The Was Word

Look at your last book and count the number of times you used is, are, was, and were. Thoughts? Lessons learned?

Brenda

This question looks innocuous on the surface, but it brings up a writing no-no. Overuse of the little 'is' verb in all its tenses. It's a non-action, boring word and often overused. A writing pit we often fall into.

I'm always aware when writing not to overuse the passive voice (which uses the was word). For example: "The pie was eaten by us," is passive while, "We ate the pie" is...