I bet you thought this post was going to be about Hamlet, or my existential malaise, but it‘s not.

It‘s a tiny little writing lesson about the use of the verb to be and its many variations–is, are, am, was, were, be, being, been.

So, I’ve just spent the last five hours rooting around in a client manuscript. Because we’ve agreed that the story is better told in past tense, I’ve focused on all of the verbs.  That’s when I spotted the common problem: overuse of the verb to be.

I was walking along.

She was sitting in the car.

She was 5′ 8″.

We’d been to fifteen stores.

On the surface, it doesn’t look like any big deal, but the overuse of the to be verb usually indicates bigger problems.

I catch this stuff in my own writing all the time, so don’t beat yourself up.

During revision, focus on not just rearranging your sentences, switching up the structure, but also using stronger, more accurate verbs. Don’t get all worked up, play with one single page. Take it on like you would a puzzle, or any other type of challenge.

Just for fun, I thought I’d share with you a few resources I found that explain this issue and the various solutions. Because, really, why invent the wheel?

Check out this article.

Then watch this.