List Of Strong Verbs For Writing

How active verbs power your writing

How do you improve your writing? Choose the right verbs. The right verb cuts through literary clutter, bringing sentences to life and giving them movement.

Picking the right verb seems like it should be easy, but time after time, I see manuscripts or even published novels with weak, blink-and-you'll-miss-them, verbs. If you're like me, you'll write for a while then suddenly wonder if you know any verbs other than some form of to be: am, is, was, etc.

In this article, we'll discuss how to identify weak and monotonous verbs, and then we'll focus on writing cleaner, more vibrant sentences by growing an at-hand vocabulary. Finally, we'll take a look at my favorite verb bible, Vex, Hex Smash, Smooch by Constance Hale.

What's wrong with Weak Verbs?

Schoolhouse Rock, the 70's Saturday-morning mainstay, depicts Verb as a superhero batting, boating, and plowing his way through an action movie. If you need action, verb's your word.

The problem comes when you try to pluck the perfect verb out of your brain at short notice. Inexperienced writers often choose the first one that comes to mind and then, if it isn't precise enough, tack on an adverb for clarity. As much as I love adverbs, this isn't the way to use them. Using modifiers in the place of strong verb leads to the quickly-ran and forcefully-opened adverb/verb constructions that editors loathe.

Beth sprinted down the hall. > Beth quickly ran down the hall.
He forced the door open. > He opened the door forcefully.

Some of you might be wondering if there's really that much of a difference between "sprinted" and "quickly ran." The answer is yes!

Imagine the verb sprint. What do you see?

Let's do a little experiment. What goes through your mind when you see the word "sprint?"

For me, I see the very clear image of a sprinter. In the millisecond it takes me to read the word sprint, I've imagined the speed of an Olympic runner, the bunch and release of her leg and calf muscles.

On the other hand, when I think of "quickly ran," the image is far more abstract. The figure in my imagination is shadowed, and the running has that dreamlike quality of motion without actual movement.

Writing is, at its root, all about word choice. Stronger verbs create more potent word paintings in your readers' minds, helping them visualize the precise action of the story.

And a wordsmith must manage words with the same precision that an army general leads troops. Like a general, a writer must always keep an eye on the target: crafting writing that evokes images and stirs thoughts and emotions.

what's wrong with Monotonous Verbs?

Do you find yourself using a weak verb over and over? Using it in every other sentence. Using it three times in a row? Even using it for the thousandth time in the same paragraph, until your use overflows into overuse and you become a user? Or maybe you've written the same version of "walked" five times in the last two paragraphs? For three different characters?

Repetitive verb use is the second bane of all creative writing. Trotting out the same verb—even a strong verb—becomes conspicuous right before it becomes boring. Readers aren't afraid of long sentences; they're afraid of boring or confusing ones. Bland verbs lead to bland sentences that your readers will either skim or skip.

How do you avoid the pitfalls and master the active verb? With your at-hand vocabulary.

Your At-hand Vocabulary

The first step is to grow your at-hand vocabulary: words that you already have top-of-mind and can access without much thought or effort. Reaching for those verbs is much easier when they live in your mind and not the dictionary. No, you don't have to go memorizing the OED or Roget's. The best way to enhance your at-hand vocabulary is to use your verbal muscles and turn mental dirt roads into four-lane highways.

I find that creating charts with eye-catching and vivid verbs helps me improve my mental map of verbs. These can be grouped by general purpose, theme, or even verbs relating to a particular character. This is especially true when you have a character that has a unique set of symbols or themes. For example, say that you'd like to create bird imagery or symbolism around your protagonist (similar to Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games. ) Using the Air verbs below could drive that symbolism home without being too obvious.

Writing Exercise

This exercise ensures that you choose the most nuanced word possible in order to build the exact picture you want your reader to see.

Build your list of useful verbs, say the words aloud; visualize each action, shift between similar words to internalize the difference. Here are some of my examples:

EARTH	AIR	FIRE	WATER
rumble	swoop	burn	flow
crack	sweep	fry	trickle
mound	zoom	melt	sprinkle
rock	blow	cremate	wash

CRAWL	DRIVE	FLY	WALK
kneel	careen	swoop	stroll
creep	speed	sweep	ramble
sneak	turn	float	saunter
edge	bounce	hover	skip

HAPPY	SAD	ANGRY	AFRAID
clap	drag	burn	droop
dance	meander	tick	bend
leapfrog	tilt	snap	shiver
twirl	sag	cut	gasp

A Note on Static Verbs & passive constructions

Like adverbs, static verbs have a place in the English language. I never advocate false dichotomies in writing. Static or state-of-being verbs (e.g., to be, seem, appear, feel, taste, smell) work when you want your nouns to shine, or (surprise) when your characters are static. In fact, static verbs will probably make up about half of your sentence constructions.

The passive construction also works well when you don't know or care who is acting. Let's take a look at this example:

The schools will be closed tomorrow.

If you run this sentence through any grammar check, it will flag it with a bright red line and a demand that you re-write the sentence because of its passive voice. Sure, you can "fix" it:

The school board will close the schools tomorrow.

However, if the only thing that matters to your narrative is that your character doesn't have to go to school tomorrow, the passive is fine. In this case, the passive construction is better because it doesn't take attention away from the message you're trying to convey.

On the other hand, let's imagine that this book takes place in WWII:

The Germans will close the schools tomorrow.

In this construction, the "who" matters. For this sentence, the Germans are just as important as the schools being closed. They add an ominous element to this short and mundane statement.

Vex, Hex, Smash, Smooch—The Ultimate Verb Book

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Constance Hale is a name that should belong to a 19th-century schoolmarm who moonlights as an author of penny dreadfuls. Or maybe she's a no-nonsense Girl Friday who fights her way up the food chain to become a journalist in her own right.

Either way, you get the sense that a person named Constance Hale knows words, and you'd be right. She brings out the glam in grammar with a flair rarely found in writing books. Think of this book as verb homework.

In Vex, Hex, Smash, Smooch, her focus is on verbs, but she touches on everything aspect of writing. Her book offers exercises that work well with our deliberate practice method if done consistently and with the goal of adding stronger verbs to your writing. These lessons, called Try, Do, Write, Play, are built to improve soft skills like writing. Each has a game-like feel that stretches your writing in an exciting direction.

Here's a taste of one of Constance Hale's writing exercises.

Writing Exercise

Try Do Write Play: Describe a place that has undergone a great change. Start in the present tense and then flashback to the past, describing it as it once was. Try to use as many active verbs as you can.