Anita's Attic: Better Than Walk!

Last week I talked about my "strong words" list. It's so easy to use a mediocre word, but a stronger, more vivid word can speak so much louder. I mentioned "Walk" in my last post and some of the stronger word choices available. This brings up another issue for me.

I struggle with showing the characters' movement on the page. It drives me crazy. They're in this room, now they're in that, or they need to go from fighting a demon to crossing the room to confront the heroine for daring to get involved in the fight. I find I'm using "Walk" way too much, so I'm always looking for more ways to express my characters movements. Readers don't need to see every step the character takes, and there are ways to write the scene without that, but when you do need movements, they need to be well thought out.

If you want the movement to disappear on the page, kind of the way "said" does in dialog tags, then walk might be best word. But if you want to draw attention to the movement, show the emotion or motivation behind it; for instance he's storming across the room, or he's hobbling across the room, or strolling, then walk isn't the best word.

A couple of days after my blog, I got my daily writing tips from DAILY WRITING TIPS, a fun site that, as the name says, emails writing tips daily. This time they talked about various words for walk and their meanings, so I thought I would share. Several of these need to go on my "strong word" list.

60 Synonyms for “Walk” (posted from DAILY WRITING TIPS)

When you walk the walk, talk the talk: Replace the flat-footed verb walk with a more sprightly synonym from this list:

1. Amble: walk easily and/or aimlessly
2. Bounce: walk energetically
3. Clump: walk heavily and/or clumsily
4. Falter: walk unsteadily
5. Foot it: depart or set off by walking
6. Footslog: walk through mud
7. Gimp: see limp
8. Hike: take a long walk, especially in a park or a wilderness area
9. Hobble: walk unsteadily or with difficulty; see also limp
10. Hoof it: see “foot it”
11. Leg it: see “foot it”
12. Limp: walk unsteadily because of injury, especially favoring one leg; see also falter
13. Lumber: walk slowly and heavily
14. Lurch: walk slowly but with sudden movements, or furtively
15. March: walk rhythmically alone or in a group according to a specified procedure
16. Mince: walk delicately
17. Mosey: see amble; also, used colloquially in the phrase “mosey along”
18. Nip: walk briskly or lightly; also used colloquially in the phrase “nip (on) over” to refer to a brief walk to a certain destination, as if on an errand
19. Pace: walk precisely to mark off a distance, or walk intently or nervously, especially back and forth
20. Parade: walk ostentatiously, as if to show off
21. Perambulate: see stroll; also, travel on foot, or walk to inspect or measure a boundary
22. Peregrinate: walk, especially to travel
23. Plod: walk slowly and heavily, as if reluctant or weary
24. Pound: see lumber
25. Power walk: walk briskly for fitness
26. Prance: walk joyfully, as if dancing or skipping
27. Promenade: see parade
28. Pussyfoot: walk stealthily or warily (also, be noncommittal)
29. Ramble: walk or travel aimlessly (also, talk or write aimlessly, or grow wildly)
30. Roam: see ramble
31. Sashay: see parade
32. Saunter: to walk about easily
33. Scuff: to walk without lifting one’s feet
34. Shamble: see scuff
35. Shuffle: see scuff (also, mix, move around, or rearrange)
36. Stagger: walk unsteadily (also, confuse or hesitate, or shake)
37. Stalk: walk stealthily, as in pursuit
38. Step: walk, or place one’s foot or feet in a new position
39. Stomp: walk heavily, as if in anger
40. Stride: walk purposefully, with long steps
41. Stroll: see saunter
42. Strut: see parade
43. Stumble: walk clumsily or unsteadily, or trip
44. Stump: see lumber
45. Swagger: walk with aggressive self-confidence
46. Tiptoe: walk carefully on the toes or on the balls of the foot, as if in stealth
47. Toddle: see saunter and stagger; especially referring to the unsteady walk of a very young child
48. Totter: see stagger (also, sway or become unstable)
49. Traipse: walk lightly and/or aimlessly
50. Tramp: see lumber and hike
51. Trample: walk so as to crush something underfoot
52. Traverse: walk across or over a distance
53. Tread: walk slowly and steadily
54. Trip: walk lightly; see also stumble
55. Tromp: see lumber
56. Troop: walk in unison, or collectively
57. Trot: see nip
58. Trudge: see plod
59. Waddle: walk clumsily or as if burdened, swinging the body
60. Wander: see ramble

Pretty good, huh! So if you're interesting in subscribing, here is the link for DAILY WRITING TIPS.