Make your writing more VIVID!

By Beth Cornelison

As writers, we all aspire to create a compelling emotional response and a clear mental picture that will stay with our readers long after they finish the last page. Memorable characters and powerful scenes are achieved through vivid writing.

But what is vivid writing? You may recognize it when you read it in another author's work, but do you know how to create those same distinct images on the pages of your manuscript?

Here are a few suggestions that I believe will help you start on the path to more vivid writing.

1) Be specific! Choose your nouns well. The more exact you can be when choosing nouns, the clearer the mental image you give your reader. Don't simply tell the reader the woman had a dog. Tell us what kind of dog. For that matter, be more specific about the woman as well! Doesn't 'the nun had a poodle' give a much clearer impression. Think how different that impression is from 'the barmaid had a pit bull'. So whenever possible, use specific nouns.

2) Use strong verbs! Just as nouns need to be specific, strong, precise verbs also paint a more vivid image. For example: the policeman went down the street. Went is a weak verb. How did he go down the street? Consider: the policeman strolled down the street. The policeman raced down the street. The policeman drove down the street. The policeman skipped down the street. All of these leave you with a different mental picture and yet essentially say the same thing ... the policeman went down the street.

Use of strong verbs can also help you avoid adverbs and cut wordiness. Why say 'she spoke quietly' rather than 'she whispered'? What about 'she walked angrily' rather than 'she stomped' or 'she stalked'?

3) Avoid it. Avoid what you say? My point exactly! 'It' is a vague, nonspecific word. Avoid 'it' whenever possible.

Hilda sipped her coffee and looked out at the sunrise. She decided she liked it after all. What did she like? She decided she like the view from her apartment after all, or she decided she liked Joe's special Colombian brew after all. Starting a sentence with 'It' is also weak construction, generally speaking. Instead of 'It made her sad to think about her father,' try 'Thinking about her father made her sad' or 'Thinking about her father depressed her.'

Much more can be said about making your writing vivid, but I hope these suggestions give you a place to start. The key is to be specific and to choose your words for the most impact. Good luck and happy vivid writing!