One Super Quick Way to Power Your Prose
Get rid of filter verbs
Published in
2 min readOct 19, 2021
Read these sentences:
- He believed he was right.
2. She decided to open the second door.
3. He spotted a deer grazing in the grass.
4. She saw his eyes flicker.
5. Ben knew that if he sneezed now, they would know he was there.
6. I noticed her voice falter.
7. He sensed a change in the mood of the crowd.
Now read these:
- He was right.
2. She opened the second door.
3. A deer grazed in the field.
4. His eyes flickered.
5. Ben pinched his nose. If he sneezed now, they would know he was there.
6. Her voice faltered.
7. The mood of the crowd had changed.
Notice the difference?
Each of the first group read like there’s an invisible cloak over the sentence, occluding it, making the message distant and muddy. The writer lacks confidence and tries to hedge his declarations.
The second group are direct and clear.
