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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/30917
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/30917
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

 **You're overthinking it**

Adverbs are, on the surface, not bad. Without them, certain sentences and phrases wouldn't sound right, and we couldn't convey what we wanted to. You're finding this out with that 30%.

However, there is a tendency to _overuse_ adverbs. Adverbs can be an easy way out of description. When this description would be better, the adverb becomes a bad thing. This does not, however, mean all adverbs are bad.

For example, a lot of writers use 'very' a little too often. Often, a writer could replace that 'very' with description. For example:

> He was very happy to see her.
> 
> REPLACED WITH:
> 
> He saw her face, the familiar color of her hair, the curious shape of her eyes. Her familiar perfume wafted towards him and he briefly closed his eyes, remembering its scent. A smile crept onto his face. She was home.

You can see how something like that is far better than simply saying 'very happy'. It's the old 'show, don't tell' rule at it's finest.

## How to handle it

Now while it is true that most adverbs can be replaced, that doesn't mean they all should be. What I would do is write like you normally do, and then, when it's time to edit, go back and check for adverbs.

Don't approach it with the mentality of 'all adverbs must go'. Approach it like you would any other line: 'Can this be written better?' If the answer is yes, try to figure out how. Is there perhaps a word or phrase which could be expounded upon, removed, or replaced? Great. Sometimes those words are adverbs. Sometimes they aren't.

In your specific case, with the -ly adverbs, the majority of those can take the place of description.

- They rarely spoke. Sure, you could eliminate 'rarely' and include a few other lines which together say the same thing. Maybe that would be better. Maybe it wouldn't. It all depends on context. 
- He answered immediately. You _could_ replace immediately, but I wouldn't. In this case, you're trying to convey an immediate response, and additional lines about how fast it was will just slow things down. 
- The birds chirped noisily. This one you could probably fix. But instead of just removing the adverb, focus on the _verb_. Replace it with a more descriptive verb which includes the noise level. If you were to say the birds squawked, for instance, the reader gets an instant picture of the sound. 

I hope this helps, and best of luck in your writing!

Original score: 3