Self-editing 101: The ultimate list of weak words to replace in your writing.
Time for an exercise in self-editing. As with any writing advice, take this with a grain of salt. You don’t have to replace 100% of these words (especially in dialogue—yes, people talk like this—keep it.) Don’t believe me? Take a closer look at the books on your shelf at home, and you’ll find they use these words. The key is that they do so sparingly.
Tip: Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl f to find and replace overused and weak words. (For Mac users it’s command f.)
1. Very: This is a very common mistake. Vs. This is a common mistake.
- Very busy: Bustling, frenzied, chaotic
- Very happy: Ecstatic, elated
- Very tired: Exhausted, weary
2. Really: Do you really need this word? The answer is usually no.
3. Somewhat: This is somewhat vague. Try using something more specific.
4. Somehow: Are you missing important information or skipping over a logical cause and effect?
5. Slight and Slightly: May indicate a weak description.
- Slightly wet: damp
- A slight push: a nudge
6. Good: I bet you saw this one coming.
- Good food: delicious food
- Good manners: well-mannered
7. Bad: terrible, awful, dismal
- Bad weather: Describe what makes it bad weather (pouring, hailing, biting wind).
8. Look: glance, peek, peer, stare.
- Cut down on filtering through the character’s senses.
She looked out the window. The wind danced through the trees.
Vs.
Outside the window the wind danced through the trees.
She saw the tree fall over.
Vs.
The tree fell.
Or even better: The tree careened to the ground, landing with a boom that shook the earth.
9. Walk: stride, move (toward or away from something), slide, pace, wander, plod
He walked out of the room.
Vs.
He stormed out of the room.
10. Thing: clarify what the thing is.
11. Give: offer, cede
12. Dirty: filthy, ragged, disheveled, grimy
13. Tired: exhausted, drained, fatigued, sleepy, weary
14. Scared: terrified, panicked, startled
- Better yet, show the fear: wide eyes, a scream, jumping back, heart pounding
15. Happy: thrilled, delighted, glad, pleased, content, satisfied
- Show they’re happy: a squeal of delight, clapping hands together, a broad smile that lit up her face
16. Loud/loudly: shouted, thundered, deafening, ear-splitting
17. Anything in this related list: totally, completely, absolutely, literally, definitely, certainly, probably, actually, basically, virtually
18. Think/thought: considered, wondered, determined, guessed, envisioned, imagined, contemplated, considered, reflected, assumed
19. Quick/quickly: hastily, abruptly, swiftly, frantically, promptly
- Adverbs can point to weak verbs.
He quickly closed the door.
Vs.
He slammed the door.
She quickly walked away.
Vs.
She hurried off.
20. Fast: agile, brisk, swift, fleeting
21. Slow/slowly: gradual, sluggish, creeping, lag, lazily
- Another adverb red flag
She slowly crossed the room.
Vs.
She sneaked across the room.
22. Easy/easily: effortless, straightforward, simple
23. Important: crucial, essential, critical, pivotal
24. Great/ amazing: staggering, remarkable, considerable
25. Lots: countless, varied, various. Use figures or measurements if you can.
There were lots of fish in the water.
Vs.
The water teemed with fish.
26. Like: enjoy, appreciate
27. Suddenly/Then: Cut everywhere you can.
Suddenly a light flicked on.
Vs.
A light flicked on.
28. Just: Cut everywhere except when it means only. (It was just us.)
29. Find/find out: discover
30. Hard/harder: tough, demanding
She gripped the pencil harder.
Vs.
She clutched the pencil.
Bonus: For less filtering through the character’s senses, search for the following terms: see/saw, look(ed), watch(ed), hear(d).
Thanks for reading!
Janine Eaby is the author of Beyond the Water’s Edge—a Young adult fantasy book series influenced by her faith, love of nature, and desire for adventure. Ideal for fans of portal fantasies to other worlds like The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
Welcome to a community of readers and writers. Subscribe to get the latest posts.
Janine Eaby – Author | Beyond the Water’s Edge Portal Fantasy Series 
Let us know what you think.