Three Serendipitous
Verbs

This writing prompt generator was one of the first twenty-one interactive word games presented at the original WritingFix in-service sponsored by the Northern Nevada Writing Project.

Student Writer Instructions:

Action verbs make for exciting writing, but action verbs should be used in balance with non-action verbs.  If writing has nothing but action verbs, it becomes a little too busy.  If writing has nothing but non-action verbs, then it is usually flat.

Press the buttons below until you have three different types of verbs that you can cleverly fit into one paragraph; you may certainly use other verbs to write your paragraph, but the three verbs you are given when clicking the buttons below must inspire the paragraph.

As you write your paragraph, try to find a good balance between your use of good action verbs (transitive and intransitive) and your use of non-action verbs (linking).  A good writer stays conscious of this balance as he/she writes.

When you are done with your verb paragraph, you might turn it into an entire story by using it as the first paragraph, the last paragraph, or the middle paragraph in a bigger story.

Teacher Resources to use with this prompt:

• Rough draft sheet with word choice checklist embedded on second page.

• Sheet of 6 Word Choice Revision Post-Its for students to use to respond to each other's rough draft writing. (Click here to visit WritingFix's Post-It page)