In a discussion on classic film comedy, a critic said that
when he watched Charlie Chaplin he thought to himself that he was watching a
comic genius at work, but when he watched Laurel and Hardy, he laughed.
Which is reminiscent of a story from a few thousand years ago,
that David Ogilvy referenced in a famous quote about advertising:
I
do not regard advertising as entertainment or an art form,
but as a medium of information. When I write an advertisement,
I don't want you to tell me that you find it creative. I want you to
find it so interesting that you buy the product. When Aeschines spoke,
they said, "How well he speaks." But when Demosthenes spoke,
they said, "Let us march against Philip."
Don’t let your writing distract your audience. Keep them focused on the offer, why they want/need it, and how to access it.
The word very as an intensifier makes your writing clunky.
It’s a weak word without enough information to give your reader anything new.
“‘Very’ is the most useless word in the English language and can
always come out. More than useless, it is treacherous because it invariably
weakens what it is intended to strengthen.”
Those are the words of Florence King (American columnist, essayist, novelist).
Mark Twain wasn't a fan either:
“Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very.’
Your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.”
To help you replace very + weak adjectives with strong
adjectives, check out LoseTheVery.com
It will help you come up with alternatives, such as
freezing instead of very cold
delicious instead of very tasty
spotless instead of very clean
Or, if you just want a quick reference, copy this list:
deafening instead of very noisy
brief instead of very short
frequentlyinstead of very often
ancientinstead of very old
archaicinstead of very old-fashioned
excruciating instead of very painful
ashen instead of very pale
destituteinstead of very poor
wealthyinstead of very rich
beautiful instead of very pretty
rapid instead of very quick
hushed instead of very quiet
sorrowfulinstead of very sad
petrifiedinstead of very scared
chilling instead of very scary
graveinstead of very serious
gleaminginstead of very shiny
brief instead of very short
timidinstead of very shy
basicinstead of very simple
Caveat: Make sure the adjective you use to replace "very _______" is one that your audience is comfortable with.
_____________
Clip: Robin Williams as John Keating in the Dead Poets Society
“So avoid using the word ‘very’ because it’s lazy. A man is
not very tired, he is exhausted. Don’t use very sad, use morose. Language was
invented for one reason, boys—to woo women—and, in that endeavor, laziness will
not do. It also won’t do in your essays.” – from the novelization
of the movie by N.H. Kleinbaum
