Filler Words

[Emotional]

As I continue to try improving my writing, I have discovered my repetitive use of some filler words, and now trying to avoid using them.

What are your filler words, and how to you try to eliminate them?

My worst ones are starting sentences with

OK

Well

Thankfully

 

[MelissaBaby]

As I continue to try improving my writing, I have discovered my repetitive use of some filler words, and now trying to avoid using them.

What are your filler words, and how to you try to eliminate them?

That
Just
Very

All you can do is be vigilant. Maybe do a search on those fillers and trim as many as you can.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Just
That
Clearly
Was ...ing (instead of ...ed) - or 'had been thinking about ...ing' and all sorts of unwieldy verb phrases that I end up typing in first drafts...

 

[Rustyoznail]

Really...

And ellipses... I know ellipses aren't words, but I'm really trying hard to reduce my reliance on them.

Bugger. I'm not doing well, am I?

 

[MelissaBaby]

Really...

Really?

 

[Emotional]

Really?

OK, Well Maybe

 

[SamScribble]

Only cut filler words if they are superfluous to the tale. Some characters lose their character if you take away all their filler words. And don't forget that the narrator is sometimes / often a character.

 

[Trionyx]

Just, really, that, then, very are my top five.
I agree with others these words are frequently appropriate when used in dialogue or during a narration.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Sam, I think you have hit on a key writing skill - the ability to eliminate the superfluous, of any sort. I know that I generally wind up culling 15-20% of my first draft.

 

[MelissaBaby]

Only cut filler words if they are superfluous to the tale. Some characters lose their character if you take away all their filler words. And don't forget that the narrator is sometimes / often a character.

Very good point.

 

[Seadog777]

People "filler words" in everyday conversation.
Getting rid of them for a story is just dumb.

Just my opinion.

 

[Rustyoznail]

Seadog, I agree people use filler words in real life, but some use way too many. In my writing, it's striking the balance between mimicking natural speech and being repetitive.

 

[KeithD]

People "filler words" in everyday conversation.
Getting rid of them for a story is just dumb.

Just my opinion.

Have you recorded an actual conversation, transcribed it exactly how it came out, and then looked at it? No, written prose isn't a direct reflection of "everyday conversation"--for very good reasons.

 

[KeithD]

now
then

 

[NotWise]

The filler words are an on-going struggle, but I've barely begun to find and get rid of whole filler phrases. Like "He looked up to see the lights flashing and dove for cover" when "Lights flashed and he dove for cover" works just as well.

 

[Seadog777]

Have you recorded an actual conversation, transcribed it exactly how it came out, and then looked at it? No, written prose isn't a direct reflection of "everyday conversation"--for very good reasons.

First of all, I respect your opinion even though it's different than mine.

Yes, I actually have.

I use Sonix Audio Transcription Software.

I do not leave my house and go out in public, without video and audio recording.

I try to reflect "everyday conversation" in my stories.

 

[KeithD]

First of all, I respect your opinion even though it's different than mine.

Yes, I actually have.

I use Sonix Audio Transcription Software.

I do not leave my house and go out in public, without video and audio recording.

I try to reflect "everyday conversation" in my stories.

You must live in a much more literate speaking environment than I've ever encountered.

This is a typical exercise done in writing classes--having writing students record random conversations and transcribe them verbatim. In about 123 percent of the time, the resultant prose is incoherent and includes constant voice overs, incomplete sentences, triple repeats of words and phrases, and are dominated with the words "Ummm," "like," "fuckin'," and "OK." The major missing element in becoming coherent is the absence of visuals, which spoken conversation leans heavily on and written prose cannot provide without adding in description.

The extraneous words people typically splatter their speech with to either try to let their thought process keep up with their talk or to adhere to the universal "tell them, tell them again, and tell them a third time" habit pretty much identify the words that this thread is raising as words to squeeze out of your prose to make it read better.

Since I'm a theater person, I like to bring in the comparison of staging. What the audience sees on the stage during a play of either the scenery or the costumes is not a faithful rendering of what's actually up there. Backdrops and costumes are created to look believable from the audience, but perceptions from that angle and distance are significantly different from the reality of what is actually on stage. They don't match. If you've never gone up on the stage after a play to see how the scenery and costumes are actually rendered, I suggest you do so to see the difference. Spoken conversation and written prose are in significantly different planes of existence. They just are.

 

[Seadog777]

You must live in a much more literate speaking environment than I've ever encountered.

This is a typical exercise done in writing classes--having writing students record random conversations and transcribe them verbatim. In about 123 percent of the time, the resultant prose is incoherent and includes constant voice overs, incomplete sentences, triple repeats of words and phrases, and are dominated with the words "Ummm," "like," "fuckin'," and "OK." The major missing element in becoming coherent is the absence of visuals, which spoken conversation leans heavily on and written prose cannot provide without adding in description.

The extraneous words people typically splatter their speech with to either try to let their thought process keep up with their talk or to adhere to the universal "tell them, tell them again, and tell them a third time" habit pretty much identify the words that this thread is raising as words to squeeze out of your prose to make it read better.

I hear and I say those examples as well. LOL.

The extent of my public appearances are my job, a few sporting events a year, a fundraiser or two, and monthly meetings.

I do not go to Wal-Mart or anything like that anymore. I just cannot deal with the DIPSHITTERY that is society anymore.

 

[thomas1965]

If you want to hear the opinion of a professional editor.

FILTER and FILLER WORDS - Remove these from your novel

40 WORDS TO CUT FROM YOUR NOVEL

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I try to find alternative ways of phrasing a sentence, especially within the narrative, to eliminate filler words, but sometimes that backfires.

It's easy to describe someone as "really flat-chested".

Referring to her as a "Rip-Curl" girl implies that she is "as flat as a surfboard", but typically requires a few more words to explain the meaning so that readers understand.

 

[SouthernCrossfire]

Just, really, that, then, very are my top five.
I agree with others these words are frequently appropriate when used in dialogue or during a narration.

Those plus “too” are mine too (darn!).

 

[EmilyMiller]

As I continue to try improving my writing, I have discovered my repetitive use of some filler words, and now trying to avoid using them.

What are your filler words, and how to you try to eliminate them?

My worst ones are starting sentences with

OK

Well

Thankfully

“I”

As in: I am such a narcissist.

Em

 

[Bramblethorn]

You must live in a much more literate speaking environment than I've ever encountered.

This is a typical exercise done in writing classes--having writing students record random conversations and transcribe them verbatim. In about 123 percent of the time, the resultant prose is incoherent and includes constant voice overs, incomplete sentences, triple repeats of words and phrases, and are dominated with the words "Ummm," "like," "fuckin'," and "OK." The major missing element in becoming coherent is the absence of visuals, which spoken conversation leans heavily on and written prose cannot provide without adding in description.

Also timing and tone. Punctuation does give some scope for conveying the rhythms of a conversation but nowhere near what you get from hearing.

I do use filler words in dialogue as a way to convey a character's agitation or indecision, but even at "very agitated" level I'm probably using them less than the average person does in everyday conversation.

 

[SimonDoom]

Qualifiers. Pretty. Somewhat. Kind of. Almost. Very. They tamp down the strength of the assertion. But, to be fair, I think people actually talk and think this way, and often my narrative is attempting to mirror how a main character would think about something.

 

[KeithD]

Qualifiers. Pretty. Somewhat. Kind of. Almost. Very. They tamp down the strength of the assertion. But, to be fair, I think people actually talk and think this way, and often my narrative is attempting to mirror how a main character would think about something.

Right. This is one of those discussions where it's good to differentiate fiction from nonfiction, although you can benefit from squeezing some of the filler out in both modes.