If we employ the verb ‘to be’ continuously, it is a sign of weak writing or sometimes lazy writing. So, to make your writing strong, we urge you to follow this simple guideline: prefer verbals and strong verbs; avoid weak verbs. And even when using ‘to be’ as a copula (nexus), you must find a way to buttress it with verbals.

Verbals come in different forms and they are all powerful not because they include a verb form, but because often they inject motion, dynamism, and kinetic force into the narration. So strong are these verbals that master writers use them not only to open sentences, but also to open paragraphs—even books.

Infinitives as Openers

There are two forms to the Infinitive:
‘To’ Infinitive: The Spaniards are expected to win.
Bare Infinitives (the particle ‘to’ is excluded): The Argentinians could win.

Bare Infinitives usually follow modals such as could and would.

The infinitive form of the verb has no time span—past, present, or future—and it is never conjugated.

Essay writing tips:
Only “To Infinitives” may be used as sentence openers. Follow these examples:
To love with one’s soul and leave the rest to fate, was the simple rule she heeded (Nabokov 40).

To wind up the last scene of the tragedy, the author killed the villain.

To prove that he was still a sound and free spirit, he abandoned her once again.

To paraphrase Hamlet, “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life, his crown wants to wear”.

To prepare her skirt for pressing she sprinkled it with water.

To throw him a rope was compassionate, but to throw him a short and rotten rope was cruel.

To say I am afraid of impenetrable darkness is a lie; to say that I am afraid of own shadow is true.

In the above examples, the infinitives open the sentences, but that is not to say that they should only be employed at the beginning. You’ll find that experienced writers use infinitives at the beginning (To woo her was his dream); in the middle (Having lost the first round, to regain his capital he borrowed more money); and in the final position. Infinitives used in the final position of the sentence often function as adjectives, and they can come handy. For example: ‘Mary Lois’ hand was the hand to win.’ The infinitive ‘to win’ is qualifying the noun ‘hand.’

When English teachers, editors, and agents tell writers not to use adverbs and adjectives because they are superfluous and the sign of lazy writing, they mean the use of proper adverbs and adjectives—not the verbals. The next time you read a classic or any prose by an accomplished writer, pay attention to the use of the infinitive.

Story writing tips and how to write a novel:
As you learn the techniques discussed above, you’ll realize that infinitives are —in my own estimation— almost essential in fiction. Pick up a novel by a master writer (Tolstoy, Flaubert, or Scott Fitzgerald, or Beckett) and you’ll see how adroitly they use this grammatical construct.

Of course the employment of just this construct (infinitive) alone doesn’t account for fine writing, but when all the fiction tools are deployed (to include the infinitives), then you’ll have a fast-paced, dynamic piece of well written prose.

Young and novice writers (e.g., Stephenie Meyer) ignore the infinitive and its uses. But today it seems that success blinds writers as they become enamored of their own words and opt to not to learn additional techniques. For a discussion of the many ways in which the infinitive may be used in prose (writing autobiography, essays, or fiction), refer to Mary Duffy’s textbook Toolbox for Writers.

Related articles by Zemanta

• The Latin Gerund: An English Comparison (brighthub.com)
• Lesson Plan: Write with Strong Verbs (brighthub.com)