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Disposable Words That Bloat Your Writing

There is a rule in writing. Every time you encounter the word Very, replace it with the obscene word F-ing and then promptly delete it. The idea is that there is rarely an instance where adding very actually improves upon writing, and thus it can be deleted almost entirely. However, very isn't the only word that should get the axe. Here are six other words that you can probably plug into your word search, hit delete, and it wouldn't change the meaning of your sentence, and it would probably make your work sound better too. 

Only 

"If only you knew."  

"Only people with cool hats..." 

"I only thought." 

Only is only necessary in certain situations. Once in a blue moon you might want specify only one thing, but more often than not, you're only being redundant and weakening the strength of your sentence.

Just 

"I just thought about..."  

"Just to make sure that..."  

"If you would just..."  

I have a tendency to overuse just a lot. Just is a nice filler that can stretch out a few thoughts if you just want them to come slowly. But in most of these cases, removing the word just makes a sentence stronger. Just adds uncertainty. Just adds weakness. Just listen to what I'm saying, okay?

Totally 

"This is a totally awesome trip."  

"Totally devastated, she ran away."  

This word is totally never needed. Like only's redundancy, reaffirming something is completely happening, as opposed to partially happening, is just not necessary. You may be noticing a lot of these easily axible words are adverbs. That's because, in general, you want to get rid of adverbs in writing. Totally check my chapter on adverbs if you want more advice on replacing, if you don't want to just flat out delete these words.

Quite 

"I quite like you..."  

"I am quite upset about..." 

"I don't think you quite understand..."  

Some people might think that quite makes a sentence sound quaint, but they would be quite wrong. Quite is a word that makes the meaning of a sentence harder to ascertain. It's extra foliage that only serves to broaden the possible meaning of a statement. One possible exception is when used to annotate time. "The turkey isn't quite done yet" suggests the Turkey is close to being done, whereas "The turkey isn't done yet" is abrupt and provides no information on the status of the turkey. So that's a case where quite is okay.

Perhaps 

"Perhaps we should go out?"  

"Then perhaps you'd..." 

"Perhaps the day is..." 

Like just, perhaps weakens a sentence. Perhaps it does so by suggesting the outcome of your sentence is uncertain. If you say "Perhaps we should go out?" are you asking someone out or are you idly wondering if going out is even a possibility? Perhaps adds a vagueness that you rarely want when you're trying to describe a scene, which is perhaps something you typically don't want to do in fiction.

That 

"Look at the bird house that my son built."  

"What was the thing that we did last week?"  

"I like the animal that you got."  

If that doesn't change the meaning that means it can be cut. You all know that words sometimes get added as a spacer to separate thoughts. When you're saying it that can sometimes make a lot of sense; When you're writing it that can bloat a chapter out and make reading tedious.

Why do people put these words into their writing? Sometimes it is just to space out a sentence. If you feel like two ideas should have a certain length of reading time before they are related, adding thats and justs can stretch it out and make the writing feel smoother in your head.  

Another reason I often see added words is because people feel like it makes their work feel proper. People are constantly making their sentences more complex to drive up word counts and make their writing feel fancy.  

"Perhaps you are quite the impressive marksman."  

Vs. 

"You are an impressive marksman."  

To some people, the first sounds antiquated, like you'd imagine a maiden in the 1600s might say, while the second sounds blunt. In most cases it just makes a work feel bogged down and more difficult to read. Either way, always think of the effect your words are having on your audience, and how you want to convey information to them in a way that doesn't irritate or make it difficult to understand. A word of warning, before you get all willy nilly with the delete button, check before you click delete. You may find yourself deleting these words 9 out of 10 times, but that 10th time might be important.