Look at these sentences: "It was a good crown." "Something was wrong." "There was nothing she could do." Nothing in them is ungrammatical, but nothing in them is vivid either. Vague words (good, nice, big, thing, something, very) tell the reader that a quality exists without telling them what the quality is. The fix is to be specific, and specific is harder than it sounds, because it forces you to decide what you actually mean. This guide explains how to spot vague and abstract words, a method for replacing them, when vagueness is useful, and a worked example. The last section shows how Quillen highlights them.
The short answer
Replace a vague word by asking "what kind?", "how much?" or "which one?" until you have a detail only your story could contain. "A good crown" becomes "a crown with a cracked sapphire in one tooth". "Something was wrong" becomes "The lantern on the far bank had gone out". In Quillen, Analyze Document marks Vague words in blue and Abstract words in amber, each with its own percentage and guide level.
Two kinds of vague
It helps to separate two problems, because they need different fixes.
| Kind | Examples | The problem | The fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vague quality words | good, bad, nice, big, small, beautiful, ugly, very, really, just, many, few | They label a quality without describing it | Name the specific quality or show it |
| Abstract nouns and placeholders | something, everything, nothing, anything, thing, stuff, way, lot, someone, anyone | They stand in for a specific thing or person | Name the thing or the person |
A method: ask three questions
When you hit a vague word, ask the question that matches it:
- What kind? A "nice" house is a house with what? Cedar shingles, a sagging porch, a garden gone to seed.
- How much? "Many" people is how many? A crowd that filled the dock, or three men with lanterns.
- Which one? "Something" is what? The latch on the door, the crate in his hand, the second boat.
You do not need to answer every question for every sentence. You need to answer them at the moments the reader should see, hear or feel.
Weak verbs: the third kind
The Vague list also includes forms of "to be": is, am, are, was, were, be, being and been. "To be" is not wrong, and some sentences need it, but a page full of "was" is a page of states instead of actions. "The river was high" is a fact. "The river climbed the pilings" is an event. Where a "was" sentence describes something that could move, change or react, look for the verb hiding behind it.
Intensifiers and crutch words
Very, really, just, quite, somewhat and almost soften or inflate a sentence without adding anything. Quillen counts very, really and just in Vague, and words such as quite, somewhat, almost, nearly, slightly, kind of, sort of and a little bit in its Crutch category. A good test is to delete the word. If the meaning survives, leave it deleted. If the sentence now feels weak, the verb or adjective underneath is the real problem, and that is what to replace.
When vagueness is the right choice
Not every vague word needs fixing. Be vague on purpose when the narrator cannot know, as in a character who does not understand what she sees; when you want to hold back a reveal; when the vagueness is itself the characterization, such as a teenager who says "like" and "whatever"; and in summary narration, where a precise detail on every line would be exhausting. The rule is that vagueness should be a decision, not a default.
A worked rewrite
Before:
It was a good crown, and the price was nice. Something was wrong, and she knew it, but there was nothing she could do. There were many boats on the river and a few of them were very big.
After:
The crown was heavier than it looked, with a cracked sapphire set in one tooth. The price was twice a season's fares. The lantern on the far bank had gone out, and she could not make it light again from here. Three barges sat at their moorings, riding low in the current.
Every vague word was replaced by something the reader can picture, and the passage now implies a story: someone put out that lantern.
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Problem | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Replacing 'good' with 'excellent' or 'great' | Still a label | Describe what makes it good |
| Removing every 'was' | Strained, unnatural prose | Keep it where a state is what you mean |
| Packing every sentence with detail | Overloaded, slow prose | Detail where it matters; summarize elsewhere |
| Fixing the word and ignoring the thing | Different vague words | Decide what the reader should see first |
| Using a thesaurus | Longer vague words | Ask 'what kind?' instead |
Do it in Quillen
Quillen's Analyze Document tool has separate categories for vague words, abstract words and crutch words, so you can see which problem you actually have.
- Open the scene and click Analyze Document.
- Read the Vague chip (blue). It covers forms of "to be", intensifiers such as very, really and just, and quality words such as good, bad, nice, big, small, beautiful, ugly, many and few. The guide is 8% of words, a generous level because "was" is so common. Our sample read 9.5%.
- Read the Abstract chip (amber). It covers something, everything, nothing, anything, thing, stuff, way, lot, someone, anyone, everyone and no one, against a 1.5% guide. Our sample read 1.5%, on the line.
- Check the Crutch chip (green) for words such as seemed to, kind of, quite, almost and slightly, with a 4% guide.
- Work through the underlines. Ask what kind, how much and which one, and replace each with a detail. Leave vague words you chose deliberately.
- Rerun the analysis. Do not chase zero. A readable page will always contain some "was".
Because "to be" verbs count as Vague, and the tool matches patterns, this category gets noisy. Use it to see where a page leans on states instead of actions, not as a score to drive to zero.
Checklist
- Every 'something', 'thing' and 'stuff' replaced by the actual thing.
- Quality words (good, nice, big) replaced by a specific detail.
- Intensifiers tested by deletion.
- 'Was' sentences checked for a verb that could do the work.
- Deliberate vagueness left in place, on purpose.
Common questions
What are vague words in writing?
Words that label a quality or a thing without describing it, such as good, nice, big, very, something and stuff. They tell the reader a quality exists without saying what it is.
How do I replace vague words?
Ask 'what kind?', 'how much?' or 'which one?' and answer with a specific detail from your story.
Should I remove every 'was' from my writing?
No. 'Was' is fine where you mean a state. Look for a sentence where a stronger verb could describe movement or change.
How does Quillen find vague words?
Analyze Document has Vague, Abstract and Crutch categories. It underlines them and shows each one's share of your words against a guide level.
What is the difference between vague and abstract words in Quillen?
Vague covers forms of 'to be', intensifiers and quality words such as good and nice. Abstract covers placeholder words such as something, thing, stuff and someone.