Instantly Improve Your Story by Eliminating These Crutch Words

As an author there's a good chance you have a pocketful of words you use too often in your writing. A lot of the time these words are vague and used to fill in gaps in your story. You may not even realise you're using them.

These are known as crutch or filler words. While these words are common in day-to-day speech, it can create poor writing. To tighten up your prose, avoid using these 15 crutch words:

1.    Very

Example: That was a very nice meal.

Instead, you can plainly say ‘That was a nice meal’ or use a synonym for ‘very nice’ such as ‘lovely’ or ‘excellent’. Using ‘very’ adds little to the meaning of your sentence.

2.    Somehow

Example: He somehow knew what she would say next.

This gives very little context. Show how he knew what she would say. Perhaps they’ve known each other for a long time.

3.    Really

Example: I really like your shoes.

Like the use of ‘very’, it adds little to the sentence. Synonyms such as adore, admire or even love would add greater emphasis.

4.    Just

Example: She’s just trying to be nice.

This adds little meaning to the sentence and can be cut out completely. Usually, we don’t need to replace it with any other word, it’s a filler word.

5.    Then

Example: Then he decided to throw away the application.

'Then' is often used to describe a sequence of events or actions. It can be cut majority of the time. We can deduce the sequence of events or actions as it is a new sentence entirely.

6.    Seem/seems

Example: She seems upset.

This is a case of show don’t tell. Why does she seem upset? You could rather describe her facial expression or tone of voice.

7.    Almost

Example: She almost lost her balance.

Explain what this could look like. She wobbled on her heels, or she caught herself on the stair’s rail.

8.    A bit

Example: He was a bit worried.

Like ‘very’ it is a weak description. He could be concerned or nervous rather.

9.    Look

Example: She looked at the sky and admired the clouds.

Remember that show don’t tell rule? You could say she titled her head up and admired the clouds. This word is often overused in a manuscript and there are much more creative ways to describe the action of looking.

10.  Feel/felt

Example: She felt happy.

Let’s rather describe this further and paint a picture. Her smile reached her eyes, or she let out a burst if laughter. This allows the reader to really imagine and connect to the emotion.

11.  Quite

Example: The young boy was quite smart.

Again, this word adds little meaning. Using a stronger adjective such as intelligent or bright would strengthen this sentence.

12.  Hear/heard

Example. I heard the door close behind me.

When using a pronoun then an action word like ‘heard’ it removes the reader from the material. Rather we could say ‘The door clicked shut’. This creates more suspense as well.

13.  Nearly

Example: It was nearly midnight.

We could revise this and say, ‘There was one minute left until the clock struck twelve’. Nearly removes any urgency and doesn’t create a vivid picture or feeling.

14.  So

Example: They were so close to winning the competition.

This word most of the time can be removed altogether. It also forms weak adjectives. Rather we could say ‘They were one point away from winning the competition.’

15. Wonder

Example: I wonder if she likes me.

Remember pronoun + action word removes the reader from the manuscript. Why not say Does she like me?  or describe the nerves the speaker may be feeling; That was a good date. I wring my fingers together. I hope she enjoyed it too.

I hope you find these examples helpful. Remember, these are suggestions and common words we should look out for. It doesn’t mean you need to remove any and all traces of crutch words in your writing.

Try this exercise:

Search a crutch word and try to halve the number of times it appears in your manuscript. This will already tidy up your work and add variety to the text.