One in a series of writing tips.
A gaunt and sunburned man in tattered clothes staggers into a desert oasis. He collapses at the well and, with his waning strength, turns the crank to lift a bucket filled with water to his cracked lips. He then …
What? What verb would you choose to describe his next action?
Does he sip?
Swig?
Slurp?
Guzzle?
Gulp?
Verbs supply action. They form the pivot around which every other word, phrase and clause fuses into a sentence. And they inject energy – especially true with simple present- and past-tense verbs.
Alex drinks the wine.
Amy walked to school.
Verbs also help readers “see” action more vividly, as with our man at the oasis.
Alex sniffs the wine.
Amy skipped to school.
Well-chosen verbs often also eliminate the need for adverbs and modifying phrases, reducing multiple words to one.
Amy walked heavily to school.
Amy trudged heavily to school.
The right verb will power a well-tuned sentence. Taking time to find the right one, even by “test driving” multiple verbs, will sharpen any sentence.
Let verbs power your sentences. Choose them well.
One of the things that attracted me to Roz was her use of verbs and descriptions in writing. Specifically she covered a fire in Kansas City Kansas. She interviewed a bystander who was eating. After the quote Roz described her as “gnawing on a slab of ribs.”
Ah, love sprouts among the verbs. What a nice tribute to Roz’s writing, Steve.