The Power Of Description: Part Two (Adverbs)
>> Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Everything adjectives can do, adverbs do, only more so. Adjectives can only describe nouns, things. Adverbs describe other adjectives and verbs. Adjectives tell you about something. Adverbs tell you how it's done and to what extent.
And adverbs are frequently vilified even more than adjectives, ironically.
Naturally, I love adverbs, too, in case you missed it. I love the nuances and depth a single word can add to a sentence, how it can vary things, make it stronger, weaker, even twist the meaning. Few words will give you the bang for the buck that a single adverb can give. Few verbs or nouns can add as much meaning or flavor to a sentence like an adverb.
Shall I demonstrate? Oh, you know I'm going to whether you want me to or not.
Under the feeble light of the crescent moon, he waited for her.vs.
Under the feeble light of the crescent moon, he waited helplessly for her.vs.
Under the feeble light of the crescent moon, he patiently waited for her.vs.
Under the feeble light of the crescent moon, he always waited for her.vs.
Under the feeble light of the crescent moon, he waited for her, hungrily.vs.
Under the feeble light of the crescent moon, he waited for her, hopelessly.
You note, I hope, the differences. A victim at helplessly, abandoned at hopeless, a predator for hungrily. Just the right words can paint a picture of someone early or set the scene in but a sentence or two.
Adverbs are wonderful. They can denote certainty (surely, possibly, improbably), frequency (often, occasionally, never), states of mind (impatiently, adoringly, uncomfortably), methods (quickly, silently, clumsily), intensity (very, marginally, excessively), well, really, the list goes on.
So, if adverbs and adjectives are so useful, so wonderful, so key to effective writing, why are editors and how-to-write books so often eschewing their use?
Good question, which I'll tackle on a different post.
And why does the general public forget they exist?
If I hear another news person say that something was happening quick or another ad that says that something is going cheap, I'm going to switch to French.
Fastly.
I have a problem with the tips how-to books stress and I'm going to go through that on a later post. The problem with trying to curb an over-usage or misusage of something is people take it as absolute gospel.
"Reduce the number of adjectives and adverbs by using more descriptive nouns and verbs" - which is fine advice; better vocabulary is always a good thing - but instead people interpret it (and tell their friends) adjectives and adverbs are a sign of poor writing and can't be used.
Writing is not the place for black and white rules. Unless you're striving to cure insomnia.
Misuse of adverbs as you describe is very frustrating. People get into lazy habits leaving the -ly off of surely and really and quickly. And, once this sort of usage spreads, people forget they ever spoke another way.
Sometimes it's so ubiquitous that it's hard to have characters speak properly without making them sound completely artificial. I always have at least one character (and, yes, I tend to make him/her a bad-ass on principle) who speaks in complete sentences, with an excellent grammar including adverbs. Just to prove a point. But there's absolutely no excuse not to write the non-dialogue properly.