Expletives

When I’m self-editing, I watch for expletives. I don’t mean swear words; I’m referring to phrases like It was, or There was, or There were, that start a sentence.

Sometimes they are unnecessary “filler words” that make a sentence longer than it needs to be.

It was on Friday night that the boys went to the arcade room. 13 words

On Friday night, the boys went to the arcade room. 10 words

The second sentence uses fewer words and is less cluttered.

However, if I want to emphasize Friday as the night they went, then an expletive works.

It was Friday night when the boys went to the arcade room.