Sunday, April 20, 2014

Flex Your Writing!

               I heard a bit of advice recently that I am going to take to heart, and I love it. “Verbs are muscles and make your writing stronger.” Consider the following:
·        “The castle is tall.” Flex it!
·        “The castle loomed over them.” Isn’t that much better?
               Verbs are the muscles of writing, and they can carry your words right off the page into reality if you put enough in it. What’s also important to note is that your decision on what verb to use can work overtime for you and create tone. If I was to create a dark theme, I would most definitely use the word “loomed”, but if I was writing a happy scene, I would use another word that paints a brighter picture. Sometimes, these verbs that work overtime for us will just not come, and that’s fine! Just ensure that you don’t contrast the tone of the story with your verbs.
               Also, adjectives aren't entirely evil either. They can work overtime by attributing humanistic traits to objects or animals, often for the same purpose as a simile or metaphor- to get us to understand a difficult concept without burdening the reader with explanations. “The castle stood proudly.” I’m certain that someone’s inner editor is screaming at this moment, but I will simply respond by saying that to use it in this manner is a purely stylistic approach.
               Now, adjectives can also be useful when they highlight an action with a counter intuitive description. For example, “Jessica smiled darkly.” Many writers believe that adjectives are evil, but most would agree that a modification in this manner is entirely acceptable. The thing to always remember is there are no rules in writing!

No comments:

Post a Comment