In this video, we’re talking about how you can determine if you have too many “to-be” verbs in your writing. I share the practical benchmark from my book, “Beat the Bots,” and explain why this simple metric can transform how you approach your drafts. You’ll discover why these verbs aren’t the enemy (despite what you might have heard) and learn the methodical approach I use to help writers strengthen their prose without getting trapped in rigid rules.
Hello, Jane Cleland here. The question is, “When talking about revision, you saying to avoid to be verbs. How many is too many?”
]In my book, Beat the Bots, I talk about a 3% mark. Try to keep your to be verbs fewer than 3%. Now I wanna make an important point whenever going to eliminate them all, nor should we. They are an important part of writing, but many writers over rely on them. I think of them as placeholders. ‘Cause you wanna get your ideas down on paper. That’s great.
It’s called the first draft. But then when you go back paragraph by paragraph, sentence by sentence, ask yourself that magical question, “What am I trying to express?” And it is not just a matter of finding a synonym, it is generally re-envisioning the entire sentence or paragraph as you really get this idea of what am I trying to express in my head?
The benchmark I used is 3%, and the way you calculate it as you take the number of to be verbs and divide it by the number of words in your sample, and that will let you know your percentage. Three out of every a hundred is okay. It’s not a hard and fast rule. Let it be a guide, not a straightjacket. But it is a way to begin to think about the assessment process, uh, with a methodical approach. I hope this helps. I’d love to hear your experience about it.
And if this tip had value, would you like it? Would you share it? Would you subscribe to the channel that opens up features that lets us make these videos even more valuable for you?
Thank you.
*Transcripts are software-generated. To report any transcription errors, please use my contact form!
