So far, we looked at grammar expletives and weak verbs but what about weak adjectives?

Rule Three – Don’t Use Weak Adjectives

Weak adjectives take the power from your work the same way that weak verbs do. Use powerful adjectives to describe pronouns and nouns and be aware that some words, like “very” and “really” usually come before a weak adjective:

Instead of “really bad”, use “terrible”;

Instead of “really good”, use “great”;

Instead of “very big”, use “huge”;

Instead of “very beautiful”, use “gorgeous”.

Your adjectives may not have a “very” or a “really” preceding them but you can boost your writing by using powerful alternatives:

Instead of “dirty”, use “filthy”;

Instead of “tired”, use “exhausted”;

Instead of “scared”, use “terrified”;

Instead of “happy”, use “thrilled”.

Perhaps worse than a weak adjective is one that informs your readers of what something is not instead of what it is:

Instead of “It’s not that good”, use “it’s terrible”;

Instead of “She’s not miserable”, use “she’s happy”;

Instead of “He’s not very intelligent”, use “he’s ignorant”.

Rule Four – Don’t Use Verbose Colloquialisms

In other words, don’t use flabby phrases. Readers of today have little time and even less patience for flabby writing. If you want your readers to stay with you, be concise and to the point. This works for all writing types, including fiction, blogs, nonfiction, and so on:

Instead of “But, the fact of the matter is”, use “But”; Just one word, no colloquialisms.

Instead of “Editing is absolutely vital”, use “Editing is vital”; “absolutely” is a redundant word.

Instead of “You are going to have to edit your book”, use “You will have to edit your book” or “you must edit your book”; “going to” and “going to have to” are flabby and are not required.

Instead of “Due to the fact that editing can take time, some avoid doing it”, use “Because editing takes time, some avoid it”.

Instead of “Every single person should love to edit”, use “Every person should love to edit”; the word “single” is redundant – it implies that only single people should love editing!

Rule Five – Don’t Use Nominalization

Nominalization happens when a weak noun equivalent is used rather than a strong adjective or verb. Like the grammar expletives, nominals lead to more unnecessary words. In the examples below, count how many words are in each before and after example; you will see how nominals weaken sentences:

Before – “Give your blog a proofread”

After – “Proofread your blog”

Before – “Alcohol is what causes hangovers”

After – “Alcohol causes hangovers”

Before – “The approach of the plane was met by the emergency crews scrambling”

After – “The plane approached and the emergency crews scrambled” or “ The emergency crews scrambled to meet the plane”

Before – “She showed signs of carelessness”

After – “She was careless”

Before – “He displays a high level of intensity”

After – “He is intensive”

You can see the difference between the before and after sentences clearly – not just in word count but in the sentence’s impact too.