Book of verbs for writers

Verbs by your characters mood at this point, you can ponder on the choice of strong verbs and decide what is happening in your scene and the mood of your character. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading strong verbs for fiction writers indie author resources book 2. Helpful adjectives for fiction writers indie author resources book 3 kindle edition by howard, valerie. Strong verb list verbs list, middle school vocabulary, verb. Some sources advocate show almost to the exclusion of tell. The author uses these verbs as if stammering around while searching for the genuine words shes intending. I had a copy of valerie howards strong verbs for fiction writers. Strong verbs for fiction writers indie author resources book 2 ebook. Take a moment to check out my novels on amazon to see what my readers say about my books. Generally, we class simple past and simple present tense verbs as strong verbs.

A literary novel i read recently offered just such a reminderby way of prose absolutely stuffed with passive verbs. Jan 05, 2021 but when we use perfect and progressive tenses, or in some cases, the gerund form, the ing form of the verb can result in weak writing. Whether you are searching for new and unique ways to add and define characters, or brainstorming methods for. Phrasal verbs are mainly used in spoken english and informal texts. Most writers consider the active voice more forceful and tend to stay away from passives unless they really need them. Masterful uses of verbs and adjectives live write thrive. The ultimate strong verbs list thatll supercharge your writing.

The best advice for new writers is to try to replace overused weak ing words with better alternatives. Authored by corrosion engineers and steel pile specialists, the book provides an indepth study of the problems and remedies associated with corrosion of steel piles. Modals the writing center university of north carolina at. While writing a scene this morning i was about to have my character walk when i. Helpful adjectives for fiction writers indie author. I think the much more interesting piece of advice in palahniuks article is where he points out how paragraphs of creative writing shouldnt have a thesis statement something that is practically required in academic writing. Dec 04, 2017 writers truly need to think carefully about these three components of sentence structure, for the thoughtful choices of nouns, verbs, and adjectives can make all the difference between soso or even bad writing and masterful writing. The big book of english verbs with cdrom set big book of. Strong verbs for fiction writers indie author resources book 2. Verbs create the feel of your stories, so choose them with care, with purpose in mind.

Sep 21, 2018 because, apart from the possessive pronoun my, it consists wholly of verbs or verb forms. Jul 17, 2012 understanding how to use verbs can give life to your writing by transforming your dull prose into a crackling thunderbolt. Using words that others have used cliches can make your stories sound tired and familiar. Choose verbs to eliminate these writing weaknesses. Sep 07, 2015 just as stammering halts speech, stammer verbs halt the flow of a written sentence. Action verbs are words that express action give, eat, walk, etc. I bet there are no writers who never use thought verbs. Strong action verbs annihilate bound bulldoze cream eviscerate gallop hammer hurl. When used with a verb, these two words are usually unnecessary. But strong verbs dont need to convey powerful action. Try replacing it with a different, more descriptive verb, and see what happens.

This book is most highly recommended by me to use if you are writing resumes for yourself or inspiring others to have a choice of many possibilities to choose from to put on a resume to show what they did accomplish at work or school, such as wrote, edited, sold, designated, inspected, and other verbs showing actions done, for example on a job. Verbs for book include book, bookcross, bookcrossed, bookcrosses, bookcrossing, booked, booking, bookkeep, bookkeeping, bookkeeps, bookkept and books. Find out more about valerie howards strong verbs for fiction writers on amazon. Apr 16, 2019 strong action verbs for better writing.

Mar 14, 2019 go through your writing and using a coloured pen, circle all the verbs. Aug 21, 2008 learn how adjectives and adverbs create redundancy and promote lazy writing, and see how you can make your writing direct, vivid, and descriptive without making your readers want to get rid of your book. For example, he sat down on the dirty floor should instead be he sat on the. Are you searching for stronger verbs for your works of fiction or nonfiction. One authors a book or a screenplay, for instance, but not a school essay. How to write the perfect sentence books the guardian. Feb 02, 2019 but verbs dont have to surrender all the fun and emotional power to adjectivesthe words that traditionally paint the pictures in our heads. This handy little reference booklet contains a list of 1,000 strong verbs to help you replace the weaker verbs in your fiction writing as you selfedit your work. Are ing words weak in fiction and nonfiction writing. Good writers use thought verbs and so can you and read. A great revision strategy is to look for ways to make verbs more descriptive. Midway through the book s first chapter, i stumbled upon an especially egregious paragraph, which contained eight passive sentences, one after the other, with nary an active verb in sight. Students can keep these sheets in their writer s journal or notebook.

Just look up the weak verb youd like to replace, and choose a stronger verb from the alphabetized lists. Note how i replaced the stateofbeing verbs in this paragraph. This unique use gave author a connotation not commonly associated with the general verb write. Remember, verbs create movement and connection to the text. Avoid this word unless using it in dialogue and even then it can get old fast. Next, ask yourself if this verb is doing the best job possible. As a matter of fact, the most powerful writers use verbs quite effectively to illustrate their writing. Strong verbs for fiction writers indie author resources book. Ten rules for writing fiction fiction the guardian. Improve your writing with the power of action verbs. John kremer is author of 1001 ways to market your books, the relationships matter marketing program, and many other books and reports on book marketing. We should avoid using them in formal and academic writing, where it is better to use a verb like postpone than a phrasal verb like put off. Ill just mention two that have really good examples, animal poems by valerie worth and gorky rises by william. They invigorate writing without increasing word count.

Verbs for writer include writ, write, writed, writeing, writes, writest, writeth, writing, written, wrote, wroten and wrotest. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Dedicated to launching the careers of indie authors. Read commonly used verbs synonyms from the story vocabulary word lists for writers by theotakunerd b e a r o s e with 16,735 reads. Just look up the weak verb youd like to replace, and choose a stronger verb from the alpha. Vibrant verbs list for kids super easy storytelling. Careen, falter, lurch, reel, stagger, stumble, sway, teeter, toddle, totter, trip, waddle or. For more examples, please see our post make your book stronger by avoiding then. A transitive verb always has a noun that receives the action of the verb, called the. This list of strong action verbs is a handy reference to use when a better word is needed.

To be verbs are passive and static, serving only to transmit information as statements of fact. Spice up your writing with verbs that rock the worlds greatest book posted on february 23, 2017 by dave bricker february 21, 2018 v erbs are the engines that move your writing and your readers, but many authors dont spend enough time choosing the right ones. Why you need strong verbs when you write writers write. This is what you want because the reason we write is to communicate. For a deeper understanding of this tool, please reference the negative trait thesaurus. Youll find this most often in fiction, but nonfiction books can be just as if not more. It has easy to find, quick to use suggestions for weak verbs. Thesaurus books in these brilliantly conceived, superbly organized and astonishingly thorough volumes, angela ackerman and becca puglisi have created an invaluable resource for writers and storytellers. Introducing vivid verbs with favorite picture books. Resist the urge to consult a thesaurus for the most exotic verb you can find. Instead of only reading words, theyre drawn into your writing, experiencing your story.

Inspire by elmore leonards 10 rules of writing, we asked authors for their. Oct 11, 20 verbs can snare your readers, tempting them into following your characters and their adventures. Easy action verbs list for 1st, 2nd, 3rd grade students and advanced action verbs list for kids 5th, 6th, middle school grades. Weak verb converter tool pdf transform all those generic, boring verbs into power verbs. One of the most frustrating things to read is a book that lacks strong verbs in scenes that are meant to be full of action. Dont be afraid to change them as you rewrite and edit. Vocabulary word lists for writers commonly used verbs. See synonyms for book along with related words and example sentences at, the worlds most trusted free thesaurus. Verbs also reveal feelings and emotions and help the reader feel as well. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading helpful adjectives for fiction writers indie author resources book.

Continuing with my ideas for using picture books to introduce various language arts topics, ive been looking over some more books for good examples of writing with vivid verbs. Each flap explains what a different part of speech is and includes a short activity to practice that. Strong verbs list your ultimate guide for more captivating writing. The verb author means more than to write merriamwebster. This episode is a little unusual because i usually deal with topics that can be widely applied to fiction and nonfiction writing, but recently i was on a plane reading seth harwoods crime novel jack wakes up, and i was struck by the fact that it was written in the present tense. In this post im going to share some of the words and phrases my favorite author uses in some of her fantasy books.

If you reduce wordiness, choose specific verbs, and use the active voice, readers will be able to understand you more easily. The flip book covers nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs and pronouns. A transitive verb always has a noun that receives the action of the verb. Aug 28, 2019 and youre right, its a weird proscription. Strong verbs for fiction writers indie author resources. As a book editor, i find two verbs in particular repeatedly used in a stammering way by many beginning novelists. However, wellchosen verbs deliver precise meanings. Powerful verbs for weaving ideas in essays the following verbs are helpful as a means of showing how an example or quote in literature supports an idea or interpretation. Here are three ways you can improve your writing with verbs.