Verbs sing. Verbs dance. Verbs pound the walls and smash the windows. Verbs creep through darkened hallways or march to the city gates. Verbs dazzle. Verbs quicken the pulse. Verbs grab the reader by the throat and squeeze till the eyes bug out.
In other words, pay attention to your #$%^&*@ verbs! Use good active ones. I don't mean you have to be fancy—the verbs in the preceding paragraph were all common concrete words, not fancy at all. Simple direct verbs work well in many contexts. Of course, other contexts may require more sophisticated verbs: multi- syllable verbs like "scintillate," "vaporize," or "vivisect." Variation is good; suit your words to the context.
| I’m not saying you should always avoid forms of “to be.” That’s going too far. “To be” is the most common verb in the language, and perfectly acceptable in many contexts. However, if you use “to be” too much, your prose becomes flat and tedious. |
Whenever you use a form of the verb "to be" ("is," "are," "was," etc.), take a second to consider more active ways to phrase the same sentence. Instead of writing, "There were lots of shoes on the mat," you might write, "Shoes lined the mat in neat rows" or "Shoes lay scattered across the mat, some knocked over on their sides and a few that had flipped completely upside-down." By forcing yourself to choose better verbs, you can open your eyes to more expressive possibilities.
Some beginners avoid strong verbs precisely because
the words are strong. They'd rather use
weaselly weak verbs that aren't so blunt and threatening.
Well, just get over it. Make your peace with good verbs and don't be afraid to use them.
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Copyright © 2001, James Alan Gardner