verbs

Concise writing doesn’t necessarily have to do with too many filler words although that is a component. Concise writing is strong writing. Concise writing demands strong verbs and concrete images. It refuses abstractions. It cuts away the dross of adjectives and adverbs.

Strong Verbs

A professor once described verbs as poetry in motion. That’s what strong verbs are and do: they convey emotion and create a sense of place and atmosphere. For example, a couple that bickers about what wine to have with their dinner is completely different from the couple that throws their napkins on the table and strides out of the restaurant.

Strong verbs mean losing the adverbs. A writer could say that the couple strode angrily from the restaurant. Sufficient? Perhaps, but something is lost when the situation isn’t built toward that moment. The reader should be able to see the “strode” in her mind. She shouldn’t have to wonder if that’s the way the two people normally walk or if it’s the result of whatever fight occurred only moments before.

Concrete Images

Concrete images are concrete nouns. They don’t rely upon adjectives; they stand on their own, like the ruined statue of Ozymandias standing in the desert. Concrete images avoid the abstractions of love and joy and show them in action. What does love look like, taste like, feel like?

Using strong verbs and concrete images doesn’t mean all adjectives and adverbs have to be cut; far from it. Adjectives and adverbs have their places within strong writing, and they can be used to affect a certain style of writing or speech. It’s simply that concise writing demands more attention be given to writing with strong verbs and concrete images and requests that writers stop asking adjectives and adverbs to do all the work.

Image: Frederic Guillory (Creative Commons)