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Looking for ways to beef up your writing? Take a good look at the VERBS you employ. Verbs are to writing what jet fuel is to airplanes. One helpful way to boost your verb power is to take words that are usually nouns, but use them as verbs. Here are a few examples: 1. mushroom. This is normally the small thing you eat in salads or stir-fry, but as a verb it means to expand or grow quickly, just as the mushroom head expands out from the stem. Ex. After Billy dropped out of school, his problems mushroomed: he ran out of money, couldn’t find a job, and had a falling-out with his parents. 2. asphalt. As a noun, this is pavement put on a road surface. As a verb, it means to cover a road or parking lot with pavement. Ex. The church asphalted their parking lot last week. 3. hammer. As a noun, this is a common tool. As a verb, though, it can mean A. to drive a nail, OR B. to emphasize or drive home a point; to criticize. Ex. Laurence hammered nails all day till his arm felt like it was about to fall off! Ex. Dad hammered away about how important a good GPA is when applying to college. 4. nail. The noun is what you hammer, but as a verb, it can mean to identify an issue or accuse or criticize someone. Ex. Ken nailed the boards over the broken window. Ex. Jason thought he could cheat on the quiz, but his teacher nailed him and gave him a zero. 5. author. As a noun, this is the person who writes a book or author. The verb is the action of doing so. Ex. I was pleased to co-author Write like a Champion with Prof. Posen Liao a few years ago. 6. belt. The noun is the leather strap that holds your pants up. As a verb, it can mean A. to sing loudly, or B. to spank a child with a belt. Ex. The opera star belted out the last song of the evening. Ex. Billy was afraid his dad would belt him if he caught him smoking behind the barn. 7. bolt. As a noun, this is a small item that can hold two larger items together. As a verb, though, it can mean A. to act of fastening a bolt, or B. running fast! Ex. The security guard always bolts the gate shut before he leaves in the evening. Ex. The dog always bolts for the door when he hears his master bring out his supper! I hope these nouns as verbs can help you beef up your writing skills. And there we go again: “beef up”: a noun working as a verb! To your success! |