Verb Your Enthusiasm

Verbs are the underrated stars of the English language. They hold it all together. A complete sentence cannot exist without one, yet a single verb can create complete meaning. (See?) In this glittering exploration of language, grammar, and style, Sarah L. Kaufman illuminates how all of us, professional writers and enthusiasts alike, can master the art of the verb.

When she was the dance critic at The Washington Post, Kaufman was challenged to translate the dynamic language of movement into words. Verbs showed her the way. Good verbs power great storytelling; they leap off the page, fire our senses, and transform our perceptions.

Verb Your Enthusiasm is a clarion call for all of us to get back to mean what we say and say what we mean. Kaufman proves how strong verbs can make your own writing (an email, a text, a report, or an ad) more efficient and effective, and investigates theories of language that will change how you read and write. But this isn't a grammar guide, and it surely isn't a set of rules. Great writing comes from a mix of inspiration, passion, and intelligence, from your unique discernment and imagination. You'll refine your voice in the company of literary greats, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Virginia Woolf and George Orwell. In the end, your quest for the right verb might even reveal something true about yourself. All that from one word. Now go. Write. Breathe life into your world.

How it shaped my work

This book changed how I edit. Kaufman shows that weak writing tends to hide behind weak verbs: "is", "has", "there are", and nouns built out of verbs ("make a decision" instead of "decide"). Once you notice it, you see it everywhere, including in my own drafts.

I turned that into a step in my editing process. After a draft is done, I go through it looking for lazy verbs and passive constructions and rewrite those sentences first. It is the single change that most improves an article, a video script or a LinkedIn post, and it costs ten minutes.