Writing manuals talk about the importance of “strong” writing. You know, the need to avoid wishy-washy, vague, round-about sentences, but how, exactly, are you supposed to do that? And why?
The “how” is pretty straight-forward.
Use active verbs. An active verb is one that, well, describes an action. Run. Write. Vote. Drive. Weep. This is opposed to a passive verb, where the action is acted upon the subject.
You’re better off showing strength, hunger, originality, intelligence, silliness, brilliance and so on by actions, like, “Even with the waves crashing around her, her grip on the rope held firm,” This, opposed to telling, as in, “She was frightened by the waves, but the rope never left her hands.”
Do you hear the difference? The first example shows her resolve not to let go of the rope despite the waves. The fear is only implied, but can be imagined because of the crashing waves. In the second example, the sentence tells you that she’s frightened, and more than that, by saying the “rope never left,” it almost sounds as if it was the rope’s choice that she didn’t let go. It’s the same scene, but altogether, the second is a much weaker sentence.
Use adverbs as little as possible. Two reasons. One, they dilute the strength of strong verbs. “He quickly ran” is redundant because how else would he be running? If he was running flat out at full speed, maybe the verb “he sped” would be a better choice. Because, two, while an adverb+weak verb is an okay combination, it’s not as powerful as a strong verb on its own. Fled instead of ran. Spring, Lunge, or Leap instead of jump. You get the idea.
Using the verb, “to be” is passive. “He is walking” is less strong than, “He walks,” because, again, it’s a passive construction. It circles around the gist of the sentence instead of stating it outright.
Which brings us to the “Why.”
Have you ever had one of those circular conversations? “What do you want to do tonight?” “I don’t know, what do you want?” “Whatever makes you happy.” “Well, I just want you to be happy.” Nobody quite says that they want to stay home, or would like to go to the movies, or just go to bed–it’s just a lot of wasted words and wasted effort, when it would have been so much simpler just to say, “I want to sit on the couch and veg in front of the television tonight.”
Using passive verbs in a sentence is just like having a passive, “I dunno” conversation–it’s indirect and doesn’t get the job done in as efficient or elegant a fashion as just saying it would. One believes that it is in one’s best interest to be direct when one speaks. (Ahem.) In other words, say what you mean, say it clearly, and say it with as few unnecessary words as possible. Am I telling you to mimic Ernest Hemingway’s sparse style? No. Am I telling you never to use an adverb again? Of course not. They’re valuable tools.
What I am telling you is that when your fundamental writing is strong, it can support whatever you choose to build, but if your foundation is weak, your prose is going to collapse under its own dead weight.
Very well said, and strongly too. I have trouble with producing the strong verbs, those synonyms meant to strengthen my writing. You do bring out the best effort in me which I find very agreeable. Thanks.
Deb,
Nice crisp article. I appreciate the clarity of your thoughts and words.
One question – How are the rules of writing different for blogs than for other kinds of writing?
Good work, Deb! I’m fascinated by ‘writing tip’ articles lately, so yours was very timely to catch my attention.
Excellent post. I teach writing courses at the local college always emphasize using strong verbs. You post says exactly what I try to teach my students. I think I’ll pass along the link to this post next time I teach.
Thanks for the explanation, but I’m always confused (and still) about active and passive verbs. I loved your example and I’d love 20 more. I’ve written for a while now, but still have trouble with this one.. Nice site, I’ll look around some more!
Excellent tips. I use adverbs too much and run into problems avoiding passive voice. Thank you for the reminder.
A reminder most writers need frequently – thanks for the nudge!
BTW, if you can explain commas clearly, I’ll read every word you write from now on!
Hi Deb,
Excellent! I learned so much from this post.
Thanks for sharing it. 🙂
Thanks for the great writing advice Deb. So much of this stuff you just don’t think about when you’re writing your own articles. it’s great to have the reminders to keep it to the point and strongly focussed.
And I’m glad we still have permission to use adverbs now and again. i think I’d feel the gap if I lost them entirely.
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Being a former technical writer, I am all about strong writing. I still to this day, find myself writing sentences like: “Look for the street on which you will turn.” Go active verbs!!!! My handy-dandy tip is this: Avoid using the word “populate” when writing about technical (computer) related topics (i.e. Once the user enters the employee ID, their information will populate the remainder of the fields) one editor told me that unless a man and a woman are involved there is no population happening……
I am so guilty of these things. I’ve completed four novels (none published). Agents say they are well crafted, even “compelling” but I think, no, wait!, know these above little sins contribute to the over-all effect of weak writing.