Construct Stronger Sentences

By Beth Ann Erickson, FilbertPublishing.com

Today we’re continuing with yesterday’s entry.

You already know that you need to avoid “etre” (or “to be” verbs.)  But there are other ways you can make your writing stronger, tighter, and leaner.

You see, strong sentences are specific sentences.  Ultra-specific, to be exact.

Remember our first sentence we improved before?  Just to refresh your memory, here it is:  “The car is hot.”

Then we improved the verb “is” by writing, “The Chevy felt like a furnace.”

Yeah, the verb is stronger because “Felt” is stronger than “Is.”  But we also added some ultra specific words like “Chevy” instead of “Car” and “Furnace” instead of “Hot.”

Whenever you are able to use a more specific term the stronger your sentence will be.

Let’s look at the second sentence: “That dog is loud.”

Here’s how we changed it: “The Rotweiler’s wail pierced the subway terminal like a bullet from a .22 rifle.”

Again, look at our ultra specific words: “Rotweiler” instead of “Dog.”  “Loud” versus “pierced the subway terminal like a bullet from a .22 rifle.”

This is an important lesson to learn because as a writer, your job is to transmit your thought into your reader’s mind as fully intact as possible. If you’re “seeing” a red car, your reader really ought to see the same “red car” as you are. You do this by using ultra-specific terms.

“Red car” can conjure almost any image whereas a “cherry-red Geo Metro Coupe” will not only create a vivid image, it has the added bonus of allowing the reader to make some assumptions about the owner of the car.

Now review your writing.  Your verbs should already be active.  Review every sentence to make sure you’re using as many ultra-specific terms as possible.  Have fun.  This is where you get to make your words shine.

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Beth Ann Erickson is Queen Bee of Filbert Publishing and the only writing ezine that'll make your writing sparkle, help you write killer queries, and get you on the road to publication fast. Better yet, you'll receive the e-booklet "Power Queries" when you sign up for your free subscription. Subscribe today at http://FilbertPublishing.com

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