ORDINARY VERBSJessica S. Graustein, M.S.Jessica S. Graustein, M.S.1122008-03-31T16:30:00Z2008-03-31T16:42:00Z1164936Skills 4 Life72109811.0000ORDINARY VERBSbyLila FraizerSomeone gave me a paperback crime story by James Patterson.1 I was not familiar with this author. I’d not read far when a sentence popped out at me. Wow! What a way to use an ordinary verb -- screamed. His mind screamed. Later I realized he liked that word, a lot! The question was screaming inside his head. His brain was screaming...his entire body screaming from pain.Here’s another: He pistol butted the drug dealer. Not pistol whipped as most of us would say. The odor of oil and gasoline stuffed his nose. Shadows danced and fussed with one another. Sobbing his hopelessness. Petrified from the biceps down. The detective slumped toward the skating rink. These sentences add to the intensity of the scene.I probably missed a dozen other examples of common verbs used in uncommon ways as the story took over my senses. But every now and then a sentence stopped me. I had to reread it, to jot it down. I’m ready for another James Patterson read where ordinary verbs empower an extra-ordinary scene.1James Patterson, The Midnight Club, Warner Books, 1989