Use Stronger Verbs I

Weak verbiage is an aspect of writing that takes many writers a long time to overcome. The single flaw can be devastating to a manuscript.

For example, which sentence is stronger:

• I read the suspect his rights as a patrolman started cuffing him.


• I Mirandized the suspect as a patrolman cuffed him.

Compound that one weak sentence into a whole manuscript and it’s fatal.

Your cure?

Choose your words carefully and use strong verbs.

Weakest verb forms: forms of the verb "to be" and "to have" and any verb ending in —ing;
Mediocre verbs: —ed endings are mediocre; and,
Strongest verb forms: roots

As verb strength depends on the constructs around them, this can vary:

• I Mirandized the suspect as a patrolman cuffed him.
  
• I Mirandized the suspect as a patrolman started to cuff him.

The second instance uses the root, but started to adds cumbersome syllables. So we work it:

• I Mirandized the suspect and ordered the patrolman to cuff him.

Once again we learn that the rules of writing can be a cause of baldness, as authors pull out their hair. That’s why the literary arts aren’t called the literary sciences.