Should You ‘Ax’ Your Adverbs? And Other Writing Conventions
Yes, I know, there’s been a lot of talk about this lately. Folks from both sides of the argument, for the rules and for breaking the rules, have been posting vigorously in defense of their positions. I will throw my thoughts in the ring. They are both right, and they are both wrong 
See, I can sit on the fence too! There are reasons though.
One of the reasons editors, publishers, etc. have been severe in adherence to writing conventions is that few aspiring writers have any clue about how and when to break those conventions and grammar rules. Conventions are common customs, but not actual grammar rules, which are less flexible.
Are all adverbs bad? Of course not. Sometimes they are the best way to describe an action, without lengthy verbal phrases, when there isn’t a good verb to use. Sometimes even when there is one that will work, it will come across coy or downright silly. Adverbs are a legitimate part of speech and should be used when needed. They should not be over used, or abused. He slowly opened the door. There is not a substitute for opened that can convey this, but you could reword to improve the sentence. He eased the door open. It’s a small change that puts the emphasis on the action. New writers tend to throw adverbs into every other sentence like throwing candy to the crowd in a parade. I suspect that the statement to “ax the adverbs’” was in self defense from the poor phrasing and sloppy writing that goes along with abuse of adverbs. I’ll be honest, when I see an excess of adverbs in the first paragraph, I put the book back. If the author has not learned their craft better than that, I will not waste my time.
Show, don’t tell is another important convention. This convention should seldom be broken. Following this keeps the reader involved with the story in a way that the author’s narrative simply cannot do. When you have a break in specific action to carry the story forward and yet need to inform the reader of some of the general happenings, let a character do the describing . For instance, if you have a story line involving a people preparing for a pending attack you aren’t going to show everything done in preparation, but you can use bits of character narrative interspersed with some specific events to convey the sense of preparation. This can cut needless pages and preserve the building tension in the story. For those of you who don’t know (it had to be explained to me too) showing is exactly what it sounds like. Giving the reader the story from inside one character’s thoughts and actions. Make sure it’s one at a time, if you have multiple points of view. Telling is author’s narration describing what is happening, like describing an event to your neighbor that you’ve only heard about. The character can describe things, but the author should keep his or her voice out of it as much as possible.
An important grammar rule that is often broken has to do with conjunctions. I will be honest, I have this problem myself. I have to pay attention to this rule, or I break it all the time. Sentences do not start with conjunctions. If you have started a sentence with and or but, fix it. Either go ahead and connect it with the previous sentence where it belongs, or make it a proper sentence on its own. There are a few times where this rule can be broken for emphasis, but in almost all cases the writing will be stronger if you reword instead. I know this for a fact. I had many to fix in my last book and the improvement after I reworked these sentences was amazing. One place it is okay to break this rule in moderation is in dialogue. People will sometimes add to what another person said in conversation, so it can be used that way. Yes, we have rude characters too. In most cases, follow the rule and reword your sentence. It will be better, I promise.
There are numerous other conventions and rules. I am not about to cover them all, but the same thought applies. Never break the rules because you are too lazy to figure out how to do it right. Only break them when it strengthens what you want to say.
My bottom line is that good grammar is essential to good writing. Learn good grammar first. You have to know the rules to figure out when the rules can be broken on purpose to give your writing added punch.
