Tags
Strong Verbs, Strong vs Weak Words, Strong Words, Weak Verbs, Weak Words, writers, writing, Writing Advice, writing tips
Disney Start Line
Carrie Rubin over at The Write Transition gave me the idea for this post. Her comment on my post about the word “didn’t” was (in part),
“I have a lot of “started to”s as well. “Her hands started to shake;” “he started to wonder;” that kind of thing. So I’m eliminating many of those, making it “Her hands shook,” etc.
An evil cousin of “started/ing to” is “began/beginning to.”
Let’s look at some examples:
I am starting to be a strong writer.
Yeah, right.
Robin’s wise advice guides me as I make my writing stronger.
~~~~~
I started writing every word Robin utters.
Why don’t you read her blog instead?
I write Robin’s advice in my journal and refer to the tips when I edit my manuscript.
~~~~~
I began to stalk Robin in the hopes she would follow my blog.
There are laws against that Mr. Creepo.
I stalked Robin until she feared for her safety and finally agreed to follow my blog.
~~~~~
Robin is beginning to think I am crazy.
Ya think?
Robin thinks I am crazy and she reported me the Grammar Police.
Thanks for idea Carrie!
We native Texans never start to do anything. However, we are always fixin’ to……….lol
I’m fixin’ to give you a hug! I see you are camping out on my blog again today.
I am starting to realize that had I only posted earlier I would’ve beat Madame Weebles’ to this particular punchline.
Drat!
I am starting to think the commenters here are funny. Oops. The commenters ARE funny!
Hi, Robin! Another great example of what not to do! Into the file with the others!
Fantastic!
Does anyone else say something similar to, “..seemed to” As in, “His head seemed to grow red with every angry word he uttered.” It’s my “started to.” Uhg!
Guilty as charged. I also nixed a ton of “it appeared to be . . . ” Ugh is right.
Guilty! This would be another good entry, Robin.
I’m up to 15 or more chapters! Get ready New York Times Best Seller list!
Great tips! I will definitely check over my future posts with these tips in mind. Thanks!
Glad you find the series helpful. The response is fun! There are more sneaky words to come.
Gracias!
I am the Grammar Police. If you need start making a report….
If you need to make a report, you know where to find me.
Hahahaha. Do you wear a badge? Carry white-out on your hip? Have blue pencil tucked behind your ear?
It’s a red pen.
And I bet it is sharp.
Yes ma’am, it certainly is!
I’m starting to realize that I have this problem in my writing.
Tell me when you are finished realizing it. I’ll be waiting to greet you with a hug.
I’m looking for alternatives to pronouns: he/she vs characters’ names etc… Maybe you’ve already done a post, I’m still behind in my reading.
Nice post tonight, as always.
I haven’t done pronouns yet. They are waiting in the wings tho!
Thanks sweetie.
Awesome post. The search begins! Watch out starting to and beginning to, the ending to your story is finishing.
My daughter suggested that if “started” is a problem, perhaps “finished” is a problem too. I checked and she is right. “Finished” isn’t as bad as “started,” but still . . .
I guess you are more likely to use starting than finishing, so finishing is a tad more acceptable.
Hi,
Fantastic pictures for the theme of the post, I think I will go and check out her blog.
Do you mean Carrie’s blog? I hope so, because it is a dandy!
Yes, I went over and had a read, very nice indeed, and I did click like, it was a great post I thought.
She will be pleased you did!
Whew, only two “started to” and three “began to” in there. There were more in the first draft, but I caught most of them for Draft 2.
Looking forward to the next round.
Excellent!
Did you check for starting and beginning as well? I had some hiding in mine.
Good on those.
They’re only in contexts like dialogue or the correct word to describe something.
Excellent again!
Gotta be okay on one or two of these!
Seems to me you’ve done well on many of them.
Another great post, and thank you kindly for the mention. Hopefully, others aren’t as strong a fan of “started to” as I am.
I had 48 versions of “start” and now have 22. 23 versions of “began” and now have 6.
Woo Hoo!
Way to chop!
Awesome.
Thank you!