Redundant Words and Phrases: How to Spot and Fix Them in Your Writing

Hello, fiction writers.

Ever read through your own draft and thought, “Wow… did I really just use ‘suddenly’ five times on one page?” Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Redundant words and phrases are like uninvited guests at a dinner party—they sneak in quietly and refuse to leave until you spot them.
The problem is, most writers don’t notice them during the heat of creation. When we’re drafting, our brains are in “story mode,” not “editor mode,” so it’s easy to sprinkle the exact words and phrases across every paragraph. The result? A manuscript that feels clunky, repetitive, or unintentionally funny.

Let’s talk about how to spot these sneaky little echoes and boot them out before they tank your story’s flow.

🎯 Why Redundant Words Are a Problem
Redundancy in writing doesn’t just make your sentences longer—it drags your reader’s attention off the story and onto the words themselves. Here’s why that’s a problem:

-It slows the pace.
Imagine reading: She nodded her head in agreement as she sat down on the chair.
Yikes. Her head is the only thing that can nod, and of course, she sat on the chair. Half of those words could vanish without changing a thing.

-It dulls the impact.
When you repeat words like “really,” “just,” “actually,” or “suddenly” too often, they lose all their punch. Suddenly… nothing feels sudden anymore.

-It makes readers roll their eyes.
If your detective “narrows his eyes” on every page, your readers might start narrowing theirs—at you.

🔍 Common Redundant Words and Phrases
Here’s a hit list of common culprits that love to sneak into fiction:

• Free gift (is any gift not free?)
• End result (just say “result”)
• Each and every (pick one)
• Close proximity (proximity already means “close”)
• Unexpected surprise (all surprises are unexpected, right?)
• Absolutely essential (essential is already absolute)
• He shrugged his shoulders (what else would he shrug?)
• She whispered softly (whispering is already soft)

And then there are the word tics—those personal favourites we use without realising. Mine used to be “a little.” My characters were a little tired, a little annoyed, a little in love… until my beta reader begged me to stop a little.

🛠 How to Spot and Fix Redundancy
-Use the “Find” Tool Like a Detective
Pick a word you suspect you overuse—like “just,” “looked,” or “felt”—and search your entire document. You might be shocked (and maybe slightly horrified) at how many times it pops up.

-Read Your Work Aloud
Our ears catch patterns that our eyes miss. If you start droning the exact phrase over and over, your brain will wave a big red flag.

-Trim the Fat
Challenge yourself to remove redundant words without changing the sentence’s meaning.
Example:
Before: He stood up and walked over to the table.
After: He stood and walked to the table.

-Swap for Variety
If a word is essential but appears too often, grab a thesaurus. Variety adds texture without pulling focus.

✏️ A Quick Anecdote from My Editing Desk
In my early drafts of a horror novella, my characters were constantly “freezing in fear.” I counted. Eleven times in three chapters. My beta reader joked, “Are they scared or just very cold?” That was my wake-up call.
I went back and rephrased most of them:

• Her breath caught.
• He rooted to the spot.
• She couldn’t move.

Suddenly, my terrified characters didn’t sound like they’d all caught hypothermia.

💡 Wrapping It Up
Redundant words and phrases are like background noise—they clutter your story without adding value. The good news is they’re easy to fix once you know where to look.
Next time you revise, hunt down those repetitive little gremlins. Your readers (and your future self) will thank you.

Your turn:
​What’s the one word or phrase you always catch yourself overusing? Drop it in the comments—I promise, we’ve all been there. I reply to every comment personally.