I love it when I find an article that gives me a name for something I’ve noticed in editing, but didn’t know what to call it. Such is the case when I read this article at Jane Friedman’s website: “2 Stammer Verbs to Avoid in Your Fiction.”
What the heck is a stammer verb? Here are the two: turned and began. As the author notes here, these are words that show up in scene after scene of early novels. Get it yet?
No? Here are the examples she uses:
Turned
The king placed the scroll back on the table. He turned and walked to the window.
Libby stared at her brother, unable to believe what she had just heard. She turned, went to the door, and walked out.Began
Jill sat down with a thud. She began to untie her shoelaces.
Jon put down the letter. He began to stand and pace the room.
You can probably see why the writer of this article says, “Just as stammering halts speech, stammer verbs halt the flow of a written sentence. The author uses these verbs as if stammering around while searching for the genuine words she’s intending.”
Read the article—it’s short—and think about ways you may be stammering too.
Tweet: What in the world is a stammer verb?
Tweet: Two ways you may be stammering around looking for a better verb.
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Wow, another home run, Jamie. This gem arrived just in time. 🙂 I’m deep in the (good) throes of editing my novel. Ran a find on the first ten chapters, sending more than a few “turneds” and “begans” (excuse the grammar) flying every which way. Great exercise in making me come up with real verbs to depict actions and characters rather than stammering through the lazy way. 🙂 As always, appreciate the wisdom you share.
Thank you so much! I also thought this article was a good one, as it articulated an issue I was aware of but didn’t have a word for. 🙂
Excellent article! I had no idea stammer verbs had a name, but I do know my initial drafts contain a ton of them. I tighten things up the second/ third time around, but I can’t say I pay particular attention to them. After reading this post and the article, that will definitely change.
I very often make up a phrase to describe something (for example, “generic character nouns”—http://jamiechavez.com/blog/2015/01/generic-character-nouns-leave-me-cold/) because I’ve never seen it called anything specific. I suspect this editor did that here—but hey! It works! 🙂
Indeed it does.
Annnnd a few more clicks and 20 minutes of blog reading later, I feel like I have a much better grasp on generic story writing. And how to avoid it.
Thanks for the link!
🙂