Make Your Writing Sparkle by Mixing Your Concrete

by Beth Ann Erickson

This lesson is a companion to yesterday’s assignment about passive verbs. But we’re not talking about verbs today. We’re talking about abstract words.

What’s an abstract word?  An abstract word describes something that is not tangible or touchable.  Affection is an emotion.  You can’t touch an emotion.  Justice is a concept.  You can’t touch a concept.  “Affection” and “Justice” are abstract words.

Concrete words are action words that you can “see.”  You can see a kiss.  You can watch someone in court.

Because the notions of affection and justice can vary so much from person to person, it’s often very helpful to mix concrete action words in amongst your abstract terms.

 So if you’re writing about one character’s affection for another, mix a kiss in there. Describe it in concrete terms and SHOW your reader their affection. Whether the kiss is a peck or one of those long drawn out Hollywood suck-fests (how’s that for a concrete description?) your description will tell you reader in no uncertain terms the true definition of “affection.”

Suppose a father stalked his child’s killer in search of “justice.”  Instead of telling me he’d achieved “justice,” show me how he raises his gun, takes aim, and shoots the killer in the kneecap effectively crippling him for life.  Now that may be a different notion of justice than you had in mind, but the vivid description puts us all on the same page regarding the character’s intent – and notion of justice.

Write something today.  Write about an abstract term like hate, violence, love, or fear.  Make it concrete.  Give yourself some shivers.

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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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