Generally speaking, verbs come in two varieties — Action and Linking (actually, they come in about a billion–but today we are going to keep things simple).Action verbs show movement, activity, or performance — in other words action.

Examples:
The tiny chihuahua zoomed through the house, knocking over all the houseplants.
Ernie yelled at the spider on his scrambled eggs.
The overjoyed hippopotamus danced until sunset.

Linking verbs connect the subject of a sentence to a noun or adjective that names or describes the subject.

All of the flowers in my mother’s garden are wilted.
Esme was ill.
My father is a champion ballroom dancer.

Action verbs put more zing and excitement into your story. It is easy to change a linking verb sentence into an action verb sentence. This is what authors call show don’t tell.

For example, instead of telling us that Esme was ill, you could show us by saying Esme coughed and sneezed. Instead of saying that the flowers are wilted, you could say All of the flowers in my mother’s garden withered away. Although describing your dad as a dancer would be accurate, your writing would be more lively if you worded it like this: My father wins many awards for ballroom dancing.

There is a time and place for all types of sentences, but remember to never use one particular kind all the time. When you are revising your stories and essays, be on the lookout for places where you can use action instead of linking verbs.