Using Robust Nouns and Active Verbs

I’m going to lay all my cards on the table and reveal a secret: be concrete. See how easy that was? I was concrete in giving you an answer. If you want to write captivating nonfiction and fiction, you need to be concrete in your writing. What do I mean by that? 

Concrete writing transports us into a story like nothing else. It’s the key that unlocks the door of the reader’s imagination.

Concrete writing engages the senses. It is descriptive and narrative and employs strong, colorful word choices. It allows readers to experience an object, setting, or situation through sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.

Concrete writing shows or illustrates something to me. The best communicators (speakers and writers) use concrete writing. 

The following are some examples of how we can implement concrete writing into our manuscripts:

·  Stories

·  Metaphors

·  Illustrations

·  Dialogue

·  Images

·  Sensory writing (writing that engages the five senses)

 When it comes to concrete writing, a key question is this: Is it filmable? If a piece of writing is filmable, you can be sure it’s concrete.

 Robust nouns and active verbs are two writing techniques that you can add to your writing that will always pack more punch than weak ones that are simply preceded by a string of adjectives or adverbs.

 Robust nouns:  A robust noun is a word that refers to a particular person, place, or thing, which is suggestive and fairly specific in nature. These words typically indicate something that a reader can easily visualize and connect with, ensuring that the precise image and concept a writer wishes to designate is achieved.

 In contrast, weak nouns are usually more vague and subtle, allowing for confusion by a reader or indicating a less specific idea. 

 Example of a weak noun: Michael drove down the familiar street in his vehicle.

Example of a robust noun: Michael drove down the familiar street in his sports car.

Adding a more robust noun gives the reader a whole new visual. Now that we know it’s a sports car, was it a convertible, was the roof down, or was he speeding?

 Action Verbs

Active verbs perform the actions of a subject within a sentence. In other words, the subject of the verb is doing the action. Use active verbs when you want to create interest and emphasize the action.

 For example: The children played, the bird chirped, the car raced

 Michael raced down the familiar street in his sports car.

 I like to think of each chapter as a scene, and I write it as I visualize it, carefully using robust nouns and action verbs that the readers can envision.

 Here are four short sentences I wrote just this morning in my upcoming sequel to my novel, Under the Roof: 

 Abigail huffs. She stands and brushes the crumbs from her starch-lined black pants and pristine black shirt.

I look back at Abigail as I jog towards Ava, “Come on, roll up those stiff sleeves.”

Abigail tilts her chin higher, holding her stoic posture.

Can you see this scene? Abigail huffing. She doesn’t just have black pants on; they are starch-lined, and her shirt is too. Rather than  just saying, “Come on.” I say, “Come on, roll up those stiff sleeves.” We can then see Abigail standing her ground in her pristine pants, raising her chin, and holding her posture.

As authors, we want to write actively and concretely, allowing our readers to visualize what we are writing and place themselves into our words, captivated and wanting more.