Writer Sarah L. Kaufman calls verbs the “underrated stars of the English language.”
We’ve all learned in school that verbs are action words necessary for a complete sentence, but in her new book Verb Your Enthusiasm: How to Master the Art of the Verb and Transform Your Writing, Kaufman makes the case for exploring the treasury of verbs at our disposal to really elevate our writing.
Verb Your Enthusiasm offers lots of tips and writing examples, and exercises and has chapters on brushing up on grammar, dealing with that pesky passive voice, the science behind the power of verbs and more. This book would great for new writers who may want some tips on honing their style as well as seasoned writers who may be looking to liven up their craft.
In a recent What We’re Reading interview Kaufman explained why verbs are magical.
“They have so many mysterious powers. They connect our nouns, our thoughts, our ideas. They fuel our stories. But they're not only action words, or as we learned in school, the engine of a sentence. They are little fireballs of language. But by that, I mean, they're really an artistic tool. And that's what's so exciting for writers.”
Kaufman was a long-time dance critic for The Washington Post and strived through her writing to share “how it felt to be in the room with this very active, dynamic art form.”
She explained, “The use of verbs tied in very powerfully with what I wanted my writing to deliver.”
Aside from helping to improve writing, Kaufman noted that Verb Your Enthusiasm will help reveal something true about ourselves. She explained that the book will “inspire writers of anything, whether it's an e-mail or a blog post or a novel, a poem, non-fiction, journalism, to really search their imaginations, open up their creativity, to interpret actions, in ways that feel very, very authentic to what they're seeing, very honest, very true and authentic. And verbs are such a wonderful key to unlocking this potential in your mind.”
Sarah L. Kaufman’s book Verb Your Enthusiasm is published by Penguin Random House.
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