Revising Your Prose For — Power And Punch Pdf

Use passive when the actor is unknown or unimportant (“The bank was robbed at midnight”). 2.3 Execute Adverbs – Especially After Dialog Adverbs tell. Strong verbs show.

| Weak | Punchy | |------|--------| | She ran quickly. | She sprinted. | | “No,” he said angrily. | “No,” he snapped. | | He spoke softly. | He murmured. | revising your prose for power and punch pdf

A Field Guide to Forceful, Lean, and Memorable Prose Version 1.0 For writers who want to be read. INTRODUCTION: Why Power & Punch? Most first drafts are flabby. They contain hedging, repetition, passive voice, and unnecessary words. Powerful prose is not about literary fireworks—it is about clarity, rhythm, and impact. Punchy writing respects the reader’s time and commands attention. Use passive when the actor is unknown or

| Delete | Replace With | |--------|-------------| | In order to | to | | Due to the fact that | because | | At this point in time | now | | For the purpose of | for | | In spite of the fact that | although | | With the exception of | except | | The reason why is that | because | Look for is, are, was, were, be, being, been . Often they signal a weaker structure. | Weak | Punchy | |------|--------| | She ran quickly