Writing is a storytelling medium. Every sentence is an opportunity to tell a part of that story, elaborating on the plot, characters, atmosphere — whatever. This also means that every time the author writes a sentence like, "Harry opened the door," they are missing out on a key opportunity to tell us more. What if Harry "jimmied the door," or "threw the door open"? By using forceful verbs, we get a better sense of what's happening without any extra words.
by Reedsy
Why should you use forceful verbs?
A lot of the time, it simply comes down to using evocative verbs: doing words that not only tell us what is happening but how it is being done as well. But wait! you say, isn't that what adverbs are for?
Adverbs: who needs them?
Adverbs, by definition, are modifiers that writers can use to describe an action:
He walked slowly.
She ate voraciously.
They sleep lightly.
The thing is, more often than not, you can pick a forceful verb that makes the adverb redundant:
He sauntered.
She gobbled.
They dozed.
Apart from simply being economical with words and avoiding purple prose, however, there are plenty of sound reasons to choose stronger verbs.
Show, Don't Tell
The granddaddy of writing aphorisms: show, don't tell. The principle behind this is that it's far more satisfying for readers to infer what's happening than for every piece of information to be spoon-fed to them. But perhaps more importantly, "showing" keeps a reader under the spell of the story, while "telling" reminds them that there's a narrator at work, spinning a tale.
By choosing a solid, evocative verb, you deliver so much more information to the reader while remaining under the radar. However, there are plenty of sound reasons to choose stronger verbs.
Maintain immediacy and build pace
Another reason for maintaining an arsenal of forceful verbs is to preserve and build momentum. By economizing on words and packing each action with more meaning, you can up the pace of a passage. Strip out ALL the adverbs and adjectives and deploy some well-chosen verbs, and watch how your writing hums along like a cigarette boat off the coast of Miami.
This is by no means an exhaustive list. But by browsing through these hand-picked verbs, you should start to get an idea of how many words are already in your vocabulary — and how you can employ them in your writing.
Moving verbs
The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.
How can a phrase with so many letters of the alphabet also be so dull? It's a surprise that the fox didn't fall asleep half-way through that sentence and come crashing down on the lethargic mongrel. Instead of rolling out boring words like "walk" and "run," give your characters an early birthday present and spice up their motions with these verbs.
Advance
Bolt
Bound
Burst
Bust
Bustle
Charge
Clamber
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