{"id":12759,"date":"2018-10-16T08:25:07","date_gmt":"2018-10-15T21:25:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/?p=12759"},"modified":"2026-01-29T12:24:42","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T01:24:42","slug":"writing-rockface-the-filter-word-infection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/zenashapter.com\/blog\/writing-rockface-the-filter-word-infection\/","title":{"rendered":"Writing Rockface: The Filter Word Infection"},"content":{"rendered":"
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As well as writing amazing stories<\/a> (he he!), I run a full-time creative support<\/a> business, which includes editing, mentoring, teaching, book layouts, and other publishing support for authors and publishers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the last few weeks, I\u2019ve edited so many manuscripts riddled with filter words it’s time to speak up. I say \u2018riddled\u2019 because filter words can act like an infection, festering away inside text and weakening stories. They can cause feelings of disconnection, sluggishness, swollen scenes, high word counts and a hot angry redness (as in ‘read-ness’ \u2013 ha ha!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Definition<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Filter words can include the following words, and any similar to them: see, smell, hear, touch, taste, know, be able to and experience. Writers often use the senses to immerse readers in experiences we\u2019re describing; however, that doesn\u2019t mean we have to label those experiences. For example, in this sentence \u2018saw\u2019 is a filter word:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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She saw clothes swaying on the washing line.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Since we\u2019re narrating from the perspective of pronoun \u2018she\u2019, we are already watching everything she sees \u2013 we\u2019re in her head, or \u2018point of view\u2019, and experiencing everything she experiences. There\u2019s no need to remind readers of this through labelling the experience with \u2018she saw\u2019. We can also delete \u2018she saw\u2019 without affecting the meaning of the sentence, so it becomes a more immediate and immersive experience for the reader:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Clothes swayed on the washing line.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n

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Symptoms<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The main thing filter words do is put a barrier up between reader and character (whether fictional in stories or non-fictional in narration). This barrier distances the reader, reminds them that they\u2019re reading rather than experiencing a character\u2019s journey, and reduces possibilities for connection that might otherwise form, preventing readers from caring about what they\u2019re reading. Not good. They also add extra words to the text, which increases word counts and swells scenes with unnecessary wordiness. The result can be feelings of sluggishness and drag. Filter words \u2018filter\u2019 the reader\u2019s involvement in the text. For example, let\u2019s expand the above example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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She saw the front door ajar and wondered if she’d left it like that. She remembered rushing out of the house that morning late for work. As she thought back, unsure, she heard a chair scrape across the floorboards inside and realised… someone was in there.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Without the filter words, this scene would be less wordy and more immediate for readers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The front door was ajar. Had she left it like that? She’d rushed out of the house that morning late for work, but couldn’t be sure. A chair scraped across the floorboards inside. Someone was in there.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Causes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Usually the cause of filter words is a simple lack of knowledge. Perhaps the writer hasn\u2019t taken enough or the right classes on creative writing, perhaps they\u2019ve never been edited or edited well, or perhaps they\u2019re reading books also infested by filter words. Writing is continually evolving and so we write very differently now compared to thirty, fifty, a hundred years ago. Modern readers want to experience the journey being presented to them, they want to care and feel a connection. Luckily, as soon as most of my clients understand filter words, they usually treat their manuscripts easily enough, or get help.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Treatment<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The basic treatment for filter words is: see a filter word \u2013 eliminate it! Here\u2019s a more extensive list of filter words to search for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n