How to write a story - word choices

Finding the right word can be hard. Sometimes when I'm writing my first draft I'll skip this part because I can easily get hung up (I've been known to get lost in the dictionary) on finding the exact right word. I'll write in parentheses after the word - or perhaps the entire sentence - 'bw'  for better word which tells me that although the word I've used is close it isn't exactly what I want. 

Here's an example of good word choices:  

Mick climbed over the staircase railing, onto the structure of the tower itself and lowered himself beam by beam, down the outside.  The wooden framework shook in his hands, and the whole tower seemed to shimmy.  Equipment fell from the cupola. A crate plummeted past Mick, missing him by a yard or two.  It burst open on impact, throwing broken vacuum tubes everywhere.  Henry and her captor shied away from the shower of glass, and he lost his grip on her. She kicked him in the shin and ran, and as soon as she was clear, Mick let go and dropped like a stone.

This is from Voltage, Dianne Salerni's WIP. Did you notice the words she chose? Like fell, plummeted, burst, dropped, etc. I don't know about you but I could see, feel, and hear what was happening in that paragraph. That's three of my senses being engaged. That's how to choose the right words.