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.
~~~
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
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