Hello again, dear reader authors!
Most likely I've been enjoying your works and I'm glad to see you here!
Another quirk I've noticed on Wattpad is the excessive use of verb phrases, namely "to be" and "to [insert verb here]"
Worse is the weak verb phrases like "to get" [see my chapter on Weak vs. Strong] and "begin to [insert verb here]" . Go strong! Do it! Don't start to do it! DO IT!!!!
Ahem, rant over. Now...
Generally, it's best to simply utilize the verb and forget the "to" phrase.
Example from my dear friend and originator of the Eyeball Army DianaTheThird
[her book Betrayal of the Guardians is great and has over 7K reads. Only the strong allow me to use their writing as examples! Roar! Gratitude from the Dragon Editor]
As she studied the area, a feeling of relief hit her heart...
Those few seconds of relief didn't take long to vanish...
These can be tightened up. For example:
As she studied the area, relief hit her heart
OR
As she studied the area, relief flooded her heart...
THEN
That relief vanished in seconds...
See how that tightens the writing and increases the impact?
Now to be fair, @DianaTheThird correctly used a verb phrase here:
A sound of an object being crushed forced her heart to jump.
Yay DianaTheThird
And thank you!
YOU ARE READING
Writing Tips for Writers With English As a Second Language
Non-FictionWattpad circles the world, and the writers here are amazing, creative, and bold to publish in a language other than their native one. A fellow writer/supporter (thanks @DianaTheThird!) encouraged me to write a tip book since she was grateful for my...
