#STRONG VERB FOR WAS HOW TO#

I dedicate this post to my friend and writing colleague, KB Inglee, who sent the suggestion at the top.I had taught my students to eliminate weak verb/adverb combinations and to use strong action verbs instead furthermore, I taught them how to trade weak verbs for strong verbs. If you are tempted to say someone walked quickly, donвЂ™t you mean he ran? If you write someone spoke loudly, donвЂ™t you mean she yelled? If you write someone cried piteously, donвЂ™t you mean they sobbed?Д¬hoose a strong, precise verb and it will do the job on its own. To go back to the suggestion above and the comment about вЂ¦LY words, think of this. Craft an active sentence and voila! You wrote a strong sentence. Find the word that best describes that task. ~ He plowed ahead, instead of He was plowing ahead.Дecide on the verbвЂ™s task. ~ He stalked, instead of He was stalking. Here are simple examples of active versus passive construction.

I have devoted two former posts on How To BeвЂ“or Not To BeвЂ“an Active Writer, part I and part II.

Structure вЂ“ A strong sentence construction gives power to all its parts.

He may be headed to a particular spot and is walking in a determined fashion to get there, or he may be out for exercise. Loping is not slow but it is not hurried, so there is probably no emergency and heвЂ™s probably not worried. Loping requires strength to take long strides, so the man is probably young, healthy and confident. Loping requires long legs, so the man must be tall. Lope is great because it answers the above questions through implicationвЂ“aka subtext. ~Is he headed to a specific place or not? Close your eyes and picture a man loping across the courtyard to the gate. One of my favorite illustrative examples of walking is the word lope. The guy still gets to the gate, but there is subtext to the verb choice that tells more. As such, each verb adds something else to the story.

Consider these homonyms: stroll, march, stride, tread, tramp. There are many choices for the word walk, but not all walks are the same. If there is an attractive woman near the gate, he would saunter or swagger, amble or meander, depending on his level of confidence. If there is danger near the gate, he would creep, tread, sneak, tiptoe, steal, skulk, scuttle. If there is an emergency near gate, he would run, sprint, hustle, dash, rush, bound. Precision вЂ“ Why do we want him across the courtyard to the gate? WhatвЂ™s going on in the story that, first, requires him to be near the gate and, second, can be heightened by a strong verb?.So, if he gets to the gate and nothing special is there, the word is misleading. There must be something special at the gate, if heвЂ™s taking the trouble to approach it. Approach means to come or go near, but there is nuance to approach, a sense of intention. ~ He approached the gate from across the courtyard. Moved? Like, drifted? Packed up his suitcase so he could live closer to the gate? ~ He moved across the courtyard to the gate. ~ He went across the courtyard to the gate. HereвЂ™s a task: We need to get a man to cross a courtyard to get to a gate, and he canвЂ™t walk there. Second, itвЂ™s so common and universal, writers try not to use it, sometimes in a good way, sometimes not so good. Verb Task вЂ“ What do characters commonly do in stories? They walk, run, climb, sit, jump, look, think, grab, pull, throw.Finally, construct the sentence in a direct and powerful way so the verb is not impeded in its duty. Second, choose a verb specific to the task. To make a good verb choice, think about the task to be performed. In every sentence, a verb performs a job. How do you choose a strong verb for every sentence? By breaking down word choice into three areas of consideration: Task, Precision and Structure It is a hefty job, so selecting a strong verb to perform the sentenceвЂ™s task is not a willy-nilly undertaking. Verbs drive the narrative of a story verbs control pace, determine tension, reveal secrets. The real task is using a more descriptive verb.вЂќДЄ verb is a word that shows action, being or doing. People say donвЂ™t use вЂ¦LY words, but they donвЂ™t explain why. вЂњUse stronger verbs rather than modifiers.

After I decided to write a How To post every day for the month of May, I declared my intention to writer friends and colleagues and asked for topic suggestions.

Strong verb for was