editing craft discussions Archives

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.

a screenshot showing how many instances of the weasel word phrase "a little" are in a manuscript

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!

You’ve written a book. Or an article, a blog post, or another version of prose content. You’ve tweaked it until your eyes crossed and sent it for feedback, confident it conveys your story or message.

Except…you still see those pesky grammar and spelling error indicators in your digital document, and your review team is leaving notes that say, “run global edits.”

We’ve all been there. Many people say this is their least favorite part of the creation process. However, you can use some simple tricks to streamline the revision slog, polish your copy—and not lose your sanity while doing it.

Globals, or global corrections

Also called global edits, “running globals” is the fast way to find and replace multiple instances of commonly misspelled, misused, or unnecessary words and phrases.

It applies to most forms of writing and is particularly handy for book manuscripts and other long-form content. You can also have content- or author-specific globals, but as the terms imply, they’re more focused than the ones covered here.

Note: this technique assumes that your software has a Find and Replace or Advanced Find and Replace feature. Microsoft Word, OpenOffice, LibreOffice, and most other office suite products do. TextEdit, Notes, blog platforms, and specialty writing programs might not.

Ready? Let’s dive into some of the most common mistakes and how to change them in only a few clicks.

Editing Replacements and Corrections

Errors to replace globally

Find	Replace
forwards	forward
towards	toward
backwards	backward
onwards	onward
upwards	upward
looked to	looked at
looked over to	looked at
looked to be	appeared to be
replied back	replied
smiled to	smiled at
smiled to himself/herself	smiled
alright (NOT A WORD!)	all right (Match Case, often at the beginning of a sentence but not always)
fell/knelt/squatted/crouched down	fell/knelt/squatted/crouched
nodded his/her head	nodded
waved his/her hands	waved
folded/crossed his arms over his chest (or her arms)	folded/crossed his arms (or her arms)
Double space (hit the space bar twice)	Single space (hit the space bar once)
^t (tab)	Blank (don’t put anything in)
^l (soft return)	^p (paragraph break)
^p^p then try ^p ^p (with a space between)	^p

Go through these with a Find Next and Replace if needed (occasionally, it’s correct as it stands)

Find	Replace
wrapped up	wrapped
opened up	opened
turned/spun/whirled around	turned/spun/whirled
it’s	its (situationally)
called out	called, unless “I feel called out” or something similar
stood up	stood, unless “stood up to bullies” or something similar
stand up	stand (see qualifier for “stood”)
.” H or .” S or .” T	,” h or s or t (use Match Case) (happens in dialogue tags)
!” H or S or T	!” h or s or t (use Match Case) (occurs in dialogue tags)
,”	.” E.g., “Blah blah blah,” he smiled s/b “Blah blah blah.” He smiled. Make sure you’re using a dialogue verb (smirked and sighed are not)
…	Ellipses have no space after unless it starts a new sentence.

Globals in action

Now that we have the lists, here’s an example of a global find and replace in action. In this instance, the search phrase “nodded his head” pulled up four matches. Since this is an automatic correction rather than situational, typing “nodded” in the Replace bar and tapping “Replace All” will fix all four instances with one click.

screenshot of a global Find and Replace example — Example: global “Find and Replace All”

If you need to Match Case, the gear icon next to “Find” gives you that option, plus other advanced features.

(Note: screenshots reflect the layout in Word for Mac, Office 365. The PC interface for Word, Office 365 is a popup window under Advanced Find and Replace with separate tabs for “Find” and “Replace.”)

Next is a situational global (Find Next and Replace) for “it’s.” If you need to fix any instances, enter the correct spelling into the Replace bar and tap “Replace” instead of “Replace All.” Then tap “Find” (or “Find Next”) to advance to the next match.

You can also search for “its” (no apostrophe) to locate where you might need “it’s” instead.

screenshot of a situational global find and replace next — Example: global “Find Next and Replace”
(single replacement)

This feature is also great when you have a name that ends in “s” and needs to be possessive, and you (or your dictation software) keep inserting “s’s” instead of “s’.” Or you can’t remember whether you spelled someone’s name as “Steven” or “Stephen” and used both for the same person.

(Hey, Maurius’ dog might have a grudge against next-door neighbor Steven, but let’s not confuse him with Stephen from the next block over. That could get insulting.)

Additional things you can look for and fix

starting sentences with “And” or “But”
using “really” or “just” (they’re filler words, and weak)
“very” (anything) – “very” is a weak modifier (E.g., “very happy” could be better worded as “delighted” or “ecstatic”)
“actually,” “absolutely,” and “obviously” are usually unnecessary
no space between an em dash and the word on either side, or between an em dash and quotation marks
double dashes are not the same as em dashes

There you have it: faster ways to make a lot of standard revisions. While not comprehensive—most editors have a mental checklist several pages long, as do I—using these handy corrections will help your copy shine. Incidentally, they’ll also help you become a better first draft writer.

Now that’s what I call a win-win situation.