Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Was/is: The Worst Words

I have always been hesitant about giving out advice to writers, mostly due to the fact that writing is an artful and it is ever changing and no one style is right or wrong, but recently I have been reading through other writers' works and one thing sticks out that always puts me off: the constant use of "was/is". Now I know, "was" and "is" are two very important and basic words to English which makes it almost impossible--if not impossible--to write a novel without at least one of them showing up. However, what really irks me is when I read a paragraph and the verb of every sentence is "was"or "is".

Two paraphrase another writer I worked with, "is" is stagnant. You don't want things to be stagnant you want them to be moving. You don't say the picture is on the wall--you say the pictures hangs on the wall. That wall isn't just being--it props up the ceiling and barricades the kitchen from the living room.

As writers we need to inject life into our words and this is one tactic. So please, fellow writers, take this advice under consideration when writing or editing your novels. No one expects your novel to be "is/was" free, but the less they are featured the better.

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