Adverbs

Adverbs?

(I am now going to write my word count for my novel at the top of each blog post to make me feel bad if I don't work on it.

So...)

13728. (I'm hopefully going to add about 20,000 words to that by the end of April.)

What do you know about adverbs in writing? If you research writing as much as I do, I bet all you know is, they're the enemy.

Are they?

I definitely get what they're saying. If you say "He sat heavily in the chair," it doesn't make as much of an impact as, "He slumped into the chair with a thud against the wood."

BUT

They do have their place. That's why they exist. I say, adverbs deserve some respect. What people mean when they say adverbs are the enemy is really just another round of show-don't-tell. Which,is definitely true unless in very strange circumstances that I doubt you will find yourself in.

In class, we recently read "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck. I feel my constant being taught that adverbs are evil tainted my view of the book. Because there was an adverb in almost every paragraph. And I thought it worked alright. Do I think there could have been more showing? Yeah. But it wasn't bad. And anyway, it's a classic. It's held above many books written by authors who used no adverbs whatsoever.

Adverbs (or lack thereof) don't make the author. So if you feel your story is stumbling without them, put them in. It's okay! Just don't OVER use them.

Now, while I'm here, is there a way for you guys to comment? If so, can someone say hi or something? I'm not sure if and how it works...