Get Rid of Filler (or: How to Cut the Fluff from Your Writing)

Lately, I’ve seen a lot of drafts (and published books!) with those old crutches: filler words, propping up weak verbs and timid adjectives. When you write "very happy," you're essentially admitting that "happy" isn't cutting it. When you say something is "really important," you're working twice as hard to convince your reader of something a better, more evocative, single word should accomplish.

Try these practical tips for sharpening your prose so it can stand on its own, no crutches needed!

Deletion.

Before trying substitution, remove the filler word. This is a very important decision. The results were really surprising. She was quite skilled at negotiation.

If the sentence holds up or even improves without the qualifier, you’re all set. If it feels like something's missing, find a stronger base word.

Substitution.

If the deletion strategy suggests you do need to substitute, look for strong, single words. Instead of very tired, try exhausted, drained, spent, depleted. Instead of really angry, try furious, livid, incensed, outraged. Instead of quite difficult, try challenging, demanding, arduous, formidable.

Show Don’t Tell.

Show the reader something rather than telling them. "The coffee was very hot." versus "The coffee scalded my tongue." Or "He was really excited about the promotion." versus "He burst into the office, grinning, waving the offer letter like a victory flag." Or "The presentation was really long." versus "The presentation stretched to ninety minutes—twice the scheduled time." Or "She was very smart." versus "She solved complex equations in her head while others reached for calculators." Look at how resonant the second examples are!

Exceptions.

Of course, for every rule, there’s an exception — or exceptions plural. We don’t always want to banish certain modifiers from our writing. Maybe you genuinely need to soften a statement, i.e. "The results were quite promising, though we need more data." Or you're capturing authentic dialogue. Or the sentence rhythm needs that extra beat.

The point is that such seemingly small choices are not small at all. They represent discipline and intention, both qualities we need to continually improve our craft.

Great Tips!