rip!

"Adverbs are shit. Remember that. If you use the right verbs, you don't need 'em." --my grandfather spit the best bit of writing advice I've ever received into an old Folger's tin.

I've been given at least a hundred coffee cans full of advice since then; of varying quality, of course, but only one other piece I've heard resonates with the same succinct insight:

"Stick to short, earthy words. They sound less clinical than the Latin ones."

I believe that verbs are the left and right ventricals of the English language, and it's their imperative to pump as much life into a sentence in as few syllables as possible.

My favorite word is "rip." It's impossible to say it aloud without triggering poignant flashbacks of a once-cherished piece of clothing.

That's a powerful verb.