Searching for the Perfect Verbs?
I love stories rich with fun verbs ie. create the most titillating images and are succinct
Here are tips from Word Use. It's written for Screenwriters but it works great on novels, short stories and poetry too...
Utilize the richness of the English language to create powerfully descriptive verbs, that greatly enhance screenwriting efficiency.
Nouns, sounds, attitudes, etc. can all be combined into one verb- -thereby enlivening and economizing your writing.
EXAMPLE:
"The BOY galumphs to the shed."
With no descriptors on the boy or the building, we see the mud, his footwear, his way of moving, his attitude in doing it. Don't you? Get all this into your verbs.
Overuse of the verb "to be" is a pet peeve of many, many Hollywood readers. Replace it wherever possible with an active verb.
EXAMPLE:
"Two MEN are outside." becomes "Two MEN linger outside."
Make the progressive verb form (-ing) active.
EXAMPLE:
"He is dialing the phone" becomes "He spins the dial."
Eliminate "it" and "there" where they are used impersonally or without meaning (keeping them only when "it" is used as a real live pronoun or "there" as an indication of direction or place).
EXAMPLES:
"It is raining." becomes "Rain falls." Or more simply "Rain."
"It's your turn!" becomes "Your turn!"
"There are bottles everywhere." becomes "Bottles litter the room."
Pick out-of-the-ordinary verbs wherever possible, skipping the overworked ones such as "to go" or "to say". Reach for a little help from . . a thesaurus
Especially mix it up with the most overused screenplay verb "to look".
EXAMPLES:
"Bridget ogles Paul".
"She gazes off."
"Perkins glimpses Heaven."
Here are tips from Word Use. It's written for Screenwriters but it works great on novels, short stories and poetry too...
Utilize the richness of the English language to create powerfully descriptive verbs, that greatly enhance screenwriting efficiency.
Nouns, sounds, attitudes, etc. can all be combined into one verb- -thereby enlivening and economizing your writing.
EXAMPLE:
"The BOY galumphs to the shed."
With no descriptors on the boy or the building, we see the mud, his footwear, his way of moving, his attitude in doing it. Don't you? Get all this into your verbs.
Overuse of the verb "to be" is a pet peeve of many, many Hollywood readers. Replace it wherever possible with an active verb.
EXAMPLE:
"Two MEN are outside." becomes "Two MEN linger outside."
Make the progressive verb form (-ing) active.
EXAMPLE:
"He is dialing the phone" becomes "He spins the dial."
Eliminate "it" and "there" where they are used impersonally or without meaning (keeping them only when "it" is used as a real live pronoun or "there" as an indication of direction or place).
EXAMPLES:
"It is raining." becomes "Rain falls." Or more simply "Rain."
"It's your turn!" becomes "Your turn!"
"There are bottles everywhere." becomes "Bottles litter the room."
Pick out-of-the-ordinary verbs wherever possible, skipping the overworked ones such as "to go" or "to say". Reach for a little help from . . a thesaurus
Especially mix it up with the most overused screenplay verb "to look".
EXAMPLES:
"Bridget ogles Paul".
"She gazes off."
"Perkins glimpses Heaven."
posted by Shalla at 3:32 PM
