120 Ways to Get a Character Moving

Some writers write quickly, their keyboards rattling like machine guns. Others take a more plodding, deliberate approach, weighing each word before allowing it to ooze from their brains and crawl onto the page. Regardless, the objective for both types of writers remains the same—to move words beyond their minds and muses.

When I write, not only must my words move, but my characters have to get going, too. That’s what led me to create the “120 Ways to Get a Character Moving” list, which I keep close at hand when I’m searching for a just-right verb that will do more than simply take a character from one place to another.

Of course, as both a writer and a teacher, I have to keep in mind that a well-chosen verb can pull double-duty. It can move a character around while simultaneously showing other facets of the character’s personality or mood. So the sad character trudges while the happy character skips. The graceful character glides while the cocky one swaggers.

If you’re a writer in need of a little inspiration to get a character on the move, feel free to tap into the list below. Or if you’re a teacher, use the list to challenge your students to explore descriptive verb choices.

There’s only ONE rule:

No running or walking allowed.

1. Ambled
2. Approached
3. Barged
4. Barreled
5. Blazed
6. Bolted
7. Bounced
8. Bounded
9. Breezed
10. Burst
11. Bustled
12. Cantered
13. Charged
14. Chugged
15. Climbed
16. Coasted
17. Crawled
18. Crept
19. Cruised
20. Danced
21. Darted
22. Dashed
23. Dove
24. Dragged
25. Drifted
26. Eased
27. Escaped
28. Fell
29. Flopped
30. Fled
31. Flew
32. Flitted
33. Floated
34. Galloped
35. Glided
36. Hobbled
37. Hopped
38. Hurdled
39. Hurried
40. Hustled
41. Inched
42. Jogged
43. Jumped
44. Knifed
45. Launched
46. Leapt
47. Limped
48. Loped
49. Lumbered
50. Lunged
51. Lurched
52. Marched
53. Meandered
54. Moseyed
55. Muscled
56. Nosed
57. Paced
58. Paraded
59. Pirouetted
60. Plodded
61. Pranced
62. Pushed
63. Raced
64. Rambled
65. Reeled
66. Retreated
67. Roamed
68. Rocketed
69. Rode
70. Rolled
71. Rumbled
72. Rushed
73. Sailed
74. Scampered
75. Scurried
76. Scuttled
77. Shifted
78. Shimmied
79. Shot
80. Shuffled
81. Sidled
82. Skidded
83. Skipped
84. Skittered
85. Slid
86. Slipped
87. Slithered
88. Sped
89. Sprang
90. Sprinted
91. Staggered
92. Stalked
93. Stepped
94. Stomped
95. Straggled
96. Strayed
97. Strode
98. Strutted
99. Stumbled
100. Swaggered
101. Swayed
102. Swept
103. Tiptoed
104. Tottered
105. Tramped
106. Trampled
107. Trekked
108. Tripped
109. Trotted
110. Trudged
111. Tumbled
112. Vaulted
113. Veered
114. Waddled
115. Waltzed
116. Wandered
117. Wobbled
118. Wriggled
119. Zipped
120. Zoomed

Have another character-moving verb to add to the list? Wander, waltz, or wobble down to the comments . . . and share it!

Along with his MUF posts, T. P. Jagger can be found at www.tpjagger.com, where he provides brief how-to writing-tip videos as The 3-Minute Writing Teacher plus original, free readers’ theater scripts for middle-grade teachers. He also has even more readers’ theater scripts available at Readers’ Theater Fast and Funny Fluency. For T. P.’s 10-lesson, video-based creative writing course, check him out on Curious.com.

T. P. Jagger

Along with his MUF posts, T. P. Jagger can be found at www.tpjagger.com, where he provides brief how-to writing-tip videos as The 3-Minute Writing Teacher plus original, free readers’ theater scripts for middle-grade classrooms. For T. P.’s 10-lesson, video-based creative writing course, check him out on Curious.com.