Filler Words, Filter Words, and General Fluff

Note: When looking at this tactic for lessening your word count, watch out for your voice. The goal is not to make the shortest, most concise sentence, but rather to make the writing stronger. If a filler word or the like makes your story sound better stylistically, then it might be better to keep it in!

It seems like I might have forgotten about finishing this list of 9 Ways to Lessen Your Word Count. This is number 7: Filler Words!

Sometimes our word count is too long not because of plot, character, or story problems, but because of the sentences themselves! Do you often get feedback saying a sentence is too “cluttered” or “wordy”? That may be because you have too many filler words, filter words, crutch words, or weasel words.

Heck. Those are a lot of writing terms to learn about. Fear not! In general, these are simply words that are unnecessary and make a sentence less concise or intense.

Have you ever noticed that sometimes you can take out the word “that” in a sentence and the sentence still says the same thing while remaining grammatically correct? <—Try it in this sentence! That’s because “that” can often be a filler word—specifically when used as a conjunction.

Similarly, “There was” is a common filler phrase. You’ll likely see a lot of writers talking about how much their word count went down when they got rid of all of these. Example: Instead of saying “There was a stream singing over the stones nearby,” try saying “A stream sang over the stones nearby.” This is also great because it restructures the sentence into putting the noun up front and center to make the first impression, instead of being buried under colorless words to start.

Filler words are unnecessary words that take up space in your sentences and make them weaker. These are technically grammatically correct but can be taken out to make a sentence less cluttered or wordy. Here is an amazing list of other filler words and phrases to watch out for: https://smartblogger.com/filler-words/

Another thing that adds fluff to sentences is filter words. Things like “He noticed how gracefully she danced,” or “She smelled the crisp air of the morning.” These could both be made more impactful by getting rid of the parts that “filter” through the senses of a viewpoint character. It’s important to keep the reader immersed through the senses, but when we continuously remind the reader that the main character is the one doing the sensing, we put a barrier between them and the experience.

Instead, it is often better to say “She danced gracefully,” or “The crisp air of the morning revitalized her.” Yes, the last sentence is actually the same amount of words as the example. Not every tactic will prove successful, however, notice how the edited example says more and moves the important part of the sentence to the front? Even if you fail, you may still succeed!

Even so, you’ll be surprised how much this can help with your word count! Here is a list of more filter words and how to avoid them! https://www.tckpublishing.com/filter-words/

Last we have weasel words and crutch words, which I actually just learned about while writing this post!

Take a look at “He seemed to smile,” versus “He smiled.” The word “seems/seemed” was one of my favorite weasel words. These are words that specifically make your writing uncertain, which makes your reader uncertain, which makes them think you were uncertain, and now no one knows for sure what’s going on. Be decisive in your writing, and your word count may thank you!

More weasel word examples: https://www.tckpublishing.com/weasel-words/

As for crutch words, where it pertains to lessening word count, look out for words that you use casually, but actually don’t deliver the needed impact for the sentence they appear in. Especially words like “really” and “very.” Why say “It is very good,” when you have words like “wonderful, great, delicious, and exciting?” Watch out for synonyms for “really” and “very” too: Seriously, honestly, completely, ridiculously…

Crutch words are any word that you overuse and rely on too much, thus weakening its effect and likely becoming repetitive. Oh, look! Another article on the specific topic: https://www.tckpublishing.com/how-to-eliminate-crutch-words/

Secret lastly, this may be helpful for some writers: look for places where contractions might exist (not for babies, you silly goose). Often, I will find writers, possibly more so ESL writers, using formal wording like “He was not ready for the climb” or “I realized it was too late, but I did not expect them to burn everything.” This is fine in most cases, but sometimes it is too formal for the character or scene and slows it down way too much. Look for instances where this might be occurring, and try speeding the text up with “wasn’t” or “didn’t” or whatever contraction is appropriate. It’s not a lot, but every little bit helps!

Be careful not to get carried away with any of these, though! Stay true to your voice and style. Sometimes, a story is long because it needs to be long. 😉

The End! Brush your teeth tonight! ~ Every little bit helps! ~