hey-north-light - Tumblr blog

[hey-north-light]

i made a thing

[hey-north-light]

i just love how tumblr can be a wholesome place and a disturbing land at the same time. truly beautiful

[hey-north-light]

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!

I compiled these lists with the help of Infusionmedia, BDR Publishing, and ResetEra !

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)”

Use the verb instead!

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!

Still don’t know what I’m talking about? Check out this article from Grammarly.

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!

[hey-north-light]

tbh thinking about now, i remember i also dreamed i was a chiken living a peaceful life in the ranch, it took at least 5 minutes after woke up to remember who i was lol

y'know, once i dreamed i was hunting flamingos with my buddies, then i started to fly and fell from a window in the sky, right in a donut plantation

i never felt so confused after woke up in my whole life

[hey-north-light]

y'know, once i dreamed i was hunting flamingos with my buddies, then i started to fly and fell from a window in the sky, right in a donut plantation

i never felt so confused after woke up in my whole life

[hey-north-light]

HAPPY LIST

that's a happy list

you can comment, reblog or just think about thing who make you happy

it doesn't matter since you're happy about it!!

i start!

i get happy every time i drink coffe, and pet my plushies!

you turn!

[hey-north-light]

QUICK!!

Tell me something you made you're proud about and i'll compliment you

big or small, doesn't matter since you're proud of it

i just want to compliment you for the things you're happy about >w<

[hey-north-light]

FUN FACT!!

did you knew?

make someone laugh make their hearth more healthy!

when we laugh, our blood run faster, and make your hearth beat faster, making the blood get more oxygen stimulating our lungs and muscles, increasing the endorphins that are released by your brain!

make your search! that's truth i swear !

so! share the laughs and end the cry!

[hey-north-light]

hey, i know how to draw.

bet'ya didn't knew

[hey-north-light]

i didn't knew i needed that until i see this perfection

So I found out there is a Tom and Jerry Gacha game.

How’s your night going?

[hey-north-light]

wish i had some pun to post....

.......

end up it's just me

°,v°,)z

[hey-north-light]

"how get serotonin from tumblr"

- enter -

[hey-north-light]

well, i like fucking Cum

Scenario time!

You get a dragon familiar, a fucking huge dragon but there’s a catch, his name is Cum, his fucking name is Cum and you’re too scared to ask him why, so you just have to live with it, but you get a dragon familiar but his name is fucking Cum

[hey-north-light]

brain melting

don't talk

thank

[hey-north-light]

you really can’t trust anything in this world

[hey-north-light]

happily laying on the couch

brain: don't you have, like, fifteen late assignments ? due today? you should get up and start right?

worried laying on the couch

[hey-north-light]

i'm a weird shit, and proud of it

my only advice to all the girls out there is to wear weird shit. just do it