don’t.

But they would have words in common that are repetitive, vague, or redundant.

I’d be surprised if any writer didn’t have the three most common words to omit on their list: just, really, and very.

Other considerations about vocabulary relate to clarity, precision, and degree. In other words, is my writing and message clear for my reader?

Outdated or uncommon words are also candidates.

I find it annoying if I’m reading an online opinion or how-to article, and suddenly, words like “henceforth and forthwith” appear in the text for no good reason.

I want to learn something new when I read, not study Shakespearean English.

Another category is filler words .

These phrases often serve no purpose other than increasing the word count.

10 Words to avoid, omit, or replace in writing

The following list is not definitive by any means.

It is my opinion about words, word groups, or phrases I find irritating or serve little practical purpose.

You probably know about many of them, but there might be a few that you can add to your list.

1. A lot, a lot of, and lots of

In any form, these words say and do nothing to help a reader.

All you need to do is replace them with a more accurate definition of quantity.

Lots of people use Facebook.

Millions of people use Facebook.

I’ve got a lot of good friends.

I’ve got around twenty good friends.

A lot of the problems with the Internet are caused by weak passwords.

Most of the problems with the Internet are caused by weak passwords.

It’s an easy fix and one that instantly adds more precision.

2. Thus and hence

I’m not fond of these two words, and when I see them in online or fiction writing, it irritates me.

They are outdated adverbs that belong in literary or formal writing.

Some inexperienced writers may think using words like these makes them sound smart.

But it doesn’t, because the register is wrong. Mixing formal and informal writing is a mistake.

I got a huge salary increase, thus allowing me to buy a new car. Poor

I got a huge salary increase, allowing me to buy a new car. Better

I got a huge salary increase so I can buy a new car. Best

The only word that annoys me more is thusly .

Like the word thus, hence is a word that is rarely suitable in most forms of creative writing.

You can replace it with that being so , that being the case , or on that account, but they aren’t much better.

The easiest and most concise way is to use so .

The forecast is for heavy rain; hence, I need to take an umbrella.

The forecast is for heavy rain, so I need to take an umbrella.

When hence means in the future, use in .

Two years hence, you could believe something different.

In two years, you could believe something different.

Similar words to avoid in creative or online writing are henceforth, henceforward, and hitherto.

3. Beware of LY adverbs

Use these words with moderation and caution.

You can’t avoid all LY adverbs and adjectives , but you can limit them.

When an adverb is redundant, you can usually omit it.

The parking lot is completely full.

The movie was absolutely awful.

The pot plant was fully dead.

It was absolutely the last straw for him.

In these examples, the adverbs say nothing. If something is dead, it’s dead, so there is little point in grading or modifying it.

The simple guide is to avoid modifying absolute adjectives .

Adverbs in dialogue tags are also usually unnecessary or redundant.

She whispered quietly.

He shouted angrily.

She whimpered mournfully.

He said, and she said, are often the best option.

4. Just, very, already, quite, fairly, really, somewhat, totally, and actually

I could have just made a list with these words that you already know to totally fill this article.

But actually , I think it’s fairly obvious that these words are quite useless.

Do you really need to know more?

I somewhat doubt it.

5. It goes without saying, but with much aforethought

Insomuch as I love English vocabulary, there are some phrases that, on pensive reflection , are merely waffle.

Notwithstanding your need to impress, it’s better to make a point without these filler words.

Get to the issue and make it clear.

Pointless filler phrases in English can , without a shadow of a doubt , be very annoying for a reader.

6. If or when?

If I have the choice, I prefer to use when to create a zero conditional.

It’s an action word that says something will happen (not if) and then needs a decision or action.

If I need medical advice, I’ll call my doctor. (First conditional)

When I need medical advice, I call my doctor. (Zero conditional)

7. There is, there are, or it will be

When you start a sentence with there is, or it was, you are using the grammatical expletive .

It’s usually a waste of words you can replace without much effort.

There are lots of reasons why you shouldn’t take my advice.

You shouldn’t take my advice for lots of reasons.

You’ve got lots of reasons not to take my advice.

There is, and there are , are always good candidates to avoid when you can.

8. Clefts are awkward

Cleft sentences have a use but only in moderation.

We use this form when we want to make one element of a sentence more important.

It was Apple that invented the iPhone. (Cleft)

Apple invented the iPhone. (No cleft)

I think it’s obvious that the second example is better to use.

9. Irregardless and other misused words

Well, yes, irregardless sneaked into our language in the mid-19th century.

But it’s a nothing word that means regardless.

Always avoid misused words like this, along with others like anyways, excetera, and expresso.

10. Something, someone, and anything

Try to limit the use of indefinite pronouns whenever possible.

You can often replace a pronoun or rewrite a sentence to be more precise.

Someone returned my wallet that I lost on the bus.

A very kind lady returned my wallet that I lost on the bus.

If there’s anything I can do to help, let me know.

Let me know if you need help.

Good writing is concise, clear, to the point, and easy to read.

When you are editing or proofreading, look for words that are vague , unnecessary, or have a mismatch of formality.

I limited my list above to the most common points from my perspective. But I’m sure you could add many more.

For new writers, a good idea is to start making a list of words and phrases you often need to replace or omit.

Then, you can use it as a quick reference when editing or proofreading.

But you can always use this rule for words to avoid in writing. If in doubt, chop it out.

Related reading: Fluff In Writing And How To Wipe Away Your Filler Words

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Derek Haines

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1 thought on “words to avoid in writing that say or do next to nothing”.

Good advice. I intended to add “as always” to the sentence but don’t know how to use strike-through on my phone.

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681 Cliches to Avoid in Your Creative Writing

Cliches (properly spelled clichés, with the acute accent) are words and phrases, once interesting, which have lost their original effect from overuse. They are considered trite and should be avoided in writing unless used purposely for effect.

We all use them without thinking, sometimes because they  fit the bill  or are   just the ticket  (both cliches), but usually because they're metaphors, idiom, or truisms that have become so common we no longer notice them.

If we say  better late than never  or speak of someone being  down in the dumps  , we likely won't register that we just used a cliche. Speech is filled with shortcuts as we aim to make ourselves understood.

Editors may reject creative writing on the basis of too many cliches alone. Reviewers will point them out unless it's obvious that the writer used them for comic effect, such as to define an overly earnest or boring character.

Occasionally a cliche works well to help characterize with humour, such as when a character says,  Well isn't that enough to piss off the Pope?  

In such cases it will be clear that the cliches are used for special effect.

The list of cliches below is not meant to be comprehensive, but should help you catch some of the more common cliches in use. 

If some cliches slip by you and your editor, it's  not the end of the worl d . It is difficult to catch them all, but strive to note cliched phrases when you see them, so you may use a fresher phrase in the future. If cliches are frequent and easy to spot, you're not doing your job as a writer, and you should spend more time  weeding them out.

Cliche list A-K:

Cliche list l-z:, more creative writing help.

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Words To Avoid In Writing (Including Rules and Phrases)

Have you ever found it challenging to understand someone because of how they were writing?

Like a messy desk, untidy writing can cause problems when someone else needs to understand what you’ve written. Removing unnecessary words and phrases ensures that your message is as straightforward as possible for anyone who has to read it instead of just for yourself.

When you’re revising any piece of writing, there are certain words you want to remove to make your text tighter. These should help speed up the pacing of action and dialogue and make your work more polished and professional.

There isn’t a definitive list for every type of writing out there, but some words tend to be useless and should be omitted when doing revisions.

Here are ten commandments to improve your writing.

Don’t use too many adverbs

Adverbs—those words that often end in -ly—are helpful but should be used sparingly. If a verb is not strong enough to convey the meaning you are trying to express, use a stronger verb instead of adding an adverb.

Don’t use too many prepositional phrases

Prepositions are words that often pop up before nouns and pronouns. Fortunately, there are ways to rid your writing of these phrases. If you can eliminate phrases like “towards the end” or “from the middle,” or any other prepositional phrase from your sentence, it will instantly become shorter and more easily understood by most people.

Don’t use ambiguous modifiers

A squinting modifier is a misplaced sentence element that could modify either the phrase that precedes it or the one that follows it because of its unclear location in the sentence. Move their positions to make them clear to your readers.

Don’t use vague pronoun references

When pronouns are used, they should always have something to “stand” on, which means no pronoun should be used without a clear antecedent (a noun – person, place, or thing). Making sure that pronouns do not go without a reference is a matter of paying attention to your writing so as not to confuse the reader.

Don’t use Comma Splices

To splice means to join or connect. Writers often use a comma to join two independent clauses or sentences together in place of a semicolon, period, or coordinating conjunction.

Don’t use Run-on Sentences

Run-on sentences consist of two or more complete sentences incorrectly connected without proper punctuation or coordinating conjunction. An easy way to identify whether run-on sentences are present is by noticing an abrupt transition in writing and then finding the error in speech construction.

These errors can either be long or short sentences depending on the length of each clause in the sentence and how much time it would take you to correct them. Regardless of their size, both types of run-ons need to be fixed before considering correct punctuations.

Don’t use inflated sentences

Clean up your prose by minimizing superfluous language that serves nothing but to distract and confuse. This helps deliver more accurate, straightforward text that reflects precisely what you want to say in a much more efficient way.

Don’t use excessive sentences

Shakespeare has rightly said, “Brevity is the soul of wit.” Use that as guidance by never using ten sentences when two will suffice. Avoid overusing words such as “that,” “just,” and “very” in your work because it will only make reading more difficult for the reader.

Don’t use “could of” instead of “could have”:

“Could have” is always acceptable; “could of” never is. Writers probably make this grammar error because when we speak, the contraction “could’ve” sounds an awful lot like “could of.”

Don’t use Tautologies

Tautologies are phrases that have identical meanings. For example, “Can you jump?” and “Can you jump up and down?” Both sentences mean the same thing. You can have a lot of fun with these kinds of phrases. Often, like non-tautology phrases, they add emphasis or leave out extraneous information: dilapidated ruins, close proximity, added bonus, large crowd. The list goes on and on!

Now that you know which grammar mistakes you should avoid, here is a list of words for a quick scan that might work as your cheat sheet when proofreading or editing:

All the time.  This is a redundant phrase, and avoid it all the time.

About.  Don’t use this word to estimate because it does not specify anything. Use the word ‘approximately’ instead. Or even better, use a range.

Absolutely necessary or absolutely essential.  The words “necessary” or “essential” themselves express the urgency of that matter. Avoid the redundant absolutely.

Add an extra/an additional.  The words extra or additional work as a tautology here. Avoid them to tighten your phrasing.

Each and every.  Don’t use filler words like “each and every” day. Use compact words, such as daily instead.

As yet.  This is an example of a filler that you don’t need in your sentences.

In order to.  Eliminate the excess verbiage ‘in order to’ and use ‘to’ instead.

Basically, actually, totally, completely, absolutely, literally, actually.  All these filler words are basically, actually, totally, completely, absolutely, literally, actually useless and frustrating to read.

Some.  This is an ambiguous word. Add specifications like something, someone, somewhere, somebody instead.

Very, really, quite, rather, extremely.  These filler words are really, very, quite, rather, extremely frustrating to read.

At the end of the day, at this point of time, at this present time.  These are empty phrases that don’t add value to your piece. Use specific words like “ultimately”, “now”, “today”, etc., instead.

‍ Simply, pretty, just.  You don’t need these vague words. Don’t use them often, pretty please. ‍

As a matter of fact.  This is an empty phrase that you do not need. ‍

For all intent and purposes, for the most part.  Empty phrases. Use those sparingly. ‍

Fly through the air, sit down, jump up.  You can write fly, sit or jump instead. The rest is already intended.

‍ Sort of, kind of.  Empty phrases. You sort of kind of don’t need them to write. ‍

Probably.  You are probably too smart to use such an empty word.

As a rule.  As a rule, you should avoid such vague phrases at all costs. ‍

Frequently.  Rhis is an example of a vague phrase that you should not use often.

With regard to, in reference to.  These are prepositional phrases that do not add much to your writing. ‍

Due to the fact, in fact.  Avoid using these.

‍ I believe/I think/ in my opinion.  This might be hard, but your opinion rarely matters in professional writing.

‍ Needless to say.  If it is needless to say something, do not say it. ‍

It is important to note that.  It’s important to note that your writing should be clean and precise.

‍ During the course of.  During the course of this article, we have learned what to use and what not to use. This is another example of a redundant phrase that you should avoid while writing.

In an essay titled  Politics and the English Language , George Orwell gave out a few pointers.

Here they are:

• Never incorporate a metaphor, simile, or other figures of speech.
• Never go for a long word when a short one can do.
• If there is a scope to cut a word out, always cut it out.
• Always use an active voice.
• Never use a foreign phrase, a jargon word, or a scientific word, as your reader might not be aware of those.

There you have it: keep your writing simple, brief, active, free of clichés, and to the point. Follow this advice, and you are golden!

Tomas Laurinavicius

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Eliminate the Non-Words: Clean Up Your Content

By Zara Altair

The internet is full of writing tips for freelance writers and bloggers. You already know to use action verbs and avoid passive voice. Current guidelines for creating content also stress using natural language that speaks to a prospect or customer — this is more dangerous. Following this advice, you may use words that are common in spoken conversation but will weaken your prose.

The words you use in your content can strengthen or weaken your prose. Boost the power of your content by eliminating non-words and weak phrases that take up space but dilute your statements. The end goal of content creation is to inform and convert customers. Whether you write for your own business or create content for other entities, powerful content gets your message read.

The Dirty Dozen Words and Phrases to Avoid

Be specific.

Quantify instead of being vague. If you are referring to an object as really big, state a weight or height or both. Eliminate the vagueness. Where you may use really to emphasize or exaggerate, use a more specific adjective that will get your point across directly.

ProWritingAid's Realtime Checker will highlight your really's whenever you could use a stronger replacement.

Adding details or switching 'really' out for something stronger can take your description from vague to accurate.

2. Think / Believe

These words turn your statement into an opinion. Give your reader facts. If your purpose is to deliver information, these words will give your reader a sense you are not sure of yourself. Convey clear information to reassure your reader that your content supplies useful intelligence and data.

It’s as vague as really . Give your readers an experience with specific information. Otherwise, they don’t know how much. Use units of quantification like percentages or weights. You’ll add clarity to your statement making it easier for readers to respond to what you say.

4. Always / Never

These words are untrue. Rather than exaggerate, use words that modify. For always use words like “most” or “many” or “frequently.” For never tone down your statement with “few” or “rare” or “occasional.” When you don’t have exact data use these modifiers rather than distorting. Readers will appreciate your rational, toned down approach.

5. Entirely / Completely

Remove these words. They act as fillers. If you want to illustrate completeness, employ descriptive terms. Convey an image with a phrase like The cup is full to the brim with hot coffee . Use a specific or delete these adjectives.

6. Absolutely

Another word to delete. It is redundant to the message. He took the absolutely final step to reach the top . “Final” means final. This is one of those words that appear in casual conversation but has no place in written content.

A nondescript and non-committal noun to replace with a specific. Use it and you weaken your sentence. Rewrite the sentence to be more descriptive. For example, change Feeling ignored is a thing we can relate to , into We can all relate to feeling ignored . Stronger sentence, more powerful copy.

8. When it comes to

Leave it out. Change a weak sentence to a strong statement. Transform When it comes to swimming, the ocean is my favorite to Swimming in the ocean is my favorite . You’ll change an unwieldy sentence into a strong remark.

9. Obviously / Undoubtedly

You’ve made your point. These adverbs take away from your statement rather than emphasizing the importance. Bump them out.

You should use all adverbs sparingly in your writing . They are often redundant or can be replaced with a stronger verb.

ProWritingAid's Style Report will highlight adverbs in your writing, and advise you to replace or omit them.

10. Kind of / Sort of

These phrases make your writing sound uncertain. You either mean what you say or you don’t. You write content to convince. Don’t hedge, it weakens your premise.

11. As a matter of fact

Delete it. You don’t need this phrase to introduce a statement. Make your point in one clear sentence. If you are contradicting a previous statement, clarify the opposition to the point just made. Either way, eliminate the phrase.

Instead of modifying an adjective, use a stronger one. Change a very bright day to a day with brilliant sunshine . You’ll increase the impact of your sentence.

These words and phrases have one thing in common: a call to specifics. The purpose of content is to inform, answer questions, and convert. Page visitors respond to information presented in clear statements. Whenever your content is vague or hedges, you weaken your message to consumers.

Improve your writing and your message by cutting filler words and phrases. As you edit your content, consider each word. If it does not add to the meaning, get rid of it. Then work to make your content strong.

• Use action verbs.
• Minimize adjectives and adverbs.
• Avoid cliches, overused phrases, and filler words.

You’ll end up with strong, clear content that speaks to your reader. ProWritingAid helps edit for strong word usage and spelling and grammar clarity. Use it to edit for strong copy.

Now is a wonderful time to be a copywriter. Download this free book to learn how:

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With the advent of the internet, the copywriting industry is exploding. content is now seen as critical for all online businesses., this guide breaks down the three essential steps you must take if you think copywriting is the career for you..

Be confident about grammar

Check every email, essay, or story for grammar mistakes. Fix them before you press send.

Zara Altair

Zara Altair writes traditional mysteries set in ancient Italy under Ostrogoths rule in The Argolicus Mysteries. She teaches mystery screenwriters and novelists at Write A Killer Mystery. She creates semantic web content for a select clientele.

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