Why Should You Avoid Filter Words?
Because they act like a coffee maker.
Water takes time to drip through the filter while you wait for the reward: a delicious cup of aromatic ambrosia that glides down your throat.
Not a coffee drinker?
Remember what happens when you wear a mask? People have a hard time understanding you, and they have to wait while you repeat yourself.
Or recall the last time you stood in line at a bank or grocery store. You had to wait for service.
Wait.
That’s what you force readers to do when you filter events through your characters’ senses.
Please pop over to Anne R. Allen’s Blog … with Ruth Harris and read my thoughts about Filter Words and Phrases to Avoid in Writing.
Find thousands of writing tips and word lists in
The Writer’s Lexicon series
and additional resources on my Facebook page.
The Writer’s Lexicon series
and additional resources on my Facebook page.
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An informative post. Thank you!
Thanks for dropping by, Leslee, and best wishes for frequent visits from your muse!
A brilliant post, Kathy. You’ve helped me identify a number of blind spots in my own writing. Think I will share this one more widely on social media, if you don’t mind.
Thanks for stopping by again, Tom.
Yes, filter words can hijack writing if overused; overused being the culprit. No, I don’t mind the shares. Not at all. *grin*