Avoiding the “Road to Hell” with Powerful Adjectives and Adverbs

By Sarah Chauncey

The road to hell is paved with adverbs. — Stephen King, On Writing

The road to purgatory is paved with adjectives. — Lianne, a former writing colleague

Readers don’t like being told what to think, feel or perceive. They want to have an experience, and our job is to use words that facilitate that experience. We all experience the world—including books and stories—through the filters of our own experience and conditioning, so it requires skill and practice to evoke th...