ATTACK OF THE ZOMBIE NOUNS
Ever feel like your writing is fusty and lifeless? Maybe you’re under attack. Zombie Nouns (ironically known as nominalisations) are passive, long, lifeless words that stick out like hands in a graveyard and drag people down into darkness.
Often spotted in academic writing and legalese, these ownerships, commitments and justifications bring hollow-eyed horror to fresh-faced verbs like commit, justify and own.
Spot the Zombie
Zombie Nouns are the fearfully formal version of the thing you meant to say. Lawyers and academics use them to snuff out ‘simple’ and lurch into ‘simplicity.’
Luckily, they’re easy to spot. Look for a perfectly innocent word smothered in suffix. We’re talking -ity, -ism, -ment, -ness, -age, -ance, -ence, -ship… you get the idea. And you feel the horror when you read them.
Kill the Zombie
Just as luckily, Zombie Nouns are easy to kill. Just cut their pretentious heads off. Don’t create a justification when you can justify. Don’t make a commitment if you’re ready to commit.
Zombie Nouns are lumbering, confusing and confused. So all you need to do is stay active. Give everything you write an ism-ectomy and the zombies won’t know where to play.
Bury the Zombie
Here’s a few undead examples that can sneak up on even the most prolific zombie slayer.
kill
Our recommendation is to avoid Zombie Nouns.
keep
We don’t recommend Zombie Nouns.
kill
Make a commitment to short sentences.
keep
Commit to short sentences.
kill
All writing should aim for simplicity.
keep
Keep your writing simple.
kill
Take ownership of your writing.
keep
Own your writing.
kill
Avoid an appearance from zombies.
keep
Don’t let zombie appear.
kill
Improve the effectiveness of your writing.
keep
Make your writing more effective.
Go to it, Zombie Slayer
Some say Zombie Nouns are sometimes okay. Like a high court trial – or a blood moon. But if you want to keep your reader’s brains intact, go suffocate that suffix, cut to the chase and kill those zombies dead.