Post History
"I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs," said Stephen King. He went on to explain that they should be used sparingly, not as a crutch to avoid writing a more descriptive sentence. Somet...
#3: Attribution notice added
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/25286 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision
"I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs," said Stephen King. He went on to explain that they should be used sparingly, not as a crutch to avoid writing a more descriptive sentence. Sometimes, I find a much more colorful way to express myself when editing out an -ly word. Other times, I find myself avoiding them by transforming sentences in a straightforward manner, e.g.: "The two silently admired Jupiter" =\> "The two admired Jupiter in silence." ", she said wryly" =\> ", she said with a wry grin." Does this exercise improve my writing, or is it just as lazy as the original -ly adverb? Any advice for when that rich description fails to materialize in my mind?