An excessive use of adverbs is a sentence-level problem you might find in your writing.Adverbs are essentially a form of telling. As a writer, I have been told repeatedly to ‘show not tell’ and, as a devlopmental editor of fiction, I’ve often passed the same message on to my clients. The truth is that you can use adverbs in your story if it’s appropriate for you to tell instead of show in a particular scene.
“So, what’s all this fuss about telling instead of showing?” you say.
It’s important to remember that telling always creates distance between the reader and your story, and forces your readers to do more work because they have to figure out how something happened instead of simply being able to see it. Here’s an example:
Problem: She moved across the road quickly.
Was she running? Power-walking? Or maybe she was flying if she’s Supergirl!
To make it easier for your readers to see what your character is doing, use a specific verb that will give them a clear mental image of the action instead of using the adverb ‘quickly’.
Solution: She moved across the road quickly sprinted across the road.
Not all adverb usage is bad. But, when you find one in your writing ask yourself two questions:
- Can I use a specific verb that shows a vivid description of the action?
- If I’ve already used a specific verb, do I need to add an adverb?
Moral: The less telling your readers have to wade through and the more showing they can see, the more engaging your story will be.
