Four quick tips for improving descriptions of action in your novel.
- Use adverbs sparingly. Delete unnecessary ones, and certainly delete strings of them. Often an adverb is trying to strengthen a weak verb: “Allen went quickly down the street.” Instead choose the perfect verb that needs no strengtheners: “Allen hurried down the street.” Mark Twain called the adverb the enemy of the verb. Make it your enemy, too.
- If you do decide to use an adverb, use only one, and put it in the right place. For full effect and if possible, put the adverb at the beginning or end of the sentence: “Forlornly she waved at the departing train,” or “She waved at the departing train forlornly.”
- Delete unnecessary details. You needn’t tell the reader that your character opened the cupboard, took out a can of beans, opened the drawer, took out a can opener and opened the can of beans. Just say “She opened a can of beans.” If the reader knows the mechanics of an action, skip the details.
- Have you written in speaking language that would come naturally to your viewpoint character? If a character would say, “I went down the street to get cigarettes,” you can write “He went down the street to get cigarettes.”
Try applying these tips to your writing and see it improve instantly.
