7 Things Writers Should Know About Verbs

Verbs are a crucial artistic tool for writers. They are the secret soul of language, little fireballs that possess mysterious and poetic powers. Verbs are more than the engine of our sentences; they can paint a quick picture, add color and feeling, suggest an inner life—all that in a word.

(Things Writers Should Know.)

I stumbled upon the power of verbs in my years as the dance critic of the Washington Post. I was quite young when I started there and didn’t have much experience. So I decided to make my mark by capturing what I knew best: the visceral excitement of dance. I wanted to bring readers along to see what I saw, feel what I felt. Verbs showed me the way. With a few crisp, blunt verbs I could snap a moment into focus and evoke the dizzying sensation of watching dancers sweep or squiggle across the stage, carve shapes in space, and beckon with gestures and arcing limbs.

But what I’ve discovered in nearly 30 years as a journalist and author is that precise, imaginative verbs can make any writing sing, whether it’s fiction, nonfiction, a blog post, or email.

Interiority, physical action, the aura of a mute natural landscape—anything you write about will grow more intense, palpable and real with the right verbs. Here are some tips from my writing manual, Verb Your Enthusiasm, on using verbs to pump up your expressiveness, streamline your writing—and even reveal something true about yourself.

Imagine this as the first line of a novel: Louisa came down the stairs. It’s dull; doesn’t tell us much. Change the verb and crank up the interest: Louisa staggered down the stairs. Now it’s a story. Is she scared, injured, drunk? “Stagger” is an unsettling verb with a whiff of danger.

It’s what linguists call a “manner of motion” verb. These are distinct from “neutral” verbs, such as walk, sit, eat. Manner verbs are the drama queens, expressive and emotional. They describe the way an action looks and feels—its manner. Some languages, such as French and Spanish, have only a few dozen of these “manner” verbs.

But English boasts several hundred. Wiggle, wander, startle, sway, gnash, devour, etc. You get the idea. Dip into this wellspring, my friend, and enjoy.

Compare these sentences:

Condense “made her way stiffly” into one crisp word for a cleaner, more powerful effect. Adverbs clog the flow. Instead of tacking them onto a basic verb, swap in a single dynamic verb that does all the work. For help finding that verb, pull out a thesaurus or consult one online. Be aware of nuances between similar verbs in a listing.

We learn so much about people from the way they move. A character’s body language, how they take up space and stir the air: These actions reveal personality, self-regard, habits of mind. Does your character strut like she’s sailing down a runway in Dior? Maybe she rolls side to side as if a tool belt bangs around her hips. Strong verbs can kick off a colorful movement metaphor.

Verbs can imply and tantalize, while allowing your readers the pleasure of filling in the rest with their imagination. Instead of labeling a character’s emotional state, as in “She was afraid,” use powerful verbs to suggest it. For example, you might describe ice sheathing her lungs and choking her breath, or her heart bashing around as if to tear itself from her body.

Playful verbs, threatening verbs: Use these to animate your environment and evoke feeling and atmosphere. Does seafoam bubble as it washes over sand? Do rapids blizzard over the rocks? Different verbs convey different spirits. Think of using them to tell little stories within your story.

Let’s say you’re describing a hot afternoon, so hot nothing is moving. What does that look like? Sharpen the focus and you might see bees seeking cover in the bushes, or honeysuckle flowers curling and fainting on their vines. The actions of the natural world can also deepen your story’s theme. If an ill-prepared camping trip is about to turn tragic, aspens that shiver or switchgrass that whips in the wind can hint at danger and build suspense.

Channel Gertrude Stein and play around with words. Flexibility is another perk of the English language. One of its most amusing evolutions is the way nouns morph into verbs with ease. And so your character might blowfish with excitement, foghorn an announcement, or Miles Davis a tribute that’s part structured, part improv. Improv is helpful. Let your thoughts wander; see what surprises spring from the margins.

I interviewed cognitive scientists, psychologists, and linguists while researching my book, and I learned some amazing things about verbs. For example, they have the power to move our minds and bodies. Studies suggest that we may simulate a fleeting sense of movement when reading verbs. (This may explain the thrill of reading, “The car whizzes past.”) The subtle simulation can happen even when the verbs describe inanimate objects, such as, “The road meanders along the coast.”

Chosen with care, action verbs can take your reader on a journey. They trigger us in myriad ways. I keep this in mind when I’m editing my work.

When I look over my writing, I see if it makes sense to upgrade the verbs—replacing boring verbs with lively ones, eliminating unnecessary adverbs and other clutter. If a passage feels flat and lifeless, perhaps there’s too much telling instead of showing. Rather than explaining what’s happening, I try whipping up a verb phrase that pops the reader right into the action.

It’s easy to get stuck in familiar ways of writing. Experimenting and playing around with verbs can help push those limits, free your imagination—and boost your storytelling.

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