Self-Editing: Filler Words and Filter Words You Should Remove Right Away!
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: What Should You Remove from Your Writing?
Time to lecture you guys on something I’m very guilty of…and that’s the usage of unnecessary words and phrases in your writing. Though it might not seem like a big deal at first, paragraphs with tons of filter words and poor phrasing can make the reading experience excruciating. If you’re a culprit, I completely understand. Sometimes we don’t know we’re doing it. Luckily, there’s an easy fix to this issue. All it takes is for you to delete the filter word or bad phrase, then rephrase if necessary.
1. FILTER Words
What are filter words? Filter words are the unnecessary words you add to your writing that serves as a distraction to the reader. Using filter words such as, “I see” and “I wonder” have the power to snatch the reader out of your story. This isn’t what we want. In creative writing, we want the reader to experience what our character is as they are experiencing it. Filter words create distance between the reader and our characters by telling the reader what is happening instead of showing them.
Common Filter Words:
- see / seen / saw
- feel / felt
- hear / heard
- look / looked
- can / could
- notice / noticed
- gaze / gazed
- wonder / wondered
- think / thought
- decide / decided
- seem / seemed
- realize / realized
- look / looked
- know / knew
- remember / remembered
- shows / shown
Ex. Using Filter Words vs Not Using Filter Words:
FILTER WORDS: Through the metal bars, I could see a giraffe stretch its neck, nipping at the leaves of a tall tree, trapped. I remember a herd of giraffes wandering through the wild in a documentary. I wonder if the giraffe wants to be free.
NO FILTER WORDS: Through the metal bars, a giraffe stretched its neck, nipping at the leaves of a tall tree, trapped. In a documentary, a herd of giraffes wandered through the wild. Did the giraffe want to be free?
2. FILLER Words
Filler words are unnecessary words that don’t need to be in a sentence to get our message across to the reader. Think about it. How many sentences contain the word “that” when it’s not needed? In most cases, it’s best to clean up your work and get to the point so you don’t waste the reader’s time.
Common Filler Words:
- so
- that
- just
- even
- might / may
- kind of
- quite
You should also avoid using filler words in dialogue, unless there’s clear intent. This is especially true when it comes to screenwriting!
FILLER WORDS: If he would just stop talking, he might be able to hear me.
NON-FILLER WORDS: If he stopped talking, he would hear me.
2. ADVERBS
Other words you should lessen the use of are adverbs. Adverbs are words that describe another word. They tell you when, where, how, how much, or how often something occurs. Words ending in -ly are adverbs that should be avoided because there are stronger words you can use to describe a verb. (He talked loudly → He shouted).
Other adverbs you should lessen the use of are words describing a direction like “up” or “down”, a specific time like “later,” an amount like “very” or frequency like “always.” Of course, you don’t need to delete all adverbs, just don’t overuse them. Think of how to make your sentences stronger instead. Here are common adverbs you should limit the use of.
Common Adverbs:
- Ending in -ly to describe how:
- quickly / slowly
- quietly / loudly
- happily / Sadly
- carefully
- Direction:
- outside
- below
- down
- up
- Time:
- now
- then
- soon
- later
- today / yesterday
- How Much:
- quite
- very
- rather
- just
- too
- Frequency:
- always
- usually
- sometimes
- almost
- rarely
- never
Common Phrases Using Adverbs:
- He nodded his head yes
- She shook her head no
- He stands up
- She sits down
Ex. How to Fix Sentences That Use Adverbs:
- Adverb: He walked quietly…
- No Adverb: He crept…
- Adverb: He was a pretty fast runner
- No Adverb: He was a fast runner
- Shorten “he nodded his head yes,” to “he nodded.”
- Shorten “he shook his head no,” to “he shook his head.”
- Why? It’s understood that nodding means yes and shaking your head means no.
- Shorten he sits down to “he sits”
- Shorten “he stands up.” to “he stands”
- Why? Again, the direction of each of these phrases is already understood.
4. Unnecessary Phrases
Do you struggle with creating long sentences that get you nowhere? Instead of using long phrases, get to the point.
For example, instead of writing, “in order to…” you could just write “to…” Instead of saying, “the sound of her voice echoed in the cave.” Say, “her voice echoed in the cave.” Most times, it’s best to shorten these phrases.
Common Filler Phrases:
- In order to…
- be able to…
- You know
- Like I said
- Due to
- …so..
- The sound of…
- The voice of…
- While it’s true that…
Note: Dialogue tags, such as “he said“, “he replied,” and “he answered,” often found after someone speaks, should also be limited since the reader can figure out for themself who is talking. Only add tags to the end of sentences to clarify who’s speaking.
Ex. Long Phrases vs Getting to the Point:
FILLER PHRASES: Jennifer perked her ears in order to hear the instructions so she wouldn’t miss them again. The sound of the principal’s voice blared through the speaker, loud and clear. “The trip is canceled.” She said.
NON-FILLER PHRASES: Jennifer perked her ears. She had one more chance to get the instructions right. The principal’s voice blared through the speaker, loud and clear. “The trip is canceled.”
5. Repeating Information
Another common mistake newer writers make is repeating information they already wrote. This mistake occurs when a writer spends too much time communicating one action, description, or conversation when really it only requires one sentence to get the message across. You want to add new information to the story sentence by sentence, or rather brick by brick, almost like you’re building a house. Don’t just bog down on one detail, or else you risk driving your reader insane by the redundancy! Trust your readers are smart enough to understand what’s going on by use of subtext and context clues!
Remember to Stay True to Your Writing Style!
Of course these are only suggestions to make your writing more clear, concise, and pleasant to read. They are general rules most writers follow to improve their work. But you can’t get rid of all filler/filter words. Sometimes, the use of FILLER words adds to the rhythm, flow, and personality of your writing. They can add to the mood of the story or voice of your character.
Other times, the use of FILTER words can be an indication that your writing isn’t immersive enough. Find places where you wrote phrases like “I see” and “I thought,” and figure out how to improve those sentences so your reader feels a part of your story.
I encourage you to follow these rules while also finding and staying true to your writing style!