10 MORE Weak Words You Should CUT From Your Novel

what if I told you that you could instantly improve your writing by simply cutting these 10 words from your novel a few years ago I posted this video all about the 10 weak words you should cut from your novel and you guys loved that video so much and got so much out of it that I decided to make a part two 10 more weak words that you should cut from your novel in most cases and I say in most cases because there is a time and place for these weak words and we're going to look

at that in this video we're going to look at side by-side comparisons of when you should cut this word and when you should keep it why does your story matter good question what if I told you that there's a science behind every great story I don't just teach you how to write I teach you how to change the world with your story and make your author dreams come true before we get into this list of weak words I want to ask you to take a quick second to hit the Subscribe button below this video not

only does it help make my content rise to the top but it also makes sure that you never miss a new video from me as we explore writing and Publishing together new videos every Wednesday and I want you here in the community so hit the Subscribe button below one last disclaimer before we get into this discussion I almost always disregard any use of these weak words in dialogue so I like my dialogue to sound super realistic super authentic very human and most humans don't speak speak with perfect grammar all the time we don't always find

the perfect right word for what we're trying to say so if you want your characters to continue to have their own voice and be messy and imperfect in their dialogue do that I'm more focusing on descriptions and Pros here so when I talk about weak sloppy words and what we can replace them with we are going to be looking at strengthening our Pros or anything that isn't dialogue okay so let's get into the list first number one is feel getting the party started right away with some good oldfashioned filter words filter words are exactly what

they sound like they basically filter what we're seeing through the sense of how the point of view character is perceiving it here see taste smell touch worst of them all is feel most of the time feel doesn't need to be there it can just be deleted and nothing changes except it changes for the better it sounds better usually removing the filter word feel puts us more directly in the shoes of the character allowing us to feel what they're feeling without being told that they're feeling it example I feel the cold wind biting into my skin

as I stand on the desolate Beach if we cut that word we would be forced to make this description more active like the cold wind bites into my skin chilling me to the bone as I stand on the desolate Beach much more immersive and it literally forces us to make our descriptions more juicy and active and intense this works with third person as well Helen felt her heart racing when she heard his voice over the phone or Helen's heart raced at the sound of his voice over the phone sometimes the word feel is effective when

you're focusing more on the internal emotions of a character and something that they are perceiving without a physical sense for example I don't know how I feel about seeing my sister again after years of silence or when your character is comparing their sense of physical touch to something more metaphorical for example the silk dress feels like liquid gold between my fingers okay so here is your rule of thumb cut it when feel is just a filter for a sensation you could make more active keep it when your character is not experiencing any physical sensory input

feeling with their emotions or they're making a feels like comparison number two weak word is think this is another filter word it's not a physical sense but it is often unnecessary especially if we're inside the character's head during their narration we don't need to be told what they're thinking if it's on their mind they're thinking about it we know they're thinking about it we can see they're thinking about it because we're in their head with them so for example I think about how angry Carol was on the school bus this morning she didn't even look

in my direction when I said hi I think she's still mad at me for what happened at homecoming now if we took the word think out of this sentence Carol was so so angry on the school bus this morning she didn't even look in my direction when I said hi is she still mad at me for what happened at homecoming and see what happened there we were literally forced to make the last part of that paragraph more active turning it into a question making the experience of this character's thoughts feel that much more personal and

deep point of view when can you use the word think when it enhances the narrative by emphasizing a character's uncertainty or their contemplative mood example I think I might still love him even after all these years in this case I think is fine because we're focusing on the internal conflict and more on them processing their feelings rather than coming to a definitive conclusion so rule of thumb cut it when you can show us the character's perceptions without a filter keep it when emphasizing the character's uncertainty weak word number three is C C can act as

a sneaky filter word again putting unnecessary distance between the reader and the action and just like with feel C can usually be cut out completely to create a more visual Vivid experience for example I see the lightning split the sky as we Run for Cover lightning splits the sky as we Run for Cover the second example plunges the reader straight into the action and lets us see what the characters are seeing without having to say that they're seeing it it Maggie jumped when she saw a shadow Dart across the hallway out of the corner of

her eye or Maggie jumped as a shadow darted across the hallway out of the corner of her eye however there are times when C can be a helpful word to use particularly when a character is actively observing something or when their act of seeing is pivotal to their experience or the plot for instance in a case where a character is observing something that may be unnoticed by others only Natasha could see the grief in her grandmother's eyes as she thumbed through the old photo album or when the act of seeing is part of a reflective

contemplative character building moment as he watched the sunrise he saw not just the dawn of a new day but the possibility of a new beginning so here's your rule of thumb cut it when C is just a filter for something that could be described more vividly keep it when the act of seeing is crucial to the character's experience or the plot or when it emphasizes an perspective or private observation week word number four Wonder again this one creates distance between us and the character you can almost always rephrase a sentence that starts with I wonder

into a question and get us immediately in the character's head without that space between for example I wonder if she'll come back after all that happened I wonder if it's too late to make aens that turns into will she come back after all that happened is it too late to make amends just like with the school bus example earlier this forces us to turn it into a question and plunge us into the character's inner World it highlights their uncertainty it makes us feel their doubt however there are times when you can use the word Wonder

to underscore your character's contemplative mood or their actual feelings of Wonder and curiosity like this I've always wondered about the world outside my small Country Village what Adventures lie beyond the mountain Ridge waiting for me so here's your rule of thumb cut it when Wonder merely introduces a question that can be rephrased with a question mark keep it when the speculative or contemplative tone of Wonder adds emotional resonance weak word number five is didn't or don't didn't can often feel like hitting pause on the story to tell us something totally unnecessary to tell us what

didn't happen instead of telling us what happened this is one that I'm very guilty of I'm always catching this in my writing doing these double redundancy things of like I didn't do this but I did do this and most of the time you don't have to tell us what you didn't do okay so for example like this she didn't notice the time slipping by as she read her book could easily turn into she lost track of time engrossed in her book until midnight or I don't take the main road home instead I Veer off onto

a winding Back Road my windows down as I relish the sweet smell of honeysuckle on the Summer Breeze instead let's take out the negative and see how it sounds I take the long winding back road home my windows down as I relish the sweet smell of honeysuckle on the Summer Breeze however there are some instances where you're going to want to keep this word and that's when you're emphasizing why it's important what the character didn't do for example when her ex walked by she didn't give him the satisfaction of looking up in this case the

word didn't highlights a deliberate choice on the part of the character and shows us something about their internal state in short cut it when didn't merely States what was avoided instead focus on what the character actively does keep it when the inaction is intentional revealing something crucial about the character or the situation weak word number six almost this word can often water down the impact of your description because you're not quite there are you you've almost found the right word for it but it's not quite the right word for it so maybe there's a more

accurate word for what you're trying to say instead of almost this the sun almost touched the Horizon casting Long Shadows across the beach we could turn that into something like the sun kissed the Horizon stretching Long Shadows across the beach or she almost cried when she heard the news tears welled up in her eyes when she heard the news in the second version the action is more specific and accurate to what's actually happening what's actually being seen which gives us a clearer picture of what's going on however almost can be useful when you are emphasizing

a near miss or something that truly almost happened he almost won the race his fingers brushing the Finish Line just as his competitor surged ahead here almost is key you canot cut that out of that sentence without ruining the sentence because it is emphasizing the near miss it is emphasizing how close he was to winning but didn't in short cut it when almost weakens what you're trying to say look for more accurate word keep it when the near Miss slight failure or brush with success is vital to the story's tension week word number seven there

was there was and there is are both phrases that can make your writing feel sluggish and Passive by eliminating them you're often forced to make the description more active and juicy and colorful like this there was a large menacing dog blocking the path that could become a large menacing dog blocked the path bearing its teeth at me stripping away there was immediately brings the action into Focus creating a more Vivid image there is a tension in the room that you could cut with a knife or tension hums in the air between us sharp as a

knife's edge see how just by eliminating these two two words you are literally forced to find a better stronger more accurate description however there is a time and place for there was and there is and you need to use your own judgment here a lot of times when you are writing more of a narrative that is contemplative and editorializing in your character's head you can easily use there was and there is scattered throughout your writing without it feeling passive such as this things would never be the same and there was nothing I could do about

it this one is tricky because it really depends on the situation that you're using it in so exercise your own judgment here and go slow in chopping this word in short cut it when there was or there is just serves as a lazy gatekeeper to a more Dynamic action challenge yourself to make your descriptions more active keep it when it contributes to the narrative Voice or mood in a way that enhances the story rather than distracts from it up and down up and down are two words I know but they both are used in the

same context usually and often don't need to be there and by deleting these words you can make your action more quick and immediate and flow more smoothly for example she stood up and began pacing the room she stood and began pacing the room here up doesn't change the meaning of the sentence and it just makes the action happen quicker and clearer he sat down on the bench becomes he sat on the bench how however there are instances where up and down are important for clarity as far as what direction things are moving in when it's

not already clear he climbed up the Steep Cliff muscles straining with each move or she dashed down the corridor her footfalls echoing and these examples up and down are essential for conveying the direction of where these characters are moving so rule of thumb cut it when up and down are merely padding common actions where the direction is obvious keep it when these words provide necessary directions weak word number nine because this word has a bad habit of sneaking its way into your writing and bridging two actions without forcing you to make that connection on purpose

for us explaining why one thing leads to another sometimes the link between cause and effect is obvious by itself but sometimes it's not and you can clean this up by removing the word because she procrastinated doing the laundry because it was her least favorite chore she procrastinated doing the laundry it was her least favorite chore or you can rework the sentence even more she didn't go to the party because she had too much work she skipped the party to finish her mounting workload here removing the word because forces us to make the sentence more purpose--

driven and active however because does have its place when maybe cause and effect is not obvious we can't see the connection between the reasoning why a character is doing something like she stayed because she believed things would get better in a case like this because is perfectly fine because it shows us what this character's reasoning is and it clarifies her internal motivations cut it when because just adds fluff to straightforward connections keep it when it clarifies ential reasons or motivations that aren't immediately apparent and finally number 10 and possibly the worst weak word of all

is looks this one is a glaring sign that you are telling rather than showing in your writing when we say he looks scared or she looks disappointed we are taking a shortcut taking the easy way out and robbing the reader of being able to experience the emotion the expression of this character for example he looks scared becomes his eyes widen a tremble in his hands as he steps back or we could take she looks disappointed and turn it into her smile Fades a cloud of disappointment passing through her eyes Again by describing the specific actions

and the expressions in the body language here we're letting the reader interpret what they're seeing rather than just telling them what they're seeing however sometimes looks can be used if you are needing to deliver information quickly to The Reader through an action scene or something like that or you're letting the narrator kind of project their own perception that isn't accurate onto what they're seeing for example dad looked like he wanted to kill me when he saw the damage I'd done to his car looked in this case works because we see that the character is perceiving

a person's expression a certain way and it's not necessarily their actual expression but it's their interpretation of it rule of thumb cut it when looks is just an easy escape from describing precise gestures expressions and Body Language keep it when the narrator's emotional state affects how they interpret gestures expressions and Body Language okay boom that's it the 10 more weak words that you should cut from your novel probably in most cases and when to cut them and when to keep them if you got value out of this video definitely check out the guide that I've

included below with all the weak words not just from this video but also from my previous video so that's a great companion to this video If you haven't seen that you can find the link right there in the guide you will find all 20 week words with the examples of when to cut them and when to keep them so click the link below this video to download that print it off or keep it in your scrier keep it on hand while you're editing it will help so much to make your manuscript tighter cleaner more polished

and more professional comment below and tell me what weak word out of this list are you the most guilty of overusing in your writing for me it's probably looks but that's the beautiful thing about writing we are always learning and exploring new things together and I want you to stick around to do more of that with me here on this channel so hit the Subscribe button below if you haven't already and smash that like button while you're down there also check out my patreon where we go beyond videos and take storytelling to the next level

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