“One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple.”
‘Fluff writing’ is the term used to describe writing that contains words, sentences, phrases, or information that are unnecessary.
The equivalent of smothering a pizza with too many toppings, it’s literary overkill. On average, humans’ attention spans only last around 8 seconds, so you don’t want to give any additional invitations to lose focus.
Whatever genre you’re in, you want to write relevant content, that serves a purpose and arrives at an end goal. Writing with fluff ensures that all of that value is lost underneath a mountain of jargon. Join us at What We Reading as we run you through how to spot and eliminate fluff writing from your work!
How To Avoid Fluff Writing
One of the most important things to remember about writing fluff is that it happens to everyone. Whether you’re a veteran author or a newcomer novelist, it’s something that often arises from writing the way you speak or by wanting to share too much.
Even the best topics and premises have been drowned out by fluff, so don’t make the mistake of thinking they’ll shine through regardless of your execution. Be aware of the potential of fluff writing and be attentive to how you might lose a reader.
1. Write Concise And Short Sentences
When you’re in the middle of your writing flow, it’s easy to let your fingers wander and produce long, drawn-out sentences. But, from a reader’s perspective, these sentences aren’t appealing.
It’s important to keep in mind your audience and ensure every sentence arrives at its point as efficiently as possible. The best means of achieving this is by using short, concise sentences.
This strategy involves using as few words as possible to convey a clear message. An example would be:
Fluff sentence: The old, creaky door slowly opened, revealing a dark room with dusty furniture and faded wallpaper, and as I cautiously stepped inside, the air felt heavy with a mix of anticipation and the musty scent of neglect.
Concise sentence: The squeaky door opened, showing a dark room with old furniture and faded wallpaper. As I entered, the air felt heavy with anticipation and the musty smell of neglect.
Both sentences describe the same setting and convey the same atmosphere, but the fluff sentence makes it needlessly long and complicated.
2. Avoid Filler Words
One of the biggest contributors to fluff writing can be filler and crutch words. Filler words are the words used to fill moments of silence when you are talking.
Examples of filler words include: ‘um, uh, just, like, etc.’ While many think of filler words as a part of conversation, use them enough, and they may find a way of sneaking into your writing.
Crutch words are filler words specific to a writer. When you look back at your writing, you may find that you use words such as ‘certainly, basically, or definitely.’
These crutch words draw out getting to the point of your content and often make you seem less convinced in what you are trying to say. An example of fluff writing with filler words would be:
With filler words: Jamie was definitely the fastest in the group.
Without filler words: Jamie was the fastest in the group.
These filler words are natural-sounding enough when spoken but are unnecessary when written down.
3. Active Voice Instead Of Passive Voice
Switching to the active voice instead of the passive is one of the best ways of eliminating the fluff in writing. Active voice is when the subject of something you write is performing the action or the verb.
An example of active voice would be: ‘Matt jumped the fence.’
When the subject is affected by the action or verb, it’s passive voice. An example of passive voice would be: ‘The frisbee was tossed by Ryan.’
Passive voice often makes a sentence sound too long or wordy. It is also another example of how writing can sound uncertain.
Using more active voice than passive voice is a great way of ensuring the majority of fluff is being removed from your writing.
4. Make Use Of Expressive Verbs
On the use of verbs, another way of making your writing stand out is through using expressive verbs. Descriptive verbs can be a useful way to help readers get a better image of what is unfolding during the scenes in your story.
Here is an example of how a normal verb can be considered a fluff word:
“He walked over.”
Instead, you can swap out ‘walked’ for an expressive verb:
“He staggered over.”
The use of ‘staggered’ gives readers a clearer picture of the character, and they can begin to imagine how they might be feeling on the back of this descriptive verb. If you’re struggling with finding expressive verbs, a thesaurus is a great tool to use.
5. Cut Out The Jargon
We mentioned earlier about jargon is one of the worst features of fluff writing, but it can sometimes be surprisingly natural to lean on big and complex words when the subject material requires it.
Jargon words are words specifically related to distinct fields of study or professions that most readers won’t be familiar with.
Some writers may think that using jargon will make them sound intellectual or more professional. However, it is so often the opposite, and jargon words are another example of fluff writing.
6. Stating The Obvious
One of the hardest parts of eliminating fluff writing is knowing which information should be included and which can be skipped over. Certain fluff words and techniques can always be missed due to them being common knowledge.
For example, a sentence such as: ‘she looked out to the blue sea’ is stating the obvious and serves no real purpose. We all know the sea is blue, so there’s no point wasting words on it.
When writing, it’s always worth asking what your audience already knows and, more importantly, what it is they want to know to eliminate the risk of stating the obvious.
7. Write From Your Reader’s Perspective
Following on from asking what it is your readers are looking for, another way of avoiding writing fluff is to specifically write from their perspective. One of the best tips we’ve seen is by constantly asking: ‘What is most crucial to my readers?’ as you edit.
Once you begin to understand the readers’ perspective, it becomes much easier to know which information to include and which you need to take out.
One technique we’ve seen on this is by drawing up an audience profile that matches your target demographic. Include their favourite books, their passions, the tropes, characters, descriptions, and formulas they like, dislike, etc.
8. Train Your Brain
Much like learning any new skill, eliminating fluff writing takes practice and time. There are a number of exercises you can use to help take the fluff out of your writing:
Check Out Other Authors
One of the best ways of eliminating fluff words from your writing is by reading and learning from other authors. Start by picking out the authors you enjoy reading the most or the ones already active in your area and see how they construct their sentences. You can even take this further by assuming the role of an editor and seeing if they have any fluff you can pick out.
Critique Your Own Writing
‘Free writing’ (also known as ‘automatic writing’) is where you sit down for a writing session and dump everything that comes into your head within a set time limit. Look back on what you’ve written and try to trim it down to get a better idea of how you write and what sort of fluff writing habits you’re prone to.
Avoid Fluff Writing And Refine Your Writing
Whether you want to be a skilled academic, cutting-edge journalist, or award-winning novelist, avoiding fluff writing is an essential skill to possess. The best writers are aware of the most common habits they have and are particularly critical when it comes to ironing them out in their edits.
Keep your sentences concise, steer clear of too many filler or crutch words, and always keep your readers’ perspectives in mind as you write.
With these tips and strategies, you’re sure to elevate your writing skills and begin writing like a professional. Be sure to check out our posts on when the best time for writing and how reading improves your writing skills for further tips!
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
