Ed Lynskey's Blog: Cracked Rearview Mirror - Posts Tagged "language"

Hello, my name is Ed, and I'm addicted to verbs. There. I admitted it. Of all the parts of speech, I seem more drawn to verbs than anything else. Action verbs, that is. I can't pinpoint any reason. Maybe it's because the rest of the sentence hangs off the verb.

This is a useful thing when it comes to the writing noirs and suspense novels, since their characters and plots depend on action. When I'm revising my fiction, I like to key on the verbs in the sentences. The verbs can tell me if the story is right, if the description is precise.

Lawrence Block offers the editing idea to change the verbs in the sentences in order to inject more spice and variety (my paraphrase). I don't know if I'd go that far. Verbs are about voice and style. If you're writing hardboiled or noir, your verbs are hard and mean. If you're writing a cozy, your verbs are soft and nice.

Sometimes my verbs connect with the readers, and sometimes they don't.

Ed Lynskey
@edlynskey
Author of Lake Charles and Quiet Anchorage