Written by Martin Wiles

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As writers, we aim for powerful writing. And as editors, we want to help other writers realize dynamic writing as well. But how? A simple pyramid will help.

Every day, I read sentences that lack zing—ones I’ve written or edited for other writers. I appeal to my vocabulary, the built-in thesaurus in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Editor, and Grammarly. And, of course, Merriam Webster always avails herself. But I’m wasting my time if I don’t know the pyramid that will make the writing more powerful. My writing and the person’s devotion, article, or manuscript I’m editing will fall short.

Rather than start at the bottom and work our way up, let’s start at the top and wind down, beginning with the most important words.

The Vivid Verb

Of all the parts of speech, the verb is the most critical. We must have one to have a sentence, but not all verbs stand on equal footing. At the theater or on YouTube, the right word might not be that essential. After all, we can see what the screenwriter wants. But on paper, words help us see, and of those words, verbs sit on a glorious throne. Without vivid ones, writing slows almost to a halt.

John can walk to the store, but he can also hobble. Now, I see him with a limp and perhaps using a cane or crutches. I wonder what happened to him that put him in that position. An entire range of pictures dances through my mind.

The Specific Noun 

Subjects (nouns) are also necessary for a sentence to exist. But, like verbs, all nouns are not of equal value. Common nouns are persons, places, or things. But proper nouns are specific persons, places, or things.

The main character can own a large dog, or he can own a German Shepherd, Doberman, or Rottweiler. Our stories will paint a beautiful picture when the noun is specific and the verb is vivid.

The Acting Adjective

Adjectives describe or modify our nouns. We won’t need many of them when we use vivid verbs and specific nouns, but they help dress up our sentences. If we find ourselves using three adjectives to modify our noun, we need a more specific noun or a more vivid verb.

The Announcing Adverb

Adverbs get a bad rap, and, honestly, they are frequently overused. Some are necessary, but the ones we use to prop up poor verbs and boring nouns—often those ending in –ly—are not.

Adverbs that announce time and place (when, where) prove essential. However, we should replace the –ly ones that crutch a boring verb. A nurse can walk quietly into a patient’s room, but it’s better if she tiptoes.

But if our client’s manuscript is due tomorrow, we had better get busy finishing our editing. When we start at the top of the pyramid and scale our way down, we will write powerful fiction and nonfiction. And as editors, we have the privilege of helping writers do that.

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