TIMESTAMPS: 0:34 - What is default lexicon? 0:53 - Things to consider before revising your verbs 1:26 - The problem with expected verbs 2:15 - Be in control of your word choice 2:34 - Why are strong verbs important? 2:56 - Verbs as image 4:40 - Verbs as tighteners 5:44 - Verbs as tone & voice 6:25 - What is a language environment? 7:34 - Examples of how to subvert stronger verbs
fav verbs that I would die for include: sear, flicker, rust (idk why i am overusing this in every sentence rn), cable, scallop, scalpel, sift, cinch, gum, noose, runnel, etc etc idk i love them all !!!
the way you’re succinctly incorporating sound, atmosphere and movement w ‘the stream trilled between the rocks’ is mindblowing to me. this is a really quality video and i love how you write.
I once heard an advice (I don't even remember where I heard it) that said using verbs with ing at the end is not a good thing, because it ruins the flow of the prose and makes your writing chunky or something like that. I feel like ever since I've heard it, I've been trying to avoid the ing verbs, even just subconsciously, despite the fact that I love using them. I think it gives my prose a good flow and doesn't make it chunky at all.
I hate it when I follow advice that doesn't work for me for long periods of time! It's great to try things, but when you know it doesn't work for you no one should force you to keep doing it. -ING verbs are great! I use them so much.
I never thought of verbs like this before. Thanks Rachel for talking about them! I don't know if I have any favourite verbs. I'll have to think about verbs I like. ShaelinWrites has a good list though! A verb I really don't like would be "got" or "get." To me it sounds so slangy and awkward in sentences, so I try to avoid it at all costs (unless it makes sense for the character to say it).
This is SUCH an unique/great video!! Most of the writing vids I see on yt are plot related (how to write action scenes/romance etc) and I'm so happy whenever you make craft videos. Also I LOVE unexpected verbs it improves my life quality in 103%
this is a truly informative video! i am also a big fan of strong verbs, and this is my first time learning about default lexicon. i'm a hobby writer so i have been learning as i go. your video is so helpful to me and easy to digest. thank you for clarifying better use for them in my writing ♡
I'm obsessed with this! I loved what you said about relating your verbs to help with voice. My current MC is a monster hunter, and I love the idea of subverting language expectations by using more verbs like "stalk" and "track" and "dress", etc. I'm so going to try a little exercise where I only use verbs as such. Great advice, as always. Thanks, Rachel!
As a linguistic student I appreciated this video so much! It's a perfect example of how language flows and blooms in time. As a non native speaker I also got some tips out of it on how to improve my writing in english which is something I have always been pretty insecure about. Thank you so much!
no one: no one at all: absolutely no one at all: not one person in the whole universe: rachel writes: HEY LET'S MAKE AN ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL VIDEO TO BOTH END THIS HELLSCAPE OF A YEAR ON A BEAUTIFUL NOTE AND ALSO TO BUFFER LIKE TEFLON WHATEVER THE HELL THE BEGINNING OF THE COMING YEAR HAS IN STORE FOR US
Hey Rachel! Love this video. It was a great reminder about word choice and specificity. I tend to be very long-winded, so one of my writing goals over next 5 years is to write with as much clarity and economy as possible. Using powerful verbs is one of the ways to get me there. Thank you!!
Informative video! You and ShaelinWrites have inspired me to be more experimental with my writing and not stick to standard practices. I can't thank you enough.
the ‘verbs as image’ part is literally lifechanging advice??? the pirouette example really solidied this for me and i feel like i will be overusing associated images now lmaoo
I love your channel Rachel and thank you so much for posting and uploading through all of this!! You inspire me to keep writing and it makes me so happy. Thank you
Awesome video! I like scintillate and flare but couldn't convince myself to use them here. The bowling ball stalked the pins. Rain acupunctured my bare toes. The snow grins with the sun. The stream thronged the rocks. When I try stronger verbs, personification tends to kick in. Do you have advice on powerful verbs that don't go overboard with personification? Thanks Rachel!
The bowling ball stalked the pins is fantastic wow! If you find you reach for verbs that lean toward personification, starting with synonyms of the verb you’re trying to spice up might be your best bet !
In my book, there are three narrators, all of these narrators are present in the story - they're the main characters but it's not written in 1st person 😅 It's like three different people's 3rd person subjective perspective... If that makes sense 🤷🏾♀️ They all have totally different personalities and it upsets me that I never get to use a lot of beautiful words, because it just doesn't fit the way these characters would actually talk 🙎🏾♀️
okay you're too kind the skincare routine is that I had such horrible acne (and still have acne but not as bad!!) but then puberty is slowly coming to a close
Ehhh, this is an opinion. A lot of people use language to encourage musicality and imagery as poets do - there’s a whole style of writing dedicated to this. I don’t agree that you shouldn’t use verbs people don’t know - I do think you should be cautious of choosing verbs that distract from your images but unique verbs =/= distracting. So I wouldn’t agree with this but the above explanation is an addendum to this vid!
english is not my first language but i do write in english :D it appears that you can turn nouns into verbs? is that correct? edit: i googled it, it's true. my life is changed
Definitely!! So happy I decided to study poetry because it wasn’t something I had too much knowledge of before uni and now it’s my favourite form of writing lol!
@@rachelwritesbooks oooh, okay I'll try that. How can we use poetry to improve it? Simply reading it? Do you think this'll ever be a future video of yours? Sorry for all the questions! Thank you regardless:))
@@jasmineclark552 hmm never thought of making a video on poetry - in general I think it’s a fabulous form for showing especially prose writers the opportunities of language. I do think you’d just simply read it and from there see what you can take from it but I’ll see what I can do about a video!
idk if feel like if you have issues with weak verbs, you just have weak imagery and should be using different metaphors. if your verb is mismatched with your noun, use a different noun that already implies at the verb you want. yes replace adverbs with better verbs, and use use more specific verbs, but you really dont want to force these. consider that you are trying to say one thing, but you could just say something more effective that the reader can actually read into. i dont need to know if a bag floated or glided, theyre the same thing, i dont care about a bag. tell me that the bird spiraled to the ground, and then the bag was gone. Dont insult the reader's intelligence like this, you are infantilizing your reader. If you want to say a cat flew, well cats dont fly. say a bird flew and the cat was keeping up with it. therefor the cat flew without messing up your metaphors. Leaves dont season anything. They CAN pepper the ground, so why not use the right verb that evokes the image you want? If you just TELL the reader "hey i know this is going to sound wild BUT the leaves, right, get this, they SEASONED the ground!!! LIKE WOW" uh that is going to immediately make me shut the book. I do not care about how you feel about the word seasoned, i dont care how you feel about leaves. I need to know what the leaves are DOING and why, and why the character is saying it and why the author is saying it. By giving it all away you have missed all 3. Saying the leaved peppered the ground, crunching underfoot as the girl drank her pumpkin late, I GET IT. I get that the leaves and the flavor and the seasoning is part of the scene. Otherwise you are just TELLING and not showing. By mixing up metaphors you are literally telling. You are telling the reader "this was my intent, there is NO mystery here". and with no intrigue, no "whats next" moment, i close the book. This is a huge issue i see from discovery writers where you have no idea where the story is going so you are just trying to cram in as much description as possible without adding the correct plot beats we need. If you just randomly add malaphors, you are going to raise flags for the reader, the reader is going to read into it, and be disappointed when there is nothing and they learn you were just waffling in their face. you need to know when, which, and when not to use metaphors. If this is you, you need to stop trying to be a manic pixie discovery writer, get an outline done, and actually plan your story. These arent bad IDEAS but they are bad words. they can be good words but you need to make them work FOR you instead of against you. I dont need to know what you THINK about bag, leaves, and seasonings. I NEED to know what is happening, and why. I need to know WHY the character is doing the things theyre doing, not ... whether a bag glided or fell or drifted. those are all the same thing. Without context none of that matters to the reader at all.
Buddy, if you don’t like experimenting with prose then don’t do it. Going on a long essayistic rant where you tear down other writers isn’t going to make you a better writer. You have free will and can click off of videos. I disagree with you, you disagree with me-let’s just go our separate ways now.
![NOSFERATU - Official Trailer [HD] - Only In Theaters December 25](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/nulvWqYUM8k/mqdefault.jpg)
TIMESTAMPS:
0:34 - What is default lexicon?
0:53 - Things to consider before revising your verbs
1:26 - The problem with expected verbs
2:15 - Be in control of your word choice
2:34 - Why are strong verbs important?
2:56 - Verbs as image
4:40 - Verbs as tighteners
5:44 - Verbs as tone & voice
6:25 - What is a language environment?
7:34 - Examples of how to subvert stronger verbs
fav verbs that I would die for include: sear, flicker, rust (idk why i am overusing this in every sentence rn), cable, scallop, scalpel, sift, cinch, gum, noose, runnel, etc etc idk i love them all !!!
Ugh these are GREAT
when shaelin wrote "I scratched at the pasta until it gummed under my nails" i was absolutely shooketh
@@whatareyousayinggirl omg I don't remember this line what was that from?
@ShaelinWrites I Will Never Tell You This!! That line has always stuck with me, it was so simple yet visceral!
"I picked at burnt pasta until it gummed under my fingernails" is the full line, I believe!
no one:
Rachel: *invents a verb*
I really do that 🙏🏽🙏🏽
'The leaves season the grass' is awesome.
Thank you!!
I literally fist pumped when i heard it dk why..lol
The "leaves season" double meaning is killing me it's so good oml
i was v proud of that one when i thought of it!!
you and shaelin should full-on do a collab video.
OR A ZOOM CHAT
I didn’t know how much I needed this until now
Same here! Awesome video!
ok i have 2 things to say.
1- THE INFO IN THIS VIDEO IS HELPFUL AND AMAZING (thanks lol)
2- THE BLOOPERS AT THE END ARE SO GOOD I'M ACTUALLY WHEEZING
Truly what me filming a video looks like :)
"Verbs as tighteners" spoke to me the most. I definitely could stand to use better verb choice to cut down the adverb use
I love how you mentioned that this becomes easier the more you try. Thank you. So encouraging.
the way you’re succinctly incorporating sound, atmosphere and movement w ‘the stream trilled between the rocks’ is mindblowing to me. this is a really quality video and i love how you write.
Aww I’m so happy to hear and thank you so much!
I once heard an advice (I don't even remember where I heard it) that said using verbs with ing at the end is not a good thing, because it ruins the flow of the prose and makes your writing chunky or something like that. I feel like ever since I've heard it, I've been trying to avoid the ing verbs, even just subconsciously, despite the fact that I love using them. I think it gives my prose a good flow and doesn't make it chunky at all.
I love me a good -ING verb too! I def think this is truly dependant on how a writer uses them, just like with any other rule in writing! ❤️
I hate it when I follow advice that doesn't work for me for long periods of time! It's great to try things, but when you know it doesn't work for you no one should force you to keep doing it. -ING verbs are great! I use them so much.
@@Gcherry64 Totally! I should have realized that advice wasn't for me long ago. But some things just stick.
I never thought of verbs like this before. Thanks Rachel for talking about them! I don't know if I have any favourite verbs. I'll have to think about verbs I like. ShaelinWrites has a good list though!
A verb I really don't like would be "got" or "get." To me it sounds so slangy and awkward in sentences, so I try to avoid it at all costs (unless it makes sense for the character to say it).
I feel you on this one!
What a great video! Fresh content. Thank you for sharing this valuable writing info and these tips with us.
This is SUCH an unique/great video!! Most of the writing vids I see on yt are plot related (how to write action scenes/romance etc) and I'm so happy whenever you make craft videos. Also I LOVE unexpected verbs it improves my life quality in 103%
So glad you enjoyed !
this is a truly informative video! i am also a big fan of strong verbs, and this is my first time learning about default lexicon. i'm a hobby writer so i have been learning as i go. your video is so helpful to me and easy to digest. thank you for clarifying better use for them in my writing ♡
I'm obsessed with this! I loved what you said about relating your verbs to help with voice. My current MC is a monster hunter, and I love the idea of subverting language expectations by using more verbs like "stalk" and "track" and "dress", etc. I'm so going to try a little exercise where I only use verbs as such. Great advice, as always. Thanks, Rachel!
I’m glad you found it helpful!
As a linguistic student I appreciated this video so much! It's a perfect example of how language flows and blooms in time.
As a non native speaker I also got some tips out of it on how to improve my writing in english which is something I have always been pretty insecure about. Thank you so much!
This means a lot coming from a linguistic student! Thanks for watching!
I come back to this video often
This is so helpful
Great verb play. Griddles is a great verb.
This video soaked my lobes.
What does this mean lol
whats your favorite way to find good synonyms?
I really like OneLook’s reverse dictionary and Wordbook which is a Windows app. Thesaurus.com is also great!
Thank you for this! ♡
no one:
no one at all:
absolutely no one at all:
not one person in the whole universe:
rachel writes: HEY LET'S MAKE AN ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL VIDEO TO BOTH END THIS HELLSCAPE OF A YEAR ON A BEAUTIFUL NOTE AND ALSO TO BUFFER LIKE TEFLON WHATEVER THE HELL THE BEGINNING OF THE COMING YEAR HAS IN STORE FOR US
❤️❤️❤️
Hey Rachel! Love this video. It was a great reminder about word choice and specificity. I tend to be very long-winded, so one of my writing goals over next 5 years is to write with as much clarity and economy as possible. Using powerful verbs is one of the ways to get me there. Thank you!!
The bowling ball pin-balled toward the pins.
Rain sprinkled (on) my toes.
The snow glistened in the sun.
The stream snaked between the rocks.
Yes absolutely verbs are a great way to tighten up writing! Thanks for watching :)
Informative video! You and ShaelinWrites have inspired me to be more experimental with my writing and not stick to standard practices. I can't thank you enough.
Ahh I’m so happy to hear! ❤️❤️❤️
this is SO helpful thank you so much for this! i'm a writer getting back into the swing of things and this is super helpful ;;; thanks for this!
Glad I could help!! ❤️
I needed this so much. Thank you
Of course! Thank you for watching! ❤️
rachel blesses us once again 🌟
Thanks so much, just went through my manuscripts and took out as many 'like' as possible.
Yay!
In her novel "Vinegar Boy," Alberta Hawse used LIQUIDS as her literary theme. "The morning sun poured out of the jug . ."
the ‘verbs as image’ part is literally lifechanging advice??? the pirouette example really solidied this for me and i feel like i will be overusing associated images now lmaoo
Right!!! My sister and I brainstormed this term together and when she said it first I was like omg that’s fantastic!
I love words 😭
you're so articulate ❤this is so helpful and you presented it simple and direct 💖
okay i've come back to this video and you talk briefly about intention in writing, and now i need a not-so-tl;dr version of this, please!
Oooh this is a good idea - will note!
@@rachelwritesbooks
Inventing new verbs is my new hobby 😂🤧
right!!!
great advice!! I can tell how much you love verbs ;)
I really do 🙏🏽🙏🏽
I love your channel Rachel and thank you so much for posting and uploading through all of this!! You inspire me to keep writing and it makes me so happy. Thank you
Aww of course! ❤️
This is very comprehensive 💖 thank you!!
Thanks for watching!
wow this video is so helpful!! thanks for making it :)
Happy to hear!! 🙏🏽
Wow!
Awesome video! I like scintillate and flare but couldn't convince myself to use them here.
The bowling ball stalked the pins.
Rain acupunctured my bare toes.
The snow grins with the sun.
The stream thronged the rocks.
When I try stronger verbs, personification tends to kick in. Do you have advice on powerful verbs that don't go overboard with personification? Thanks Rachel!
The bowling ball stalked the pins is fantastic wow! If you find you reach for verbs that lean toward personification, starting with synonyms of the verb you’re trying to spice up might be your best bet !
Sounds great! Thank you for the advice! @@rachelwritesbooks
LEAVES SEASONING
LEAVES
FALLING
IN A SEASON
(called fall)
In my book, there are three narrators, all of these narrators are present in the story - they're the main characters but it's not written in 1st person 😅 It's like three different people's 3rd person subjective perspective... If that makes sense 🤷🏾♀️ They all have totally different personalities and it upsets me that I never get to use a lot of beautiful words, because it just doesn't fit the way these characters would actually talk 🙎🏾♀️
omg this use of point of view sounds so sick
@@rachelwritesbooks Thanks 😁
This was so helpful!
I just wish my native language could make up words like English does. But unfortunately we are all about nouns😂
English is def weird!
What´s your native language?
You look so pretty in this video I wanma drop dead
ugh you're so kind
Writing = Who What Where When Which Why How... Great vid thanks.
Touch wood, Rachel... drop that skin care routine
okay you're too kind the skincare routine is that I had such horrible acne (and still have acne but not as bad!!) but then puberty is slowly coming to a close
But you don’t wanna use verbs most people don’t know. Most of these I don’t know
Ehhh, this is an opinion. A lot of people use language to encourage musicality and imagery as poets do - there’s a whole style of writing dedicated to this. I don’t agree that you shouldn’t use verbs people don’t know - I do think you should be cautious of choosing verbs that distract from your images but unique verbs =/= distracting. So I wouldn’t agree with this but the above explanation is an addendum to this vid!
My sister wrote, the leaves are turning crayola colors
That’s great!
english is not my first language but i do write in english :D it appears that you can turn nouns into verbs? is that correct?
edit: i googled it, it's true. my life is changed
Stylistically, yes!
@@rachelwritesbooks hi rachel, i forgot to thank you for this video. i took notes and it was very helpful for me.
Would you say that reading poetry helps your writing? I feel like my prose could be more interesting
Definitely!! So happy I decided to study poetry because it wasn’t something I had too much knowledge of before uni and now it’s my favourite form of writing lol!
@@rachelwritesbooks oooh, okay I'll try that. How can we use poetry to improve it? Simply reading it? Do you think this'll ever be a future video of yours? Sorry for all the questions! Thank you regardless:))
@@jasmineclark552 hmm never thought of making a video on poetry - in general I think it’s a fabulous form for showing especially prose writers the opportunities of language. I do think you’d just simply read it and from there see what you can take from it but I’ll see what I can do about a video!
idk if feel like if you have issues with weak verbs, you just have weak imagery and should be using different metaphors. if your verb is mismatched with your noun, use a different noun that already implies at the verb you want. yes replace adverbs with better verbs, and use use more specific verbs, but you really dont want to force these. consider that you are trying to say one thing, but you could just say something more effective that the reader can actually read into. i dont need to know if a bag floated or glided, theyre the same thing, i dont care about a bag. tell me that the bird spiraled to the ground, and then the bag was gone. Dont insult the reader's intelligence like this, you are infantilizing your reader. If you want to say a cat flew, well cats dont fly. say a bird flew and the cat was keeping up with it. therefor the cat flew without messing up your metaphors.
Leaves dont season anything. They CAN pepper the ground, so why not use the right verb that evokes the image you want? If you just TELL the reader "hey i know this is going to sound wild BUT the leaves, right, get this, they SEASONED the ground!!! LIKE WOW" uh that is going to immediately make me shut the book. I do not care about how you feel about the word seasoned, i dont care how you feel about leaves. I need to know what the leaves are DOING and why, and why the character is saying it and why the author is saying it. By giving it all away you have missed all 3. Saying the leaved peppered the ground, crunching underfoot as the girl drank her pumpkin late, I GET IT. I get that the leaves and the flavor and the seasoning is part of the scene. Otherwise you are just TELLING and not showing. By mixing up metaphors you are literally telling. You are telling the reader "this was my intent, there is NO mystery here". and with no intrigue, no "whats next" moment, i close the book.
This is a huge issue i see from discovery writers where you have no idea where the story is going so you are just trying to cram in as much description as possible without adding the correct plot beats we need. If you just randomly add malaphors, you are going to raise flags for the reader, the reader is going to read into it, and be disappointed when there is nothing and they learn you were just waffling in their face. you need to know when, which, and when not to use metaphors. If this is you, you need to stop trying to be a manic pixie discovery writer, get an outline done, and actually plan your story. These arent bad IDEAS but they are bad words. they can be good words but you need to make them work FOR you instead of against you. I dont need to know what you THINK about bag, leaves, and seasonings. I NEED to know what is happening, and why. I need to know WHY the character is doing the things theyre doing, not ... whether a bag glided or fell or drifted. those are all the same thing. Without context none of that matters to the reader at all.
Buddy, if you don’t like experimenting with prose then don’t do it. Going on a long essayistic rant where you tear down other writers isn’t going to make you a better writer. You have free will and can click off of videos. I disagree with you, you disagree with me-let’s just go our separate ways now.
@@rachelwritesbooks cringe
@@daveshif2514 you’re the one who left a dissertation in my comment section that grossly misunderstands writing craft lmaooooo fail
@@rachelwritesbooks if you cant critique you arent an artist
@@daveshif2514 please go outside and make some friends.
This was very helpful