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How to ACTUALLY Use -ing Verbs in Your Writing! #writing #author #writingtips #books #authortube

8 Aug 2026 · 1 min

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1:26

In this concise instructional video, the speaker warns writers about the subtle but damaging effect of using -ing (present‑participle) verbs for split‑second physical reactions. Adding –ing stretches an action over a span of time, which weakens tension in fast beats such as reflexes, flinches, or gasps. The speaker demonstrates the difference by comparing “she flinched, gasping” (slow‑motion feel) with “she gasped and flinched” (two instant, hard hits). He then clarifies the nuance: -ing verbs are appropriate for slower emotional shifts or changes of heart that naturally unfold over time, but should be avoided in rapid physical reflexes. The video concludes with a practical tip—read your most intense scenes aloud to spot and replace lingering -ing verbs, ensuring fast beats land like a gunshot rather than a stumble.

Chapters

This has gotta be the nerdiest writing tip I've got, but it might be the one that actually sharpens your action scenes the absolute fastest. I want you to be careful with -ing verbs. Here's why. The second you add an -ing to a verb, you stretch that action out over a span of time. Running, gasping, falling. They all imply something happening across a stretch of time, not in an instant. Now think about a reflex, a flinch, a gasp, a jerk backwards. Those happen in a split second. There is no span of time. So when you write, she flinched, gasping, you've accidentally slowed a lightning-fast reaction down into slow motion, and the tension leaks right out of the writing. Now this fix is tiny. You could just write, she gasped and flinched. Two quick, hard hits Back to back, both of them instant. Do you feel the difference? One reads like a stumble. The other reads like a gunshot. Now here's the nuance so you don't overcorrect. This is about physical reflexes. A slower reaction, an emotional shift, a change of heart. Those actually do happen over time. So a longer verb fits just fine there. But in the split-second moments, the ones that should hit like a slap, watch your -ing verbs. They are quietly stretching the exact beats you want to land fast. Out too long. So I want you to go read your most intense scene out loud and listen for them.