I'm so pleased to welcome as my guest today
Carol Kilgore. I love visiting Carol's blog,
Under the Tiki Hut.
Carol is
a Texas
native who has lived in locations across the U.S. as the wife of a Coast Guard
officer. Back under the hot Texas sun in San Antonio, Carol writes
a blend of mystery, suspense, and romance she calls Crime Fiction with a Kiss. She and her husband share their home and
patio with two active herding dogs, and every so often the dogs let them sit on
the sofa.
Today Carol is going to share with us some thoughts about one of my favorite parts of speech.
Donna, thank you so much for hosting me on your blog today.
I can't believe it's August already. Why is it that summer always speeds by?
Speeds? Not my favorite word. Speeding reminds me of driving
too fast and getting a ticket and having to sit through a Defensive Driving
class for eight hours. Not that I'll admit to ever having done any of that, so you
can't take my statement as an admission of guilt. But the officer was kind of
cute J
So maybe I shouldn't have said speeds. Rushes. Water rushes
off the roof in a rainstorm. Zooms. Summer rarely lasts long enough, but I
don't think it zooms fast like a jet.
Flies by? Does a season have wings? Hmmm.
Can you tell where I'm going with this?
I'm talking about verbs. Strong, descriptive verbs that show
exactly the action you want to relay to your readers. Think of verbs as the
Three Bears.
Papa Bear Verbs are too zippy and bounce our writing along
like sugar-coated jumping beans shot full of speed. These verbs force the
reader to notice the action in the sentence above all else. Often that's not
what we, as writers, want. Another variant of Papa Bear Verbs is the unique
verb. These are verbs that really stand out to the reader. We read it and go Oh, wow! That's great. I would've never
thought to use such a perfect verb. Then we read it again. And again. And
yet again, and swear we'll scream if—aargh!
Spiritless Mama Bear Verbs cause our writing to creep along
at a snail's pace. The reader becomes impatient with the progress and begins to
skim. She looks at this, she thinks about that. He's walking to the store.
Pacing becomes a problem, we skim a page or two or to the end of the chapter
and close the book. Maybe we don't pick it up again for a while. Or ever.
But Baby Bear Verbs are just right and capture the exact image,
feel, and sound the writer is searching for. These are the verbs that you feel
in your bones and know in your soul are Baby Bear Verbs from the moment you
write them until the time you read them a dozen drafts later.
What about you? Do you strive to use Baby Bear Verbs in your
writing? Do you have tricks you use to keep your verbs in line?
Thanks, Carol. From now on when I'm trying to select a verb, I will do my best to pick one that's "just right."
With a last name like Kilgore, I thought it fitting that Carol writes novels that blend mystery and suspense. If you're looking for a way to stay cool in the summer heat, check out Carol's novel IN NAME ONLY. Here's the back cover blurb:
No
home. No family. No place to hide. For Summer Newcombe, that's only the
beginning.
The
night Summer escapes from a burning Padre Island
eatery and discovers the arsonist is stalking her, is the same night she meets
Fire Captain Gabriel Duran. As much as she's attracted to Gabe, five years in
the Federal Witness Security Program because of her father’s testimony against
a mob boss have taught her the importance of being alone and invisible.
No
matter how much she yearns for a real home, Summer relinquished that option the
night she killed the man who murdered her father. But Gabe breaks down her
guard and places both of them in danger. Summer has vowed never to kill again,
but she's frantic she'll cost Gabe his life unless she stops running and fights
for the future she wants with the man she loves.
I received an e-mail over the weekend from Patricia Smith, publisher of Welkin Press. 
