Narrative Botox: Filler Words and Phrases to Look Out For
If you’re planning on publishing traditionally, chances are you keep a sharp eye on your word count. Literary agents and publishing houses are on the hunt for the best quality stories that they can print for the cheapest price (using the least paper and ink), so you have a higher chance of gaining representation if you can crank your novel out in the least words possible.
However, filler words and phrases aren’t only the enemies of aspiring traditional authors; every writer—fanfic, novelist, journalist, you name it!—should try to eliminate filler from their stories to assure more concise and high-quality writing. Oftentimes, filler contributes nothing but clutter, and without it, your narrative can flow smoother and in a more sophisticated manner.
But how do you know what’s filler and what’s not? Here are some tips on how to Ctrl+F and kick this narrative botox to the curb!
Filler Words
1. Just
A writer’s worst enemy, and the bane of my manuscripts’ existences. Eliminating all the ‘just’s can cut down your word count by hundreds.
2. “That” as a conjunction
It’s an unnecessary addition to a sentence, which will be more streamlined without it.
- Example: “He said that he wouldn’t do it again.”
- Revised: “He said he wouldn’t do it again.”
3. “Now” as an adverb
“Now” is essential if you’re talking about the past and present, but when you’re using it to draw attention to a particular statement or point.
- Example: “Now, I didn’t think it’d get so out of hand.”
- Revised: “I didn’t think it’d get so out of hand.”
4. Redundant adverbs
These adverbs serve no purpose because the verbs they’re describing already imply the way the action is performed.
- Whispering softly
- Yelling loudly
- Crying sadly
- Laughing happily
5. “Telling” words
These words are redundant, especially when using first person, because in describing an event, we can already assume that the characters are experiencing it.
- Seeing/saw
- Feeling/felt
- Hearing/heard
- Smelling/smelled
6. “Clarifying” words used to portray definiteness or indefiniteness
Although these are meant to help out the readers get their bearings on a situation, all they do is come across as wishy-washy! Be concise and sure of yourself!
- About
- Absolutely
- Accordingly
- Actually
- Almost
- Basically
- Certainly
- Clearly
- Completely
- Entirely
- Even
- Exactly
- Fairly
- Highly
- Hopefully
- Literally
- Maybe
- Only
- Often
- Oftentimes
- Perhaps
- Possibly
- Probably
- Quite
- Rather
- Really
- Reasonably
- Relatively
- Seem
- Seriously
- Simply
- Slightly
- Some
- Somehow
- Sometimes
- Totally
- Very
Filler Phrases
1.“Let out (vocal noise)”
- Example: “He let out a sigh.”
- Revised: “He sighed.”
2. Using passive voice
Passive voice inflates your word count by including various “to be” verbs into the prose. Passive voice involves actions happening to a subject rather than the subject performing an action, and as a result isn’t as riveting to the reader as active voice; even if it wasn’t a matter of word count, you’d still want to get rid of it anyway!
- Example: “The boy was bitten by the dog on his arm.”
- Revised: “The dog bit the boy on his arm.”
3. Describing the wrong noun
Many writers will be as specific as possible about what “thing” is affected by the event they’re describing, when it’s much simpler to take a step back and write about something more general.
- Example: “The level of water rose.”
- Revised: “The water rose.”
4. Phrasal verbs
Phrasal verbs are the combination of two or three words from different grammatical categories—a verb and an adverb or a preposition—to form a single action. Usually, these phrasal verbs can be replaced by a single-word verb.
- “Ask for” can be replaced with “request”
- “Bring down” can be replaced with “reduce”
- “Come across” can be replaced with “find”
- Etc.
5. Clarifying phrases
Same reason as clarifying words. Get to the point!
- A bit
- A little
- A lot
- In a sense
- Kind of
- Sort of
6. Remember your contractions!
Even if your story takes place in olden times, I can guarantee that if you never use any contractions ever, your story’s gonna be a clunky mess. But sometimes you’re in the moment, consumed by the poetic power of the muses, and forget that this isn’t a soap opera; so make sure you check that you’ve been using your contractions!
- It is, it was, it would, she is, would not, should not, is not, does not etc.
7. Inflated phrases
These phrases can be replaced with more concise words.
- Along the lines of (shorten to: like)
- As a matter of fact (in fact)
- As to whether (whether)
- At all times (always)
- At the present (now or currently)
- At this point in time (now or currently)
- Be able to/would(n’t) be able to (could or couldn’t)
- Because of the fact that (because)
- By means of (by)
- Due to the fact that (because)
- Even though (though or although)
- For the purpose of (for)
- For the reason that (because)
- Have the ability to (could)
- In light of the fact that (because)
- In order to (to)
- In regards to (on or about)
- In spite of the fact that (though or although)
- In the event that (if)
- In the nature of (like)
- In the neighborhood of (about)
- On the occasion of (when)
- On one/two separate occasions (Once/twice)
- The/A majority of (most)
- There is no doubt that (No doubt)
- Wasn(n’t) capable of (could or couldn’t)
Hope this helped, and happy writing!
