Writing Workshops

The Art of the Verb: Transform Your Writing with Fire and Elegance with Sarah L. Kaufman

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Saturday, 11:00 am EDT - 12:30 pm EDT July 18, 2026

Online via Zoom

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The ‘With Book’ option includes a copy of Verb Your Enthusiasm at a 10% discount from our Bookstore.

Verbs are the secret soul of language. More than simply serving as the engine of our sentences, these little fireballs can paint a lively picture, add feeling and personality, and suggest an inner life. Character development, interiority, the aura of a mute natural landscape—anything you write about will gain intensity with fresh, thoughtful verbs. And, in this 90-minute craft workshop, author Sarah L. Kaufman will guide participants through the artistic and poetic powers of verbs, drawing from her new book, Verb Your Enthusiasm: How to Master the Art of the Verb and Transform Your Writing.

You’ll discover how precise, dynamic verbs bring stories to life, with examples from great literature and nonfiction works. You’ll analyze the brilliant and the bland, and learn how to employ writing techniques like the verb-driven metaphor, which can turn abstract concepts into fleshy, vigorous things we see and feel. You’ll also learn how strong verbs can deepen the spirit of a story’s setting, and how metaphorical actions of the natural world can foreshadow events and heighten your theme. We’ll discuss how to capture physical movement in words: how to reveal hidden emotion and suggest the ineffable through the inner and outer responses of the human body.

By the end of this class, you’ll possess tools to sharpen and enliven your work. You may also see the world around you differently.

Course Outline:

Descriptive Verbs: Meet the secret superpower of the English language. Learn how your verb choices can move readers’ minds (and bodies) before they’re aware of it.
Verbal Efficiency: One bright, right verb can replace a boring verb that’s fluffed up with an adverb—and also sharpen your focus.
The Power of Suggestion: We’ll explore how to use dynamic verbs to suggest thoughts and feelings, tantalizing the imagination.
Breathing Life Into Landscapes: How to intensify mood and atmosphere with settings that refuse to sit still.
The Body in Motion: The way a person takes up space and stirs the air reveals their personality, self-regard, and psychological habits. You’ll learn how to draw readers more deeply into your story by propelling your characters into action, taking us inside their bodies, and showing us raw spirit.

Teaching Style: This course will combine both instructor- and participant-driven approaches. I will introduce structured topics and facilitate class discussions and brief in-class writing exercises.

Level: All Levels

This course is held online via Zoom.

We offer a limited number of need-based scholarships for our Reading Groups and Writing Workshops, covering 50% of tuition. Applicants selected for scholarships will be notified one week prior to the first meeting. To apply for a scholarship, please fill out this form.

Pricing inclusive of sales tax if applicable.

Led by

Sarah L. Kaufman

Sarah L. Kaufman

Sarah L. Kaufman is a Pulitzer Prize-winning critic, an author, and a writing teacher. She has reported on the arts, culture, books, and society for the Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal and other publications. Her latest book, Verb Your Enthusiasm, is “an almost shockingly adroit guide to how to make every word count” (Benjamin Dreyer, author of the New York Times bestseller Dreyer’s English). A former McGraw Professor of Writing at Princeton University, Sarah has also taught at Harvard and led writing workshops nationwide. Her debut book, The Art of Grace: On Moving Well Through Life, was a 2015 Washington Post Notable Book and won the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award.

About this series

Writing Workshops

We strive to make our classes the most inviting and rewarding available, offering an intimate environment to study with award-winning, world-class writers. Each class is specially designed by the instructor, so whether you’re a fledgling writer or an MFA graduate polishing your novel, you’ll find a perfect fit here.

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