Why to avoid “ing” words in fiction

An opportunity to improve our writing by avoiding the use of ‘ing’ words in fiction. There are a number of reasons why the use of ‘ing’ words can interrupt the flow and meaning of your text.. here is a snippet from D.Wallace Peach and I suggest that you head over to read the rest of the post.

A few weeks ago, I had a blog-conversation with Jacqui Murray of Worddreams about editing out gerunds (those “ing” words). I’ve heard many times that these words should be avoided when writing fiction but never understood why. While some writing no-nos stab me in the eye every time I read them (such as filter words), gerunds never really bothered me.

So, a little research later, here’s the scoop:

Gerunds do three things:

They express ongoing action when combined with auxiliary (helping) verbs:
She was washing her hands.
The snow will be piling up all night.

They act as nouns:
Vacuuming kept the dog hair to a minimum.
Walking helps me stay healthy.

They act as adjectives:
The falling apple bonked her on the head.
A failing grade won’t get me into college.

 

Head over and tighten up your writing where necessary…

 

via Why to avoid “ing” words in fiction