Quick Tip: Verbs Do the Work
Verbs Carry the Weight of Good Writing
My number one writing tip always and forever is assign your verbs the heavy lifting. Make your verbs do the work. After you’ve written a draft, print out a copy. Review and circle all of your verbs. For each, ask yourself, Is this verb carrying the weight of this sentence? Is it as robust as it can be? Is a verb even present, or have I written a fragment that doesn’t provide the reader a landing pad within the sentence? (If constructed intentionally, and not out of laziness, fragments can work.) Verbs clarify and energize writing. Verbs engage your readers. Verbs create writing that is more concise and powerful. Go verbs!