Craft Glossary · term

Filter words / distancing

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Plain English: Words that insert the observer between reader and experience: saw, heard, felt, noticed, realized, watched, seemed, looked, thought, decided. "She saw the door open" distances; "The door opened" puts us there.

Rule: In close POV, cut the filter and render the perception directly. Reserve filter verbs for when the act of perceiving is itself the point.

Fail: Filter-word fog — every observation routed through "she noticed / she felt / she saw", flattening immediacy and diluting voice.

Arjuna Badger Press · Craft Library

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