Have you ever read a book with a good storyline that seemed somewhat lifeless? What causes this? How can we avoid this problem with our own writing?
I perform numerous critiques of authors in a variety of genres. In the process, I have noted frequent use of weak verbs.
One of the authors I critique often used “put” multiple times in every chapter. “Put” is an example of what I call a generic verb. Such verbs provide little information about the action taken. For example, “Marianne put the folder on the table.” What did she actually do? How did the folder move from her hand to the table? Did she lay it there? Did she toss it? Did she slam it down? The reader has no idea.
A natural tendency is to replace “put” with “place.” While this verb is somewhat less general,” it’s still vague. It would be better to use a more specific, more descriptive verb such as “set” or “laid.”
Even more general than those discussed above are the various forms of “to get.” The character may have acquired the item by almost any conceivable method. For this reason, replace “get” or “got” with more descriptive verbs whenever they appear.
Additional general words better replaced by more descriptive synonyms are “went,” “came,” “did,” and “walked,” as well as other forms of these verbs.
However, the weakest verbs are forms of “to be.” I have seen as many as eighty such words in a 2000-word chapter. Although they have their uses, a more active, more descriptive substitute will often add impact to the sentence. In the case of passive voice, the better approach is to reorder the sentence to make it active and eliminate the weak verb.
If you wish to enliven your work, use forms of “to be” and generic verbs sparingly. To make your story live, use active verbs that carry distinct meanings. Your readers will thank you.
Words like snap, dart, snatch, and shatter are crisp and help the reader visualize what the writer has in mind. Plus, such lively, precise verbs need no enhancement by adverbs, which editors and publishers detest.
For strong verbs to use as potential replacements, I found a list of active verbs at the Write Practice website.
- Word Confusion - June 20, 2025
- The Zing of Strong Verbs - May 30, 2025
- Capture the Reader’s Interest - August 28, 2023