Stronger Verbs

Years ago I joined ACFW –American Christian Fiction Writers where I met Nancy Williams. In one of her posts she commented on using stronger verbs—those ending in ED. I emailed her. She emailed back. A few weeks later Nancy sent a list of verbs she’d compiled—over 700 or so.

Today I found a part of that list. No, I’m not posting them all, but here’s a few to add to your next writing assignment. 

Approximated, ambled, acceded, acquiesced, adlibbed; blanched, blinked, blathered; , crackled, coveted, cloistered, clipped, cornered; , delineated, desecrated, despised,  escaped, evaded, elicited, excited, flattered, flattened, flustered, fragmented, glimmered, grimaced, groused; hacked, hefted, hiked; and I skipped to Z Zipped, zippered, zoomed.

When I reviewed the longer list I treasured all those years ago, I see these are common words, words we use daily so why the list? 

Have you ever started an article or a new chapter and that “one word” won’t come to you? It’s happened to me—more than once. 

Still Lionhearted, Kat

My New Best Friend ED

          My New Best Friend Ed

Ed, it’s said is a stronger verb than “ing.”

For me, those “ing” things stand up and sing

Try as I might, Ed leaves me befuddled.

My mind scrambles those ends. Oh my mind is jumbled.

I jumped and bounced and compiled words.

I dabbled and drizzled till all those words seemed jumbled.

I hurled and furled and agonized, too.

I bristled and blundered and bandied my way through.

I’ve skipped over the participle and modified too many.

I’ve danced on the nouned and pronound. That’s the skinny.

I realized very early on that “ing” words are easier for me.

I quieted my inner spirit and said, “Get with it, baby.”

Than my flustered editor lady grimaced. She got involved.

She expounded, identified my problem, and prodded me to evolve.

She leveled me. “Kat dear, these are things you need to know.”

I searched my mind and shouted, “I can strongly tell-not show.”

I abbreviated, approximated, adjusted and angled.

I clenched my jaw, squinted my eyes and slashed words from my jungle.

I found the desecrated, the duplicated and determined to dwindle.

I’m embarrassed to say, I almost cheated, but I confessed before I swindled.

I showed yon Editor my word count thinned by half, “Are you proud?”

“Oh yes,” she effervesced till she found my fractured word, her head bowed. “Yikes,” I groaned. “That’s not expired. It’s perspired. At least it’s not an “ing.”

I shrugged my shoulders, determined once more to let my writing spirit sing.