Why PeeDee Doesn't Like Adverbs

[Elektra]

For example, I think we could use a thread where I could properly explain once and for all why I dislike adverbs."

I wanna hear it!

[ChaosTitan]

*chaostitan carefully stirs her hot cocoa whilst patiently awaiting PeeDee's reply*

[MattW]

They are poor and insulting to women.

[WildScribe]

Does it have anything to do with their skin color? Just wondering.

[Rolling Thunder]

Does this mean 'Twisted Sister' will have to get another name?

[janetbellinger]

Just remember nothing lasts forever and given long enough, everything comes around again - apply it to properly, finally and irrevocably to adverbs. lol

[scarletpeaches]

The adverb is not your friend.

The verb was made to do all the work.

That is all.

Death to adverbs!

[Doctor Shifty]

Does this mean 'Twisted Sister' will have to get another name?


PeeDee will also run a workshop on the difference between adjectives and adverbs. :)

[maestrowork]

I really eagerly await PeeDee's incredibly insightful opinions. Totally.

[TwentyFour]

PeeDee is here to look good, he's the eyecandy! Don't be bothering him with such questions...:) hehe...

[kristie911]

PeeDee is here to look good, he's the eyecandy!

Is that why he wears the stretchy pants?

**getting tired of waiting for Pete's answer**

[TwentyFour]

Is that why he wears the stretchy pants?

Of course, he's very comfortable in his position :)

[Rolling Thunder]

PeeDee will also run a workshop on the difference between adjectives and adverbs. :)

:Headbang:

[rugcat]

I really eagerly await PeeDee's incredibly insightful opinions. Totally. Me too. But why stop at adverb slaughter? Let's get down to the core.

Tarzan hungry. Tarzan eat.

[Mr. Funktastic]

This is like in the movies when everybody gathers in the schoolyard to wait for the huge fight to go down.

*stares and awaits the rumble*

[Soccer Mom]

Shhh. I sort of like adverbs (in moderation). Don't tell. I wear jewelry and sometimes my words do too.

[bsolah]

I was editing one my shorts for the gazillionth time today when I came across this nasty one:

Distressingly attractive!

[Soccer Mom]

Okay. I'll concede. Many adverbs should be taken out and humanely euthanized. I write humour and I use them for specific reasons. But I read a book (that came highly recommended) and had to give up after the first chapter because not one single character managed to say anything that wasn't modified by adverb. It drove me nuts.

But I don't mind a little adverbage. :D (why be a writer if you can't make up words?)

[mooncars]

That's what y'all get for knowing what adverbs are in the first place.

Typing two-fingeredly,
Rick

[Shadow_Ferret]

Someone explain to me why we have adverbs if we aren't supposed to use adverbs?

[JeanneTGC]

*cough*

My name is Jeanne, and I love adverbs. I am fond of adjectives, too. Frankly, all the parts of the sentence are oddly attractive to me. That's just the kind of girl I am.

*pssst...I don't think PeeDee's gonna come rumble here. I think he got a better offer from someone in stretchy pants. They could be sparkly pants, too. Maybe even oddly sparkly and strangely stretchy pants.*

[JeanneTGC]

Someone explain to me why we have adverbs if we aren't supposed to use adverbs?

Oh, and what Ferret said! Totally!

[kristie911]

Someone explain to me why we have adverbs if we aren't supposed to use adverbs?

I have to agree. I like adverbs in moderation...they have their place.

[farfromfearless]

I had an affair with adverbs once. It ended badly.

[maestrowork]

Someone explain to me why we have adverbs if we aren't supposed to use adverbs?

Adverbs are wonderful in all sort of writing -- technical papers, magazine articles, user manuals, news stories, even personal essays and message board posts. It works very well with "telling."

But we're here in Novel Writing. We want to absorb the readers in our stories. Abverbs are catch-all words to "tell": He walked angrily; she sang beautifully; they laughed hysterically. In novels, we want to show more, tell less. We want to show how angrily he walked, how beautifully she sang, and how hysterically they laughed. Adverbs most often become placeholders, vague and dull. They're one step further down the chain than adjectives. Granted, "her song was beautiful" is not better than "she sang beautifully" but adjectives are still a tad better if used well: "Her song came as light as the breeze and as soft as a rose petal" Abverbs most often just get stuck in the land of dull.

[PeeDee]

If nothing else, the thread title made me chuckle happily. :)

Why I don't like adverbs is what Maestro said, mostly. But here's the rest, and here's the main reason why I dislike them.

Because using adverbs, just like using dialogue attrition, is a sort of laziness of the mind. That isn't to say that adverbs are completely useless or entirely evil (Just like I'm sure there were some Nazis who were quite nice, socially) just that they should be mistrusted intensely.

If a writer can express emotion and feeling and tone through an adverb (he slammed the door angrily, she choked back tears bravely, "Nice butt lady," he said cheekily) then you have taken some of the workload off of the rest of the sentences in your story. The problem is, you're taking a workload off them that doesn't need to be taken off. This is what those sentences are designed for. To convey emotion, feeling, character. You should, with your prose and with your dialogue, already be bringing across all of the emotions that you could otherwise neatly summarize with an adverb.

But doesn't this clash with the golden rule of writing, Eschew Surplusage?

Yes. It does. And that's fine. Because while you should definitely eschew all the surplusage you can possibly manage, you should not do it at the expense of your story.

I would prefer that writers not use adverbs, because it relaxes not only the pressure to perform on the rest of your story, but it also relaxes the pressure on the writer. Why should you struggle to convey an emotion through dialogue when all you have to do is attach "sadly" to the end of the dialogue? Or, eschewing even more surplusage, make it into a word like "What is wrong with this world!" He sorrowed.

Especially for authors who are naturally inclined toward adverbs -- because I swear to god, somewhere in there, there's a little gene which says Adverbs: Neat idea! -- I would recommend avoiding them stridently.

The reason being, if you cannot summarize the word the way you want to, you will instead feel a bit frustrated at you're writing the dialogue, the prose. Suddenly, you cannot just say "sadly," you have to make sure that the reader understands, through the text, that he's sad. I guarantee this will improve your writing. You won't break the reader's heart with an adverb. You will with a quietly sad sentence. A small, scared piece of dialogue will do more than "he quavered shakily" ever will.

It's like martial arts training where they tie one hand behind your back and expect you to still defend yourself, even though all your training has been with two arms. The frustration of it goes straight to your brain and drives you to fight harder with your one arm. It's also like doing push-ups with one hand behind your back. You're limiting yourself, and you're stronger for it.

That is why I dislike adverbs.

Plus, they can get out of control. It's also like using exclamation points too frequently, and italics to indicate emotional distress. Eventually, you've reached the limit of how much emotion you can express through italics and exclamation points. And so you wind up with two or three exclamation points. Or, you do what J.K. Rowling is slowly having to do. YOUR LINES OF DIALOGUE HAVE TO BE IN ALL CAPS AND IN BOLD AND IN ITALICS WITH THREE EXCLAMATION MARKS TO GET THE POINT!!!

Things which are easy to get carried away with should be kept under careful watch. Adverbs should, however, be mostly regulated to the fields unless they can give a damned good reason why they should be allowed in from the cold.

[Birol]

:ROFL:

I'm extremely glad you responded so non-succinctly, PeeDee. I was beginning to arbitrarily lose hope that you ever would take the time to quickly type a response at all.


I'm visiting a friend this weekend. He read this over my shoulder. He's claiming Godwin's law for this bit:

(Just like I'm sure there were some Nazis who were quite nice, socially)

[Higgins]

Someone explain to me why we have adverbs if we aren't supposed to use adverbs?

Because long ago people would carefully tell each other things. Now they just show you somebody else who is experiencing something or other. Get it?

We don't need adverbs or adjectives any more because everybody already knows everything except the touching details about everything.

[Julie Worth]

Pee Dee is overreacting. He’s experienced a few bad adverbs and now he want to lump them with multiple exclamation marks. He suggests that adverbs are gateway words: use them and the next thing you know you’ll be lying in the gutter, a broken-down hack using an ancient Remington stuck on all caps.

That is just wrong.

I’ve employed adverbs in my work, and they weren’t the shiftless characters he suggests they are. Sure, I wouldn’t want just adverbs, but one or two here and there, for the sake of diversity, what’s wrong with that?

[PeeDee]

I’ve employed adverbs in my work, and they weren’t the shiftless characters he suggests they are. Sure, I wouldn’t want just adverbs, but one or two here and there, for the sake of diversity, what’s wrong with that?


Keep it to one or two, and they're fine and unique and interesting and useful.

Allow them to flood the page -- to become just adverbs -- and they do indeed become extraneous and shiftless.

Anyway, it's just what I think. We hardly have to agree.

[Ken Schneider]

Exceedingly, interestingly enough, and completely, positively, though certainly, something to avoid suceedingly and radpidly of placement in ones daily writing-ly.

[Birol]

:e2smack:

[anodyne]

<blinks> ly words aren't the only adverbs though. Anything that modifies the verb, right? So do you take issue with ly adverbs, or adverbs in general?

[Azure Skye]

Someone explain to me why we have adverbs if we aren't supposed to use adverbs?

I agree. Everything done in moderation.

[Julie Worth]

Anything that modifies the verb, right?

And other words too. Incidentally, don't forget those conjunctive adverbs. They're next.

[PeeDee]

<blinks> ly words aren't the only adverbs though. Anything that modifies the verb, right? So do you take issue with ly adverbs, or adverbs in general?

I take particular issue with the -ly words, because they're both the most commonly used and the most commonly over-used.

[maestrowork]

<blinks> ly words aren't the only adverbs though. Anything that modifies the verb, right? So do you take issue with ly adverbs, or adverbs in general?

Right, and everything that modifies the adjectives, and those are generally okay except when overused or redundant: very, much, more, somewhat, somehow, quite, rather, particularly, specially, spectacularly spectacular...

[Bufty]

Oh boy - weasel words unlimited. They can be a real pain - like locusts.

[BardSkye]

Right, and everything that modifies the adjectives, and those are generally okay except when overused or redundant: very, much, more, somewhat, somehow, quite, rather, particularly, specially, spectacularly spectacular...

I'm doomed...:Shrug: I confess I have the adverb gene. Worse, I like it.

[PeeDee]

I'm doomed...:Shrug: I confess I have the adverb gene. Worse, I like it.

Fear not. Electro-Shock therapy will cure this problem rapid*BZZZZZZT*ly.

[janetbellinger]

oh come on. Admit you really really really like them.

[scarletpeaches]

Right, and everything that modifies the adjectives, and those are generally okay except when overused or redundant: very, much, more, somewhat, somehow, quite, rather, particularly, specially, spectacularly spectacular...

Funny you should say that because I'm excising all the what I call 'qualifiers' from my MSS and there are a lot more than I care to admit in public.

I could probably cut a page or two off the book if I removed all the quite, almost, rather, well, so, nearly, a little, somewhat...

My name is Nichola and I'm a qualifier addict.

Is there a 12-step program for qualifier-abusers?

[PeeDee]

My name is Nichola and I'm a qualifier addict.

Is there a 12-step program for qualifier-abusers?

There's almost 12-step program, but it's not nearly ready. Quite close to completion. Somewhat. But please don't respond angrily. :D

[scarletpeaches]

*head explodes*

At least I recognise I had a problem.

But I'm almost cured!

[priceless1]

Adverbs most often become placeholders, vague and dull.
Ray, bravo!

[victoriastrauss]

Too much of anything is not good. But there's no reason to be fanatical about it. IMO, this is another of those dancing-on-the-head-of-a-pin things: it makes you think about one single aspect of your writing to the point that something quite natural--because adverbs, like all the other oft-maligned methods and techniques, such as mirror scenes, are a perfectly useful tool for conveying what you want to convey--may come to have completely disproportionate significance. Like noticing cars with one headlight.

If a writer is in command of her craft, you will not notice her use of adverbs apart from anything else. If do notice the adverbs, there's probably a lot else about the book that sucks. (Or else you've read too many threads like this one and are in one-headlight mode.)

- Victoria

[scarletpeaches]

I think if you need an adverb, your verb obviously wasn't strong enough to get the meaning across, and your vocabulary needs work.

[PeeDee]

I'm not fanatical about it. I just happen to think that overuse weakens a work, which I think msot people agree on. I suspect the only place we differ is defining "overuse."

Mostly, I'm not too worried about it. I was just asked why I don't like adverbs, so I explained it. That's all. I neither expect anyone to agree with me, nor do I encourage anyone to change. Do what you will.

[limitedtimeauthor]

Well, this is exactly the kind of thing you posted about, PeeDee, when you wondered aloud if the Internet is a good thing for new writers.

Who said the headlight thing? Ah, Victoria. Adverb misuse is a perfectly good thing to be aware of when you are editing. When you're writing the first draft though, you probably (WAS THAT AN ADVERB? IT HAD 'LY'! NO. IT ISN'T BUT "PERFECTLY" WAS, I THINK. I HAVE TO REWRITE THAT. THIS IS A PUBLIC FORUM!!!!! YOU WILL NEVER WORK IN THIS BUSINESS AGAIN... DON'T EVEN POST THIS STUPID POST. AAARGH. I JUST USED THE SAME WORD TWICE IN THE SAME SENTENCE! AAARGH! I JUST DID IT AGAIN! I JUST USED "JUST" TOO MUCH! THAT RHYMED. IS THAT COFFEE DONE YET? AAARGH! MY WRITING TIME IS UP! I HAVE TO ....

[Rolling Thunder]

My question on adverbs pertains to the reader, not the writer. In the end, does it matter? A professional will look at any given element of their field in a manner a neophite will not. At some point the writer also takes a chance on losing the feel for what the reader will accept. If the work becomes too cumbersome the possibility exists for the reader to drop the book and move on to something else. No matter what opinion one takes, this doesn't make the reader lazy or stupid, especially if they are reading for what a lot of them want; entertainment. I find myself doing this as I learn, critiquing the written words and losing the rhythm of the story. Once that begins I have to step back and work to disengage my mind enough to look at it from the perspective of the end user, the reader, to take it back up and try again.

This is where the definition 'crap writing' makes me wonder about what is more important. The work from the writer's view or the reader's.

Like it or not, the reader will choose what speaks best to them. If adverbs are what works for their understanding and a writer chooses to glean these from their work, the writer's future seems uncertain to me.

Just my opinion.

[JeanneTGC]

I'm not fanatical about it. I just happen to think that overuse weakens a work, which I think msot people agree on. I suspect the only place we differ is defining "overuse."

Mostly, I'm not too worried about it. I was just asked why I don't like adverbs, so I explained it. That's all. I neither expect anyone to agree with me, nor do I encourage anyone to change. Do what you will.

PeeDee is a stern, but fair, taskmaster.

And, I freely admit that I have that gene that says, "Adverbs? What a GREAT part of the sentence they truly are!" Because they not just ARE, but they TRULY are. :D

[limitedtimeauthor]

Okay, that was just an illustration. But I really (Aah! Did it again! AACK!...) do think you "neatly" summarized it for us. And Maestro really neatly summarized it, very very well. :)

ltd.

Yes, TRULY, Jeanne. I agree wholeheartedly.

[Julie Worth]

I take particular issue with the -ly words, because they're both the most commonly used and the most commonly over-used.

Here are words that can be adverbs, but don't end in ly:

afterwards
almost
always
even
far
fast
less
more
never
not
often
seldom
sometimes
soon
tomorrow
too
very
well
yesterday

And some conjunctive adverbs:

afterwards
also
however
indeed
likewise
moreover
nevertheless
nonetheless
otherwise
so
still
therefore

[janetbellinger]

I believe that the story will carry us through adjectives, adverbs or whatever. I don't use either myself often but I th ink we often become too caught up with the craft of writing, with the relulting rules at the expense of the art of writing. I mean really, it's okay to write about ritual torture and other graphic scenes of violence but not to use an adverb? Bye the way Pee Dee, my comments aren't directed at you personally but are just part of a general aversion to writing rules.

[Diviner]

Here are words that can be adverbs, but don't end in ly:

afterwards
almost
always
even
far
fast
less
more
never
not
often
seldom
sometimes
soon
tomorrow
too
very
well
yesterday

And some conjunctive adverbs:

afterwards
also
however
indeed
likewise
moreover
nevertheless
nonetheless
otherwise
so
still
therefore



I am wondering if use of these words also seems creative laziness? I'm sure overuse of them (as overuse of anything would be) but surely there is a place for them.

[scarletpeaches]

More in dialogue than exposition, I would have thought.

[Miss Java]

I believe that the story will carry us through adjectives, adverbs or whatever. I don't use either myself often but I th ink we often become too caught up with the craft of writing, with the relulting rules at the expense of the art of writing. I mean really, it's okay to write about ritual torture and other graphic scenes of violence but not to use an adverb? Bye the way Pee Dee, my comments aren't directed at you personally but are just part of a general aversion to writing rules.
I would have to agree. I believe people worry so much about exact structure, they forget what is most important: the story. There are a lot of books out there that don't follow the rules. A new author that I like, writes and uses other words than said. And uses adverbs as well. His characters nod and grin...you know, all of those things that you aren't supposed to do. But I really enjoy his books, because he knows how to craft a story.

The plot.
The sweep of the characters and their arch of growth.
Pacing.
Layers.
Story hooks.
Conflict.

These are all concepts that one needs to focus on, more than adding an "ly" now and then. Sometimes, I believe, it adds, and there are moments when it distracts. It is more of a feel about writing then policing it for writing rules. A lot of the time writng something else would be better, but sometimes, like anything, an adverb is just the right thing to use.

[MattW]

Adverbs deflowered my sister.

[J.S Greer]

Originally Posted by PeeDee
I'm not fanatical about it. I just happen to think that overuse weakens a work, which I think msot people agree on. I suspect the only place we differ is defining "overuse."


This is the best point of all.

Everything has its place, but everything also has its limitations. You cant really write without them, but overuse can take something good and make it less than good.

[UrsusMinor]

The only real problem with adverbs is that, in profusion, they tend to indicate lazy (or timid) writing. ("Especially," he groused wearily, "in dialogue tags.")

But in comedy they often work well in large numbers, and in most YA fiction there seems to be a mandated minimum. (Possibly because less-experienced readers are not expected to read between the lines? I think adverbs may function sort of like training wheels.)

BTW, the constant reference to adverbs as "-ly words" has confused a lot of folks out there. They think that adjectives like, say, 'ghostly', are adverbs; some of them probably think 'Billy' and 'Sally' are adverbs.

(On the other hand, I have always thought 'Peggy' would make a good adjective. I just can't find something for it to modify.)

[Miss Java]

(On the other hand, I have always thought 'Peggy' would make a good adjective. I just can't find something for it to modify.)

Captain Blackeye paced the deck of his ship, his peggy leg clomping in time with the beat of his heart.


A bit of improvisational writing for you....enjoy!

[SpookyWriter]

Interesting read. Now I'm going to verb myself with a predicate. Thanks

[J.S Greer]

Interesting read. Now I'm going to verb myself with a predicate. Thanks

LOL. Touche.(My best Ben Stiller voice)

[Bartholomew]

I'm going to play devil's advocate here, and defend the adverb.

First of all, by "Bad," we actually mean that adverbs are "Ineffective."

And by "Not Bad" I mean that they are "Generally Ineffective."

That is to say, most of the time, a sentence is stronger without an adverb, but this doesn't means that you should discount their use entirely.

Narrative voice often depends on certain colloquial inflections--many of which are adverbs--and of course dialogue will often include an adverb that doesn't draw attention to itself, but instead tells the reader who is speaking, and gives them a clear picture of what they sound like.

[smiley10000]

I am wondering if use of these words also seems creative laziness? I'm sure overuse of them (as overuse of anything would be) but surely there is a place for them.

With adverbs that modify an adjective you have to ask yourself what the word adds to the sentence. Read the sentence outloud without the word. Does it make a difference?

I just edited a short story. I lost 200 words by taking out crutch words like "just", "really" and "that". These words add nothing to the story and bog down the narrative.

Conjunctive adverbs are an entirely different kind of beast and depending on their use (at least I think) are not lazy writing.

Don't worry about any of this until the spit and pollish drafts. Just write it and see what surplsage you can eschew later.

:D10000

[janetbellinger]

It all depends. Sometimes an adverb can sound better than a convoluted verb. I say lets keep it as simple and graceful as possible. I hate to see a sentence getting tortured to death just to prevent using an adverb, especially if you're talking about something fairly common like smiling. We've all read every possible version of smiling - lips twisted and curled into a snarl, ends uplifted etc., but none of this is fresh anymore. Wouldn't it read better just to say "He smiled sardonically," rather than give a tortured account of how he twisted his lips around?

[PeeDee]

Wouldn't it read better just to say "He smiled sardonically," rather than give a tortured account of how he twisted his lips around?

Well, yes.

But, perhaps you show the torture scene, the hero strung up and screaming in pain. You provide a few (just a handful) of grisly details, and then follow it with "He smiled." Wouldn't we know that he smiled sadistically, sardonically, morbidly, hatefully, etc?

That's my point.

I just used an adverb in a story, ten minutes ago. I wrote He touched Jeanne's shoulder gently. I have no problem with that, because it implies gentleness. While it is perfectly clear from the exchange of dialogue that came before it that He probably didn't give her a whalloping back slap, I like that gently underscores the emotion.

This whole adverb thing may sound anal-retentive on my part, but I see a lot of it. Particularly now that I'm wading through slush-piles part time.

I had a short story I wound up rejecting because literally every single line of dialogue either had an adverb of the -ly variety "He said throatily, She said Angrily, He said comfortingly, She said restlessly" that I realized I wasn't reading the story, I was just going from adverb to adverb. Somewhere in there, the language became more visible than the story.

[scarletpeaches]

Instead of saying someone smiled sardonically, why not say they smirked or grimaced or any other of a number of words?

[PeeDee]

If it fits, if it works, I say go for it.

[Maryn]

(On the other hand, I have always thought 'Peggy' would make a good adjective. I just can't find something for it to modify.)
Peggy Sue, Peggy Sue
Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, Peggy Sue
Oh, my Peggy, my Peggy Sue
Oh, well, I love you gal
And I need you, Peggy Sue

Maryn, satisfied at last

[PeeDee]

If we turn "Peggy" into a verb, that takes on a whole new meaning.

[janetbellinger]

I guess I'm coming from a different place. "To say "he smiled" would be too cliched, so you'd have to either describe the way his lips moved or use an advervb. I am just being stubborn because I have read so many really bad metaphors etc. I have to add I rarely use adverbs myself and I think writers need to be intelligent with the use of language and not hit readers over the head with it or use any form of speech too often, adverbs included.

[PeeDee]

I guess I'm coming from a different place. "To say "he smiled" would be too cliched, so you'd have to either describe the way his lips moved or use an advervb. I am just being stubborn because I have read so many really bad metaphors etc. I have to add I rarely use adverbs myself and I think writers need to be intelligent with the use of language and not hit readers over the head with it or use any form of speech too often, adverbs included.

You may be coming from a different place, but we're at the same place. So that's all right.

[ColoradoGuy]

The road to Hell is paved with adverbs (Stephen King, from somewhere in On Writing.)

[PeeDee]

He's right, you know.

[Miss Java]

The road to Hell is paved with adverbs (Stephen King, from somewhere in On Writing.)
Don't you mean The road to Hell is paved aggressively with adverbs?
Or carefully with adverbs
Or fiendishly

[PeeDee]

Don't you mean The road to Hell is paved aggressively with adverbs?
Or carefully with adverbs
Or fiendishly


I wouldn't know. I'm not that far down the road yet. Good eyes.

:D

[janetbellinger]

Don't you mean The road to Hell is paved aggressively with adverbs?
Or carefully with adverbs
Or fiendishly


Actually, I like it being paved fiendishly, but maybe I've just got lousy taste.

[jbal]

"I absolutely positively hate adverbs," Jon said angrily.

[Shadow_Ferret]

What about conjunctive adverbs? Can we use them? Can we? Huh?

[BardSkye]

What about conjunctive adverbs? Can we use them? Can we? Huh?

Please? Please? I'm so hopelessly BZZZT! (ouch!) addicted to those lovely BZZZT! (ouch!) little purple prose flowers I just can't easily BZZZT! (ouch!) give them up. BZZZZT! BZZZT!
:scared:

[anodyne]

Aw!

[maestrowork]

Write what you want and however you want to write it. But during rewrite, hold a gun to every adverb and adjective and ask, "Do you have a reason to exist?" If not, execute at will.

[BardSkye]

But I'm Canadian... We're not allowed to have guns. :cry:

[PeeDee]

Then feed the adverbs to the Moose!

[JeanneTGC]

Moose? What moose? (I'm out of it for a little while and everyone gets delusions of grandeur.) Are you sure it was a moose and not a caribou?

And, was it a tall, stately moose, or a small, scraggly moose? Inquiring Adverb-lovin' minds want to know!

[Dave.C.Robinson]

But I'm Canadian... We're not allowed to have guns. :cry:

I'm Canadian too-- and I don't have a gun. However, I do have a spear (which works perfectly well for excising unnecessary adverbiage :) ).

[UrsusMinor]

And, was it a tall, stately moose, or a small, scraggly moose? Inquiring Adverb-lovin' minds want to know!

'Stately' and 'scraggly'...umm, aren't these adjectives in this usage, modifying the noun 'moose'? Adjective-lovin' minds want to know...

[Higgins]

'Stately' and 'scraggly'...umm, aren't these adjectives in this usage, modifying the noun 'moose'? Adjective-lovin' minds want to know...

Stately, portly Buck Mulligan...portly is one of those words where the "-ly"
means "as would be appropriate to" as in "lovely" (as would be appropriate to love) friendly, fatherly, brotherly, sisterly, motherly, miserly, and so on.

Fortunately language is far more complex than your average set of dos and don'ts...........

[Miss Java]

Then feed the adverbs to the Moose!

Feed them enthusiastically to the moose! (duh!) :tongue

[anodyne]

With inordinate quickness.

[BardSkye]

Hmm. I don't have a spear but I do have a very fine collection of throwing knives. I'm sure those would do.

"Feed it to the Moose." It's such an obvious solution once someone has pointed it out.

I will! I will become almost adverb-free! I will diligently, enthusiastically and ferociously ferret them out! BZZZT!

You know you almost get to like those shocks after a while.

[Shadow_Ferret]

I will! I will become almost adverb-free! I will diligently, enthusiastically and ferociously ferret them out! BZZZT!


Don't look at me! I like adverbs. They are part of the tools of writing. "Adverbs are like a good spice: They have to be used delicately." *

Borrowed from "The Complete Guide to Editing Your Fiction" by Michael Seidman.

[gp101]

Everyone here knows showing is better than telling. But if you were to show everything, you'd wind up with a 200,000+ word monstrosity. That's where the craft of writing turns into the art of writing, figuring out which passages are right for showing, and which are not as important (but important enough for a mention), and need to be glazed over with a quick telling, or which are more action-oriented and shouldn't be slowed by large chunks of showing. A quickie adverb here is forgivable, I think. We all like quickies. I think varying your pace is more important than eliminating every single adverb, though I think most adverbs should still be shot whenever possible.

I'd like to add that I'm a big fan of adjectives that aren't normally used with the particular noun they modify, especially if they're contradictory. "Delightful atrocities" for instance, if used in a proper context, would be more delightful than atrocious in reading. I find that when writers try this technique with adverbs, the result is usually dreadful... though I'm sure it's done well by some.

[C.bronco]

"Suddenly I am shaking mysteriously," she said adverbily, and quietly pondered the fate of her carefully wrought opus.

I think the use of adverbs should be spare. One here or there may pass without notice, but a bevy of them makes the prose verbose (or ad-verbose).