Cat Rambo has been talking about the power of verbs over on her blog.  We all know it to be true: a good active verb can make or break a sentence.  While a well-chosen adjective or adverb can (used sparingly) bring a description to life, it’s the verbs that do the heavy lifting.  Verbs are the vitamins we feed our stories.  Without them, the prose ends up droopy and listless.

On my way to work this morning (yes, Saturday classes are a bummer), I was thinking about evocative verbs, about verbs that propel the imagination.

Soar.  That seems like a good one; the word itself makes you stand up a little straighter.

Rattle.  I like how it inspires me to think of ghosts and wind and shivers.

Launch.  Hopeful and explosive, energizing or even violent.

Reverberate.  Yeah, that one you feel in your bones.

and, of course, howl.  Because who doesn’t like to tilt their head back and do that from time to time?

What verbs do you love?