'To be' or to have a better verb...

Want your writing to fly off the page? Here's a tip: track down all the 'to be' verb forms and find better, stronger, more aggressive verbs. The following is part of chapter 2: 'Takeoff' taken from my soon to be published writing handbook--Air-Craft and The Writing Craft. While reading successful authors' works, notice how they avoid 'to be' forms to make their writing take off and keep their readers interest.

➤ Track down all the ‘to be’ verbs and change them. Variations of the verb ‘to be’ make weak, wimpy writing. They make the writing sound like a dishrag on paper. Take a look at these sentences and spot the differences in strength and power.
     ☹ Mary was unhappy.
    ☺Mary wore her unhappiness like a shawl.
     ☹ That is the spoon he mentioned.
    ☺That resembles the bent, rusted spoon he talked about.
     ☹ The truck in the hit and run was a black Ford.
    ☺A black Ford pickup tore from the scene of the hit and run.

    These examples are simple, but you get the idea. Rearranging verb choices is hard work, and is even harder over the length of a novel. Being aware of all the ‘to be’ forms is perhaps the toughest thing there is, because we acquire the habit early.
    Now, let me rewrite that paragraph, eliminating the ‘to be’ forms.
    These examples seem simplistic, but they work to explain the difference. Rearranging verb choices demands hard work, and makes us change habits that we latched onto long ago. Strengthening verb choices this way forces writers to stay alert to better verb forms, and new ways of sending the message. Better? I hope so. Great verbs equal great writing.