Why Filler Words Matter in Manuscript Editing
Every word in your manuscript should earn its place. Filler words—those small, seemingly harmless additions that clutter sentences—are one of the most common issues editors encounter, especially in self-published work. They don't add meaning; they dilute it.
Filler words slow readers down, weaken your voice, and make your prose feel amateurish. The good news? Once you know what to look for, they're relatively straightforward to eliminate. Tightening your prose doesn't mean cutting important details—it means removing the verbal static that gets in the way of your story.
Common Filler Words to Edit Out of Your Manuscript
Filler words fall into a few predictable categories. Knowing them helps you spot them faster during your own editing pass.
Intensifiers That Don't Intensify
Words like really, very, quite, just, and so are meant to strengthen a statement, but they often do the opposite. They're lazy substitutes for more precise language.
- Weak: "She was very angry." Better: "She was furious."
- Weak: "He ran really fast." Better: "He sprinted."
- Weak: "It was quite difficult." Better: "It was difficult." (Or find a stronger verb: "It taxed her resolve.")
The pattern is clear: replace the intensifier + weak adjective with a single, stronger word. Your prose becomes tighter and more vivid.
Hedging Language
Phrases like sort of, kind of, a bit, somewhat, and seemed to introduce uncertainty where you may not want it. In fiction, hedging weakens your narrative voice. In memoir or creative nonfiction, it can make you sound unsure of your own story.
- Weak: "She sort of knew what he meant." Better: "She understood." (Or: "She grasped his meaning, though it unnerved her.")
- Weak: "The room was kind of cold." Better: "The room was cold." (Or: "Frost crept across the windows.")
- Weak: "He seemed to be angry." Better: "He was angry." (Or show it: "His jaw clenched. His fists balled.")
Redundant Phrases
Some filler hides in phrases that say the same thing twice. "Past history," "end result," "continue on," "free gift"—these are common offenders.
- "Past history" → "history"
- "End result" → "result"
- "Continue on" → "continue"
- "Completely destroyed" → "destroyed"
- "Absolutely essential" → "essential"
Read your manuscript aloud. Redundancy becomes obvious when you hear it spoken.
Throat-Clearing Phrases
These are opening phrases that add no information: "It was clear that," "There was," "It seemed that," "The fact that." They delay the actual content of your sentence.
- Weak: "It was clear that she didn't trust him." Better: "She didn't trust him."
- Weak: "There were three reasons why she left." Better: "She left for three reasons."
- Weak: "The fact that he arrived late bothered her." Better: "His lateness bothered her."
How to Systematically Find and Remove Filler Words
Knowing what filler words look like is step one. Finding them all in a 80,000-word manuscript is another challenge entirely. Here's a practical approach:
Use Find & Replace Strategically
Open your manuscript in Word, Google Docs, or your editing software and search for common offenders one at a time. Search for " really " (with spaces on both sides to avoid catching "really" in other contexts). Count the hits. Review each instance and decide whether it can go.
Create a checklist of your personal filler-word habits. Every writer has favorites—the words they lean on without realizing. If you know you overuse "just," search for it first.
Read Your Manuscript Aloud
Your ear catches what your eyes miss. When you read aloud, unnecessary words stand out because they create awkward rhythm or feel redundant when spoken. Slow down and listen for places where you stumble or feel the sentence dragging.
Do a Dedicated Filler-Word Pass
Don't try to catch filler words while you're also checking for plot holes, dialogue tags, or comma placement. That's overwhelming. Do a separate, focused pass where your only job is to hunt filler. You'll be faster and more thorough.
Leverage Editing Tools
Some manuscript editing software flags common filler words automatically. Tools like Hemingway Editor highlight adverbs and wordy phrases in real time. Services like BookEditor.io's Pro and Complete edits catch these issues as part of a comprehensive review, saving you the manual search-and-replace work. If you're doing a self-edit, these tools can be valuable partners in tightening your prose.
Context Matters: When to Keep Filler Words
Not every instance of a "filler" word should be deleted. Context is everything.
Dialogue: Characters speak naturally, and natural speech includes hedging and intensifiers. "I'm really not sure about this" sounds authentic in dialogue. In narrative prose, "She was really uncertain" should become "She was uncertain" or better yet, show her uncertainty through action.
Voice and Tone: A narrator with an anxious, uncertain personality might use hedging language intentionally. That's a stylistic choice, not a mistake. The difference: it serves the character or narrator, not the author's carelessness.
Emphasis: Occasionally, repetition or an intensifier creates deliberate emphasis. "He was very, very angry" might work in a moment of high emotion. But if you're using "very" in every third sentence, it's lost its punch.
Before and After: A Real Example
Here's a paragraph loaded with filler, followed by a tightened version:
Original (with filler):
"She sort of knew that he was probably going to leave her, and the fact that he seemed to be avoiding her just made it very clear that the end result was inevitable. She felt quite devastated, really, and somewhat resigned to her fate."
Tightened:
"She knew he would leave her. His avoidance confirmed it. She felt devastated and resigned."
The revised version is 60% shorter and infinitely stronger. It trusts the reader to understand the emotional weight without cushioning language.
The Editing Workflow: Self-Edit vs. Professional Help
If you're self-editing, add filler-word removal to your revision checklist. Make it a dedicated pass, use Find & Replace, and read aloud. Be systematic.
If you're working with a professional editor—whether through a service like BookEditor.io or a freelancer—they'll flag these issues for you. Many editors provide a changelog or track-changes document highlighting suggestions. You then have the choice to accept or reject each one, keeping the ones that serve your voice and removing the rest.
Either way, the goal is the same: cleaner, stronger prose that respects your reader's time and attention.
Key Takeaways for Tightening Your Prose
- Replace intensifiers (very, really, quite) with stronger, more specific words.
- Cut hedging language (sort of, kind of, seemed to) unless it serves your character's voice.
- Eliminate redundant phrases and throat-clearing openers.
- Use Find & Replace to hunt specific filler words systematically.
- Read your manuscript aloud to catch rhythm issues and unnecessary words.
- Do a dedicated filler-word pass separate from other editing work.
- Remember that context matters—some filler belongs in dialogue and intentional voice work.
Conclusion: Tighter Prose, Stronger Voice
Editing a book for filler words is unglamorous work, but it pays off immediately. Every word you remove that doesn't serve your story makes the remaining words stronger. Your readers will feel the difference—faster pacing, clearer voice, sharper prose.
Whether you're doing a self-edit or working with a professional manuscript editor, prioritize this pass. It's one of the highest-impact edits you can make, and it's entirely within your control. Start with your personal filler-word habits, use Find & Replace to hunt them down, and trust your ear to know what stays and what goes. Your manuscript will thank you.
