As well as having worked for at least three publishing companies, Sam Knight started his own publishing company, Knight Writing Press, which published the book you are now holding. He has edited numerous short stories, novels, and anthologies, and is the author of six children's books, five short story collections, four novels, and over 80 stories, including three co-authored with Kevin J. Anderson. Though he has written in many cool worlds, such as Jack L. Chalker's Well World, Planet of the Apes, Wayward Pines, and Jeff Sturgeon's Last Cities of Earth, among his family, Sam will probably always be known for Chunky Monkey Pupu.

Once upon a time, Sam was known to quote books the way some people quote movies, but now he claims having a family has made him forgetful—as a survival adaptation. He can be found at SamKnight.com and contacted at [email protected].

Filtering Out the Filter Words by Sam Knight

Filtering Out the Filter Words. A guide to understanding and identifying filler words, filter words, filter phrases, and conclusion words, and how they affect your writing, both positively and negatively.

 
 

BOOK PREVIEW

Excerpt

What is a filter word?

Most definitions will say something along the lines of "filter words distance the reader." Whether that is from the action, or from the emotions or thoughts of a character, or the story itself, those definitions tend to imply that filter words prevent the reader from becoming (as) engrossed in the story (as they could have been).

Sometimes these definitions are as simple as filter words are "telling, not showing," or they are "redundant," or "unnecessary." But it is more complicated than that, and they do have their uses that don't merely distance the reader from the story.

In my opinion, a filter word is something that "filters" how the reader perceives what you have written.