Filter words sit between the reader and the story. When a narrator writes "she saw the stranger step out of the mist", the reader gets the stranger at one remove, through the character's eyes, with a verb of perception acting as a pane of glass. Cut the glass and the stranger simply steps out of the mist. This guide explains what filter words are, when they hurt and when they help, how to remove them in three different ways, and what a rewritten paragraph looks like. The last section shows how Quillen finds them for you.
The short answer
A filter word is a verb that reports a character's perception or thought instead of showing the thing perceived: saw, heard, felt, noticed, realized, wondered, knew, decided, seemed. To cut one, delete the verb and the subject that goes with it, then state what was perceived directly. "She heard the door creak" becomes "The door creaked." In Quillen, Analyze Document highlights filter words in red and shows what share of your words they make up, against a guide level of 4%.
Why filter words weaken prose
Fiction works by putting the reader inside a point of view. Every filter verb reminds the reader that someone else is doing the perceiving, which pushes them back out. Filter words also add length without information: the reader already knows whose head they are in. And they flatten immediacy. Compare:
The common filter words
| Type | Words | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Senses | saw, heard, felt, watched, noticed | Can I describe the thing itself? |
| Thought | thought, wondered, realized, knew, understood, remembered, believed | Can the thought appear as plain narration or free indirect speech? |
| Decision and desire | decided, wanted | Can I show the choice through an action? |
| Appearance | seemed, appeared | Can I state the fact, or show the evidence? |
Three ways to remove a filter word
1. Delete and restate
The simplest cut. Remove the verb of perception and make the perceived thing the subject. "She noticed a light in the distance" becomes "A light flickered in the distance." Often you gain a chance to pick a stronger verb.
2. Convert to free indirect style
For thoughts, drop the labelling verb and let the thought stand in the narration. "She wondered if it was a lantern" becomes "Was it a lantern?" and "He knew he had made a mistake" becomes "He had made a mistake." The reader still understands it is the character's thought, because they are already inside her head.
3. Show the evidence
Where a filter verb stands in for a feeling or a judgment, replace it with the details that would cause it. "She felt afraid" can become "Her hands would not stay still on the oar." This overlaps with fixing telling, which we cover in how to fix telling in your fiction.
When filter words are fine
A filter word is not an error. Use one when the act of perceiving is itself the point: a character who does not notice something until too late, a moment of dawning realization that is the turn of the scene, a mystery where what the character does not see matters, or distant narration where you want the camera to pull back. "Only then did she see the second boat" earns its verb. A good rule is to keep a filter word when removing it would lose information, and cut it when it would not.
A worked rewrite
Before:
Wren felt the cold seep through her boots and realized that the river was high. She noticed a light in the distance and wondered if it was a lantern. She saw the stranger step out of the mist, and she heard him call her name.
After:
The cold seeped through Wren's boots. The river was high, higher than it should have been. A light hung in the distance. A lantern? The stranger stepped out of the mist and called her name.
The rewrite is shorter, faster and more physical, and nothing the reader needed has been lost. Notice that "A lantern?" keeps the character's wondering without the verb.
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Problem | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Deleting every filter word on sight | Prose becomes breathless and mechanical | Keep the ones that carry information or rhythm |
| Cutting the verb but keeping the 'that' | A clause is left hanging | Rebuild the sentence around the perceived thing |
| Replacing 'saw' with 'watched' or 'observed' | Still a filter word | State the thing itself |
| Changing thoughts into long internal monologues | Slows the scene | Use one short question or statement |
| Ignoring the count | Hundreds of small filters add up | Check the percentage across the whole chapter |
Do it in Quillen
Quillen's Analyze Document tool highlights filter words in your own manuscript and tells you how heavily you lean on them. It works on a fiction book, where the Filter category is included.
- Open the scene you want to check in the editor.
- Click Analyze Document in the toolbar. A stats bar appears above the page with a chip for each category, and the words are underlined in the matching colour.
- Read the Filter chip. It shows the percentage of your words that are filter words, beside the guide level, 4%. A number in red means you are over the guide. In our sample scene it read 6.6%.
- Work through the red underlines. Quillen flags words such as saw, heard, felt, noticed, realized, wondered, knew and decided, and phrases such as "wondered if" and "asked herself".
- Edit as you go. The page stays editable while highlights are showing. Delete the filter verb and restate the sentence.
- Click Clear Highlights when you are finished, or run Analyze Document again to see the new percentage.
The guide levels are rules of thumb for prose, not laws. A scene told in distant narration might legitimately run higher; a tense action scene might run lower. Use the number to find the places to look, then decide with your ear.
Checklist
- Filter percentage checked for each chapter.
- Every filter word either cut, or kept for a reason.
- Thoughts converted to free indirect style where it reads better.
- No filter verbs replaced by synonyms such as watched or observed.
- The paragraph read aloud after the change.
Common questions
What are filter words?
Filter words are verbs that report a character's perception or thought, such as saw, heard, felt, noticed, realized, wondered and knew. They put a layer between the reader and what is happening.
Should I remove every filter word?
No. Keep a filter word when the act of perceiving is the point of the sentence, or when cutting it would lose information. Cut it when it adds length without meaning.
How do I find filter words in my manuscript?
In Quillen, open a scene and click Analyze Document. Filter words are highlighted in red and a stats bar shows their share of your words against a 4% guide.
What is free indirect style?
A way of writing a character's thoughts without a labelling verb. Instead of 'she wondered if it was a lantern', write 'Was it a lantern?'. The reader still knows whose thought it is.
Does Analyze Document change my text?
No. It only highlights. You make every edit yourself.