15 filler words that weaken your novel, and what to use instead
Filler words are not evil. They are often human. They show hesitation, warmth, and a character’s inner voice. The problem is scale. When filler shows up in every paragraph, it blurs your strongest lines and makes action feel less immediate.
This guide is a practical list of common filler words in fiction, what they do to a sentence, and simple rewrites that keep your voice intact. You do not need to delete them all. You only need to choose them on purpose.
How filler sneaks into good drafts
Most filler appears for three reasons. One, you are drafting quickly and your brain adds softeners to keep momentum. Two, you are trying to sound natural in dialogue, which is a real craft choice. Three, you are protecting the sentence from feeling too bold.
The goal is not to make your prose harsher. The goal is to make your intent clearer.
The list: 15 common filler words
Tip: when you edit, do not search for one word and delete every instance. Search, skim, and decide. The right amount depends on voice.
1. Just
Often weakens intent, apologizes for action, or shrinks urgency.
Before: I just wanted to make sure you were safe.
After: I wanted to make sure you were safe.
2. Really
Acts like a volume knob, but it rarely adds a new meaning.
Before: She was really tired.
After: She was exhausted.
3. Very
Often signals that a more precise word exists.
Before: The room was very cold.
After: The room was icy.
4. Quite
Softens statements. Great for voice. Dangerous when overused.
Before: He was quite certain.
After: He was certain.
5. Somewhat
Often adds vagueness. Keep it only if uncertainty is the point.
Before: The answer felt somewhat wrong.
After: The answer felt wrong.
6. Kind of
Common in internal narration. Can blur intensity in big moments.
Before: I kind of hated the way he smiled.
After: I hated the way he smiled.
7. Sort of
Similar to kind of. Useful for hesitant characters, not for every line.
Before: It sort of sounded like singing.
After: It sounded like singing.
8. A bit
Softens description. Replace with a concrete detail when possible.
Before: He looked a bit angry.
After: His jaw tightened.
9. A little
Same function as a bit. Choose it only when smallness matters.
Before: Her voice was a little shaky.
After: Her voice shook.
10. Actually
Often a conversational tic. Best when it signals surprise or correction.
Before: I actually agree with you.
After: I agree with you.
11. Basically
Common in exposition. Can make summary feel lazy.
Before: Basically, the whole town feared him.
After: The whole town feared him.
12. Literally
Best used sparingly. It loses punch when it appears often.
Before: My heart was literally pounding.
After: My heart pounded.
13. That
Not always filler. Sometimes it improves clarity. Sometimes it clutters.
Before: She realized that she had been wrong.
After: She realized she had been wrong.
14. Suddenly
In action, suddenly often tells instead of showing. Make the sentence do the surprise.
Before: Suddenly, the door flew open.
After: The door flew open.
15. Somehow
Good for mystery. Risky when it hides mechanics you should show.
Before: Somehow, she escaped.
After: She slipped between the guards and ran.
A closer look: “just” and “suddenly”
Two words from the list above earn a second pass on their own. They hide the most and show up the most often.
“Just” is usually a hedge, and sometimes a tell
“Just” is the single most common filler word in first draft fiction. A typical 80,000 word manuscript carries fifty to a hundred of them. In dialogue it can be character, someone who undersells themselves or apologizes for existing. In narration it is almost always a reflex carried over from speech.
Before: She just wanted to know if he was okay. It was just a small thing, she told herself.
After: She wanted to know if he was okay. It wasn’t a small thing, and she knew it.
Cutting “just” here does more than tighten the line. It exposes that “it was just a small thing” was the character lying to herself, a hedge turned into interiority. The test: remove it and read the sentence aloud. If it sounds harsher than you meant, put it back. Most of the time it reads cleaner without it.
“Suddenly” kills the surprise it announces
“Suddenly” warns the reader that something unexpected is coming, which is exactly what stops it from being unexpected. The reader braces, and the moment lands soft. Surprise is built, not announced, from grounded detail and a rhythm that lulls before it breaks.
Before: She was reaching for her keys when suddenly the lights went out.
After: She was reaching for her keys. The lights went out.
The full stop does the work the adverb reached for. If something happens without warning, write it without warning.
Beyond the list: false action starters
A whole family of filler does not soften a word. It delays the action by a step, describing the start of a thing instead of the thing itself. These cluster in action scenes, exactly where pace matters most.
Began to / started to
Adds a step before the action the reader actually wants. The beginning is rarely the point.
Before: She began to run.
After: She ran.
Seemed to / appeared to
Introduces doubt where there is none and quietly makes the narrator unreliable. If the character smiled, they smiled.
Before: He seemed to smile.
After: He smiled.
Tried to
Keep it when the attempt fails and that failure matters. Cut it when it only softens committed action.
Before: She tried to stand.
After: She stood, unsteady.
Managed to
Implies difficulty without showing it. Show the difficulty, or drop the phrase.
Before: She managed to open the door.
After: She threw her shoulder against the door until it gave.
More words worth interrogating
The same question applies to each one: does it add meaning, or only length? These are the next most common offenders after the list above.
- so, rather, truly, deeply, extremely, incredibly, absolutely — intensifiers that usually reveal the word underneath was not strong enough. “Extremely tired” wants to be “exhausted.”
- almost, nearly, slightly — fine when the near miss is the point, filler when they soften a verb you should commit to.
- immediately, quickly, slowly — let the verb carry the speed. “Darted” beats “quickly walked,” and slowness is better shown than labeled.
Weak, vague words are not the only thing worth hunting on a line edit pass. Passive constructions flatten prose the same way, and the free passive voice checker flags those across a full manuscript.
Where filler is useful in fiction
Cutting filler is not the same as stripping voice. Keep filler when it serves one of these purposes.
- Character voice: anxious, self effacing, playful, uncertain
- Dialogue realism: people hedge and soften in conversation
- Emotional distance: a narrator avoiding truth often speaks in soft edges
- Rhythm control: a small word can smooth a line that otherwise hits too hard
A fast self edit method
- Search for just, really, very, kind of, sort of.
- Skim each hit and ask: does it change meaning or voice?
- If not, cut it. If yes, keep it on purpose.
- On the strongest emotional lines, remove softeners first.
- On dialogue, keep more. On narration, keep less.
Want a faster pass on a long draft?
You can run a chapter through Inkcheck to surface filler word patterns and decide what to keep. It is designed to flag patterns without rewriting your voice.