Tag Archive | looked

Author Confessions: Strong and Weak Verbs

Sep16
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Author Confessions: Strong and Weak Verbs

I’ve not really considered the musculature of a verb until I was well into my writing career. As I mentioned when I discussed adverbs, they are often used as a cheat when using weak verbs.

I found an awesome definition: “Strong verbs are verbs that are precise, vivid, and descriptive, offering more specific and powerful imagery and meaning than weaker verbs. They can convey action, emotion, and clarity more effectively.” https://www.twinkl.com/teaching-wiki/strong-verbs  These are verbs that will not need an adverb.

So let’s look at a few weak verbs and stronger options for them. I’m using past tense because that is the most common tense for fiction.

Said – uttered, whispered, remarked, bellowed, hissed, remarked, commented

Walked – wandered, stomped, traipsed, sauntered, crept

Ran – raced, sped, jogged, hurried, darted, dashed, rushed

Sat – plopped, collapsed, settled down, positioned

Asked – queried, questioned, interrogated, requested, inquired

Went – moved, careened, darted, meandered, flew, exited

Got – acquired, seized, gathered, earned, procured, grasped, collected

Liked – enjoyed, admired, cherished, treasured, preferred, relished

Saw/Looked – searched, sought, peeked, explored, gazed, witnessed, viewed

These are not the only options for words to make your verbs pop and capture the reader. There are lists of various words with alternate stronger verb options found on-line and I have a few on my Pinterest Writer’s Toolbox page if you want to check it out.

Caveat

The regular, weak verbs can also be used! Don’t shun them completely. Sometimes you want to add more punch to your prose and if you need to write tight for word count purposes, then you want the stronger verbs because you can use less words and add vibrant color to a scene.

To use all the strong verbs, all the time, can come across as pretentious so you don’t want to unload an entire thesaurus into your book for the sake of variety. Try to use discernement and if the average, everyday, plain verb is best, then keep it. Also remember that in dialogue we often tend to use the regular words and don’t become more colorful in verbal expressions so unless that is a quirk of your character in the story, you might want to keep it simpler.

Confusing? I hope not! Stronger verbs can propel your story forward more effectively in some cases but not every verb has to be like that.

 

Author Confessions: Show and Tell with Verbs

Sep9
Reading Time: 3 minutes

Author Confessions: Show and Tell with Verbs

Yes, verbs that tell are not listed in the previous post about the types of verbs, but they are the more common defaults for authors to use. The reason these are telling verbs is that they tell the readers something without showing them what’s happening, externally and internally the character whose point of view we are in. I realize I did a similar post on this but this one is specific to verbs.

Here are the most common ones I flag in my own novels and watch out for in those I am editing and some options for substituting the telling words. Sometimes it is good to be more descriptive, and other times it is better (or easier) to substitute a similar verb.

See/Saw

This is simple. Instead of telling me that they see something, describe it to me. Seeing could also be an inward understanding, so describe that instead of using the word if possible.

Telling: She saw the birds fly past.

Showing: The flock of fifty Sandhill Cranes flew overhead.

Telling:  She saw the danger ahead.

Showing: She understood she must warn her friend to be careful of that man.

Hear/Heard

Describe the sounds that the character is hearing or the information gained.

Telling: She heard the birds.

Showing: The cranes called out in a raucous chorus sure to wake the neighborhood.

Telling: She overheard them plotting murder.

Showing: Her spying revealed her neighbor was plotting murder.

Know/Knew

Instead of telling me what the character knows or knew, since you are in the character’s head you can simply skip that word and state the facts. Sometimes the word know/knew can be substituted with other words like understand/understood, was aware, perceive/perceived, realized, recognized…

Telling: She knew there were cranes flying overhead.

Showing: The long stretched out neck and brown color indicated the birds were Sandhill Cranes and their squawking confirmed it.

Telling: She knew it was the right thing to do.

Showing: Deep in her spirit, she became convinced this was the right decision.

Look/Looked

Telling: The birds looked agitated.

Showing: She wasn’t sure what triggered the frantic flock to call out as they did.

Telling: She looked for that keys everywhere.

Showing: She searched for the keys everywhere. (just a stronger verb)

Feel/Felt

This is tricky because feel/felt can be a physical sensation or an emotional one. Emotionally it would be better to describe the emotion, and if it is a physical, you want to describe the sensations: prickly, soft, course, comforting…

Telling: She felt delight at seeing the cranes.

Showing: A shiver of excitement overtook her at the cranes flying overhead.

Telling: The blanket felt soft.

Showing: She wrapped herself in the silky blanket and contentment filled her soul.

Have/Had

Now these words can be used in a variety of ways so how does it get used to tell? Here is an example and how to correct it.

Telling: She had a headache.

Showing: Her head throbbed and she winced in pain.

Telling: She had to go to the meeting

Showing: She must go to the meeting. (gives a little more importance)

Exceptions

We can’t show everything so sometimes it is acceptable to use these words. They do not need to be eliminated from a story completely. Especially in dialogue they are acceptable because that is the way we talk.

“Look!” can be a directive.

“I see.” Is an affirmation.

“I heard from Grandma today,” is a report of something, probably proceeding the sharing of the content.

“I knew she wouldn’t come, she’s notorious for that.” This is acceptable.

Playing show and tell with verbs is just another one of the challenges that an author grapples with when writing in a way that hopefully will keep the reader engaged without boring them.