Dec 06 2008
How to Edit - more “ing” + was
Oops, I didn’t finish covering “ing”. The other thing an “ing” search can catch is the use of “slow” verbs.
I’m sure you can hear that “I was walking” sounds pedestrian compared to the brisker “I walked”. You want to keep the action moving along, so the second option is usually better. However, sometimes the “slow” verb is essential, to describe something that was going on at the time – e.g. “I was walking the dog when I bumped into my friend Sandy”, so don’t be too quick to consign your slow verbs to the dustbin!
Finally, it’s worth noting that some “-ings” have nothing to do with either of the above, or I’d be in trouble twice in just this one sentence!
Speaking of “I was walking”, another good word to search on is “was”. Once again, there are lots of situations where “was” is unavoidable. However it is a boring little verb which you can often replace with something more interesting. Searching for “was” will also pick up any places where you have used Passive Voice. If you don’t know what that is, Google it and you’ll find lots of definitions – but basically, Active Voice is where your character is doing something, whereas Passive Voice is where something is being done to them. Active Voice always sounds more positive and lively whereas Passive Voice sounds – well – passive. For instance, it sounds much better to say, “The concierge opened the door as Katie approached” instead of “The door was opened as Katie approached”.
