by Cherrilynn Bisbano @bisbanowrites

Fluff was my favorite sandwich as a child. The ooey-gooey marshmallow mixed with the high-protein spread made for a delicious combination.  My mom packed them for long-distance trips or as a snack on the beach. They tasted best at the beach—so warm and sweet. I could overlook the few grains of sand stuck to my fingers.

Fluff is great for sandwiches, but not in a manuscript, article, or blog.

What is editorial fluff?

Some call them filler words or weed words.

For sweeter writing, try eliminating some of these from a manuscript.

That, really, very, just, then

totally, completely, absolutely, literally, every

certainly, probably, actually, basically, virtually

was, is, are, am, all

start, important

used to, never, often, almost

big, small, large, tiny

begin, began, begun

Rather, quite, somewhat, somehow

Down, up, in, out, under, over

Wonder, ponder, think, thought, seem

feel, felt, understand, realize

breathe, inhale, exhale

Shrug, nod, reach

Stuff, things, got

This is not an exhaustive list.

Read your piece without these words. Does it flow better? If not, leave the word.

Let’s embark on this journey of removing fluff from our writing. By doing so, we can make our writing more palatable to our readers.

What fluff words do you use? Is there a word I should add to the list?

Join the conversation.

Cherrilynn Bisbano is an award-winning writer, coach, editor, and speaker. As former managing editor of Almost an Author, she helped the website earn the #6 spot on the Top 100 best writing websites for 2018 by The Write Life and Top 101 Websites for writers with Writers Digest. Cherrilynn is a speaker with Women Speakers. Her topics include leadership, book proposals, and the Bible.

She is a two-time winner of Flash Fiction Weekly. Her work in progress, Accidental Findings, won the first 10 pages award with, When Words Count Retreat. You can find her published in Blue Ridge Writers Blog, Southern Writers, More to Life (MTL), Christian Rep, Christian Voice, Refresh, and other online magazines. Cherrilynn is a contributor to award-winning, Get to the Margins-Author Anthology; Breaking the Chains; Heart Reno, Kiss Guilt Goodbye; and Chicken Soup for the Soul-Miracles books. Her latest book, Shine Don’t Whine, released October 2020. Cherrilynn proudly served in the Navy and Air National Guard, earning the John Levitow Military leadership award.  She lives with her eighteen-year-old son, Michael, Jr., and husband of 22 years. Cherrilynn loves Christ, Chocolate, coffee, and Cats. You will often find her on the beach sea glass hunting.