Filtering Words
What are Filtering Words
Consider the following two versions of the same incident:
Version 1
Jimmy turned toward a screeching noise.
A car skidded toward him.
He couldn’t outrun it.
Version 2
Jimmy could hear a screeching noise and turned toward it.
He saw a car skidding toward him.
He realized he couldn’t outrun it.
Both snippets describe the same events, but they do so in subtly different ways.
Most readers consider Version 1 more immersive because it’s directly connected to Jimmy’s senses. It puts the reader in the character’s shoes.
Version 2 uses filtering words (could hear, saw, realized). Filtering words remind the reader that the characters are actively sensing the world around them. The writer is telling you (the reader) what Jimmy could hear and what he saw. These words add distance between the reader and the character.
Examples of Filtering Words
- See
- Glance
- Stare
- Look
- Observe
- Watch
- Peek
- Gawk
- Gaze
- Behold
- Spot
- Glimpse
- Scan
- Peer
- Glare
- Discern
- Eye
- Survey
Auditory Perception
- Listen
- Hear
- Overhear
- Eavesdrop
- Detect
- Discern
- Smell
- Sensed
Cognitive/ Internal Senses
- Realize
- Decide
- Think
- Believe
- Feel (in the emotional sense)
- Understand
- Know
- Sense
- Perceive
- Recognize
- Consider
- Imagine
- Suspect
- Recall
- Comprehend
Removing Filtering Words
It’s important to note that not every single instance of these words is an example of filtering. In addition, there are times when it makes sense to describe the filtering action.
For example: The stared at the burning car, realizing they had no way home.
Filtering: She watched the bird fly away.
Showing: The small bird launched from the branch, wings beating a rapid tattoo against the still air, until it was just a speck against the vast blue canvas. (Rather than remind the reader that the POV character is watching the bird, we only need to describe what the bird does. It’s implied that the character sees the bird fly away.)
Filtering: I heard a noise outside.
Showing: A sharp crack echoed through the quiet house, sending a shiver down my spine.
Showing doesn’t always need to be so vivid. Sometimes, we can simply remove the subject and the filtering verb. Doing so, changes the subject of the sentence, as in the following example:
Filtering: He heard the phone ring.
Showing: The phone rang.
Filtering: I felt a sharp pain in my leg. (Felt is a very common filter word.)
Showing: A sharp pain in my leg paralyzed me for an instant.
Filtering: She felt sad. (Here the writer is telling the reader what the character felt)
Showing: Her eyes welled with tears, and her lower lip trembled. (The writer is showing what the character experienced.)