and twice as hard to keep out of your manuscript.
What are weasel words, and why is being sneaky such a bad thing for them?
The simple answer is, they’re words and phrases we often use that aren’t necessary in most cases. In general, weasel words tick the following boxes, especially in a story’s narrative.
- They do nothing to drive the story.
- They’re overused.
- They’re filler words that mean little to nothing in context.
They also creep into story dialogue, marketing copy, essays, white papers, and everyday speech without us realizing it—unless you’ve trained yourself to be aware of and eliminate them.
Sneaky.
How do you know whether you’re using—or worse, overusing—weasel words?
One thing you can do is run them as globals. It’s a great way to train your brain to recognize them as you’re editing or writing.
Wait, what are globals?
Globals, often called running globals, are a fast way to locate and change a word or phrase in your entire manuscript without having to read line by line. You might know it better as Find and Replace. You can also use this method to discover how many times you’ve used a word or phrase in your document.
To do this, use the Search bar in the left-side Navigation column. Type in the word or phrase you want to locate and tap Find. It will list the number of instances in the document. If the number is in the double digits above ten, consider weeding some out. If it’s in the triple digits, get viciously ruthless about cutting.
In the example screenshot below, I searched for “a little” in a partially edited manuscript and came up with ninety-six instances I still need to address.
Not shown in the image is the setting, which is on Ignore Case by default. This allows the search to use the broadest parameters when obtaining results. Think big picture and speed rather than fine detail for this step.
How much is too much? Also, what about weasel words in dialogue? Can’t characters say whatever they want?
The short answers: See above about quantities. Yes, it applies to dialogue. Yes, they can, but be judicious—unless you’re working with a character whose annoying trait is overusing a phrase. In which case, be prepared for readers and your editor to call you out on it.
“Erm…how do I know which words and phrases are considered weasel words?“
A few ways.
One, you can grab a copy of the file my editing team and I created and made available for the Editing Boot Camp session at 20Books Vegas 2022. There is zero cost except for your time and effort, and offers an Excel file you can download and add your phrases to.
Two, you can run SmartEdit (PC-only Word plugin), ProWritingAid (PC or Mac), or AutoCrit (web-based). All three are pay-to-use software. If you’re looking to level up your writing but want a format that provides reports you can act on, they’ll give you a solid base to work from.
Three, you can create your own list of weasel words. Pros: It’s tailored to you and includes your pet phrases. You can expand it to meet your needs. It’s free except for your time and effort. Cons: It’s time-consuming. It’s not comprehensive until you’ve put in a lot of effort and learned to identify all your overused words and phrases.
Okay. You entered a weasel word or phrase and have your list of search results. Now what?
I use a loose framework to judge what can stay or go on an instance-by-instance basis. It works like this.
Does it alter the sentence’s/phrase’s intended meaning if I delete it? Yes/No
If No, does it alter a character’s established speech pattern? Yes/No
If both of the above are No, you can safely delete.
If the answer to the first question is Yes, leave it or rephrase the weasel word(s) if possible.
If the answer to only the second question is Yes, consider how many other times you’re allowing that weasel word or phrase, then decide whether to cut.
Following this framework leaves enough instances to preserve speech patterns without going overboard. It also leads to cleaner prose, which translates to easier, more engaging reading.
The bottom line
Pro tip 1: If you’re paying an editor to clean up your work, eliminating weasel words before turning in your manuscript can save you money. This applies whether they charge per word or per hour.
Pro tip 2: If you’re bootstrapping, this is an effective way to learn one aspect of copy editing.
Pro tip 3: While geared more toward those writing stories, this technique also applies to marketing copy, essays, white papers, online articles, newsletters, and longer-form social media content.
Happy writing!