We all know how adverbs are supposedly an author’s archnemesis. They are to be avoided like, well, passive voice. We’re to go through our manuscripts, find each and every one of them, and kill them while crying out, “die, rebel scum!”
Hemingway has a lot to do with this, but so does Stephen King, with his famous quote: “I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs.” Or, as the full quote goes:
“I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs, and I will shout it from the rooftops. To put it another way, they’re like dandelions. If you have one in your lawn, it looks pretty and unique.
If you fail to root it out, however, you find five the next day… fifty the day after that… and then, my brothers and sisters, your lawn is totally, completely, and profligately covered with dandelions.
By then you see them for the weeds they really are, but by then it’s — GASP!! — too late.”
On Writing
To remind writers of Stephen King’s advice regarding adverbs, here is a short extract from his book, Stephen King On Writing – A Memoir of the Craft, which remains for many writers the ultimate guide to good writing.
“I insist that you use the adverb in dialogue attribution only in the rarest and most special of occasions … and not even then, if you can avoid it. Just to make sure we all know what we’re talking about, examine these three sentences:
“Put it down!” she shouted.
“Give it back,” he pleaded, “it’s mine.”
“Don’t be such a fool, Jekyll,” Utterson said.
In these sentences, shouted, pleaded, and said are verbs of dialogue attribution. Now look at these dubious revisions:
“Put it down!” she shouted menacingly.
“Give it back,” he pleaded abjectly, “it’s mine.”
“Don’t be such a fool, Jekyll,” Utterson said contemptuously.
The three latter sentences are all weaker than the three former ones, and most readers will see why immediately.
[…]
Some writers try to evade the no-adverb rule by shooting the attribution verb full of steroids. The result is familiar to any reader of pulp fiction or paperback originals:
“Put the gun down, Utterson!” Jekyll grated.
“Never stop kissing me!” Shayna gasped.
“You damned tease!” Bill jerked out.
The best form of dialogue attribution is said, as in he said, she said, Bill said, Monica said.
Has Anyone Told Readers Yet?
There’s only one problem with all this: readers don’t seem to mind adverbs at all. While we’re busy laughing at any author still using adverbs, enjoying the welcome feeling of smug superiority, readers are busy buying their books. Don’t believe me? Derek Haines shared his surprising findings on Just Publishing Advice. He took the time to check out the bestselling titles on Amazon and had a quick preview read of some of the top 100 books.
Call it market research.
While this habit is often about discovering what genres are popular or how a book hooks a reader in the first chapter, Derek noticed that adverbs are being used far more often. When he checked the top five ebooks on Kindle, three of the titles used adverbs with reporting verbs with almost every line of dialogue. All of them were romance.
For him, the three books were annoying and painful to read. But he couldn’t help but wonder if the return of the adverb is intentional and it’s once again considered a writing tool that helps speed up a story. At least for some, adverbs are now in, and the road to hell is not paved with them, or dandelions, anymore. Instead, the road to the bestseller list may well be literally, currently, and incessantly dotted with -ly adverbs.
Perhaps adverbs that would have been best removed forty years ago by great writers are now perhaps totally, completely, and immensely fashionable. Our language is always evolving. And readers today may have grown tired of books devoid of any adverbs.
Oh, and you know what? Stephen King’s own The Dead Zone is actually full of adverbs.
Like Derek, I, too, have Winston Churchill’s famous quote echoing in my mind. “Ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put.”
Yes, Winston, you were right. It was such a silly rule.
annabellefranklinauthor said:
I’ve always thought adverbs are like seasoning in food: used sparingly they enhance the story, but too many spoil it. The trick is knowing where they’re appropriate.
I don’t like rules that say NEVER do this or that. Never say never!
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Couldn’t agree more!
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Gabi Coatsworth said:
I use an adverb where the alternative is clumsy. I become irritated with the use of ‘with aggression/happiness/etc’ instead of aggressively/happily and so one. And there are more egregious examples. Anything that slows a reader down is to be avoided, in my view…
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Well said, Gabi!
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Hetty Eliot said:
I have this weird thing about letting things go to waste, so the idea of having all these words available and not being able to use them bothers me on a certain level. If you study both good and bad writing, appropriate usage becomes clearer.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Lol – I hadn’t thought of it as a “waste not” kind of thing but it makes perfect sense!
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kimwrtr said:
Reblogged this on Kim's Musings.
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Shivangi said:
Incidentally I am reading Stephen King’s book and this post gives me a brand new
perspective! Thank you
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
I’m now curious if he’s using adverbs in that book 🙂
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Shivangi said:
Haha… will let you know
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rosihollinbeck said:
I love “totally, completely, and immensely fashionable.” Hahahaha! Thanks for an interesting and fun post. I think Hetty made a good point.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
I agree! And thank you 🙂
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Chris The Story Reading Ape said:
Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog.
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wilfredbooks said:
I can see both sides here, but I try to avoid being prescriptive, even if expressing my opinion might sometimes look that way! I can appreciate that overuse of adverbs can be clumsy & tiresome, but I would also imagine plenty of people don’t have a problem with it. As I’ve mentioned before, I have the luxury of having to satisfy nobody but myself, so if people like my writing, great; if not: I think I’ll survive 😉 Cheers, Jon.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Agreed. One of the main reasons why I love self-publishing is the artistic freedom it gives you!
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Lucinda E Clarke said:
The secret of a good book is an excellent story with characters the readers care about – with or without adverbs!
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Wise words, Lucinda! Couldn’t agree more 🙂
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V.M.Sang said:
I have a book on my Kindle app called ‘Story Trumps Structure!. Basically (adverb) it says the most important thing is the story. If the story is good, then the rest is of lesser importance. I must re-read it. It’s been an age since I read it.
My bugbear at the moment is not adverbs, but prepositions. So many are used unnecessarily! And worst of all is Off of!
Reblogged on Dragons Rule OK, scheduled for next week as I have posts for this week.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Couldn’t agree more, Viv! We writers tend to agonize way too much over such things! Many thanks for sharing my posts 🙂
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V.M.Sang said:
No problem Nicholas. Some post should be shared widely.
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jowensauthor said:
Reblogged this on Jeanne Owens, author.
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joylennick said:
Too many rules can slow the natural flow of a story. Used in a subtle way and not overdone, adverbs can be excused, unless you’re a pedant! Some famous writers should heed the advice they sometimes offer – what they say is not always what they do!.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Couldn’t agree more, Joy! Well put.
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beetleypete said:
I honestly don’t care, whether as a reader, or a writer. We spend so many years at school/college constricted by grammar rules, then we are criticised for the same things in later life when we write something. People need to just relax, and if they are worried by such things, read something else instead.
Just my opinion of course. I am not an author, so what do I know? 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Agreed completely! Plus, you are a fine writer, a gifted story teller, and a voracious reader. I, for one, always heed your advice.
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OIKOS™- Art, Books & more said:
Reblogged this on OPENED HERE >> https:/BOOKS.ESLARN-NET.DE.
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OIKOS™- Art, Books & more said:
Gosh! Thank you, Nicholas! For this – and not only for this – i will need some weeks of pure silence. xx Michael
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Wow, didn’t expect you to take it this hard! 🙂
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petespringerauthor said:
Telling writers what they should be doing is like telling diners what they should eat and drink. If someone wants to drink a glass of red or white wine with something that we’re told doesn’t go with that dish, I vote for the freedom of choice. I understand that specific verbs usually work better than adverbs, but there are situations where selected adverbs seem like the appropriate choice.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
I love the comparison! You have my vote 🙂
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Jack Eason said:
Reblogged this on Have We Had Help? and commented:
Pim your ears back – Nicholas speaks!!!
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thegirlwhoreadsforyou said:
I completely get the sentiment; your examples were perfect, but then again, it really depends on the writer and what their style is.
I really do want to know though what books Derek looked at!
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Yeah, I, too, am curious now! Unfortunately, he didn’t say. Thanks for the comment and welcome to my blog 🙂
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Bill L. said:
Guilty as charged. Although sometimes, breaking a rule can render the attention it demands. The key is, to not over-breaking rules. 😆
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Just the right amount 🙂
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Meg said:
I’ve always thought of adverbs as useful to modify a verb in a unique way. Shouting is already kind of menacing, to say one shouted menacingly is redundant. Even then, I tend to use adverbs as a last resort just from years of getting smacked on the knuckles (figuratively) whenever I reached for them.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
I know what you mean about the smacking!
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