Use VERBS like a pro in your writing

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Use VERBS like a pro in your writing!
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Why is verb usage so important?

• Communication hinges on action
• We almost naturally listen for the verb in
  speech we want to hear the action
• Verbs usually carry the stress sounds in oral
  communication

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• Try to use verbs that help the reader visualize
  the action in a precise way.
• Try to use verbs that help the reader hear
  sounds.
• Try to use verbs that develop character.

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An excellent example from Friday Night Lights

• The pre-season scrimmage in late August twilight
  had barely started when Boobie _____________ off
  a run that gave glimpses of why the college
  recruiters were after him, why Texas AM and
  Nebraska and Houston and all the others routinely
  ___________ his mailbox with heady testimonials
  to his magnificence.

peeled
crammed
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• The pre-season scrimmage in late August twilight
  had barely started when Boobie peeled off a run
  that gave glimpses of why the college recruiters
  were after him, why Texas AM and Nebraska and
  Houston and all the others routinely crammed his
  mailbox with heady testimonials to his
  magnificence.

Notice how this verb helps develop character. It
makes Boobie look like he runs with ease he is
confident and cocky. It also gives a specific
visual of the smoothness of the action.
This one provides a specific image of how popular
Boobie is the idea is to show the reader how the
recruiting letters are literally falling out of
his mailbox.
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Another great example, this one from Rick Reilly
in Sports Illustrated

• I was covering the NBA once when Seattles 72
  Tom Burleson fell hard under the hoop. No foul.
  As he was running downcourt, hand to bleeding
  mouth, he suddenly ___________ something that hit
  me in the chest and ____________ on my notepad.
  It was his tooth.

whipped
plopped
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• I was covering the NBA once when Seattles 72
  Tom Burleson fell hard under the hoop. No foul.
  As he was running downcourt, hand to bleeding
  mouth, he suddenly whipped something that hit me
  in the chest and plopped on my notepad. It was
  his tooth.

This is a great example of using a verb to help
the reader see an action and hear a sound at the
same time.
Cool! This one provides a visual that fits with
the speed and intensity of the game! There is no
way that threw or tossed would have the same
effect!
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Hose paragraph 5

• I had the garden hose in my hand as Mrs. Bayliss
  passed in front of our yard, and when the thought
  came into my mind to point the hose at Mrs.
  Bayliss and _______ her- nothing intervened.

soak
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Hose paragraph 6

• The sensation of joy- the abandoned, transcendent
  joy that now came to me, as the water ________
  towards Mrs. Bayliss and landed in a great whoosh
  directly in her middle regions- was unparalleled.

arched
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Hose paragraph 7

• Mrs. Baylisss dress was sopping wet and water
  ran down her face and __________ onto her shiny
  black purse.

plopped
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Hose paragraph 8
squirted

• When she came into range, I __________ her again,
  same as before.

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My Fight paragraph 5
hacking

• After months of __________ away at the heavy bag
  at the Church Street Boxing Gym, I made a
  commitment to learn the fundamentals of the sport.

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My Fight paragraph 16

• For a brief, blissful moment it looked like he
  was going to have mercy on me. Then he threw a
  right hand that nearly ___________ my spleen and
  that theory went out the window.

perforated
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My Fight paragraph 18

• When an opening did appear it would disappear
  just as quickly most of my jabs were
  ____________ away before they came anywhere near
  his face.

swatted
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My Fight paragraph 19

• While Marquez was jogging in place in his corner,
  I practically _____________ on my stool between
  rounds, my legs _____________ out as I tried to
  take in every second of the one-minute break.

collapsed
splayed
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My Fight paragraph 20

• Occasionally I ___________ off a jab and made a
  few feeble attempts at throwing combinations.

snapped
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Grayest paragraph 6
coursed

• As we ____________ through the streets on the
  once-golden morning, Will asked through his
  stupor and moans, Mom, am I going to die?

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Grayest paragraph 7

• Once at the ER door, Will was ________ into a
  wheelchair, and I cradled the scared-out-of-his-wi
  ts 5-year-old.

eased
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Grayest paragraph 16

• As if someone had flipped a switch, the intensity
  in the room _____________ up from a 3 to a 10.

ratcheted
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Grayest paragraph 31
rushed

• We ___________ down Lake Shore Drive in the
  ambulance.

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One difference between lively, fun, powerful
writing that leaves an impression on the reader
is VERBS.
Use VERBS like you would use imagery. Make the
reader see, feel, hear, taste, and smell your
writing with VERBS.