Why Do Editors Hate Adverbs?
Adverbs are the middle child, the step-child, the weird aunt in love with her eighteen cats, and cannot function on a normal, sociological level. Editors, especially, it seems, do not get along well with adverbs. It’s the first thing they want to cut, in an attempt to streamline the interaction with the uncouth, to dismiss having to deal with clunky and often misused–or over-used–unwarranted verbal clutter.
While I’m a realist, and understand the streamlining, I still think that adverbs have a place in the written word, so today I’ve decided to crack the case, like a literary detective sneakily stalking and cautiously meandering while meticulously navigating the secret literary hatred of grotesquely bad adverb usage. See what I did there?
The editors’ reasons for putting adverbs on the chopping block are not altogether a bad thing. Many writers use an adverb to elevate a weak verb when a better verb could have been used in the first place. While I’m not an editor, I can see and understand that using an adverb to elevate a weak verb looks almost haphazard or careless on the part of the writer. In many cases, the adverb can be left out while also maintaining the integrity of the sentence or idea. But we writers love adverbs! Changing “he ran quickly” to “he sprinted” uses words economically and creates a stronger visual image. A stronger, more descriptive verb eliminates the use for many adverbs and adds depth and vocabulary to your writing.
Adverbs, however, are not the devil. They are not the forbidden fruit of the written word, and hopefully if you’re doing it right, they won’t end up killing anyone. Using adverbs in writing has become so tainted by the writing industry that writers have become extremely terrified to brazenly use them to artistically construct a horrifically interesting story…
Sometimes there is no stronger verb that conveys the same tone that the weak verb creates. There are times when adverbs can and should be used. I always feel that dealing in absolutes is a dangerous game. Simply put, telling someone to avoid adverbs is wrong advice and way too brief to inject into someone’s writing instructions. Maybe the rule should be to avoid adverbs unless a better verb can be used that doesn’t change the overall understanding of the idea you’re trying to convey in your sentence. Nope. Too long and clunky. See what I mean? Editors and teachers go for the brief instruction, but in doing so, they create an absolute, and then it terrifies writers and students out of adverbs completely.
If I am to offer my humble opinion, which I’m going to anyway since the fact that you’ve read this far means you’re too invested now to just stop reading before I state it…I have always been of the mind to write your story without rules, without a consideration for grammar or spelling, without constraint or fear of those absolutes inflicted upon us by the established experts. Write your story. Write. It. The story, despite all of the technical aspects that you must comply with, is the meat of your message. Don’t get lost in technicalities, it will hurt your story.
The editing process is where adverb cuts, if there should be adverb cuts, will happen. I have been on the wrong side of that fence, trying to find that perfect word, spending thirty minutes on one word in one sentence to get it just right. It is frustrating because in that time while I was working on the technical grammatical issue, I was losing the momentum of getting the story out. I feel that the story suffered for it.
One last thing. “He shouted loudly” is redundantly superfluous.
Written by
Bill C. Castengera
Author of Shift!
Purchase Shift! on Amazon!
