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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/25797
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

I wasn't entirely sure how to phrase this in the question box, so it may seem like a duplicate. But, I did look at these questions ([What are the tricks to avoid repetition in writing?](https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/1449/what-are-the-tricks-to-avoid-repetition-in-writing), [How to avoid repetitive sentence structure?](https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/6642/how-to-avoid-repetitive-sentence-structure)) and didn't find the answer to my question. What I want to know is **What can you do to stop using the same words over and over again in dialogue and narration?**

Allow me to elaborate. I'm in the process of editing a 50k word manuscript, and I realized by using the navigation pane that there are certain words that appear multiple times in each chapter, sometimes per page. They are sort of filler words but removing them would change the structure and meaning of the sentence. I frequently use words like: wait, just, actually, even, definitely, only. These are not the kinds of words you can easily replace with a synonym. **How do I stop using them so much?**

I don't know if it's my speech patterns influencing my writing, or if I simply need to find a better way to say things. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Original score: 2