Why I Love Adverbs

Don't run away yet. Adverbs have a place.

Before I type the first word, I feel the nay-sayers headed my way. That’s okay. I’m a big girl and can handle them.

I love adverbs—in my first draft. (And by the way, I am also a fan of the “—” when writing dramatic passages or scenes. But, that’s for another day.)

Back to the adverbs. Anyone who read (or listened to) Stephen King’s memoir, On Writing, knows he is an adverb basher. SHOW. Don’t TELL. How many times have we heard that?

Let me set the stage for my use of adverbs. It begins with the fuzzy idea of a story or plotline in my head. You close your eyes and see the characters—they are fuzzy too—acting out a scene. They are almost ready to speak, to create a bit of dialogue you can commit to paper or to the screen, and a rush of creativity hits you like a time bomb.

I can’t type or write as fast as the mental snippet unfolds, but I do my best.

“Where were you?” he asked, accusingly.

“I was out with friends,” she said quietly.

That’s a TELL if ever there was one. Sometimes that’s all we get when we first try to crystallize our fuzzy thoughts. It’s a start, but it’s too general and too generic. In other words, it’s flat.

I leave them right there on the page (or screen), and I keep writing. Why?

First, when the story is flowing like a river current, I don’t dare slow down. I need to get my thoughts (and the story, such as it is) committed to paper, adverbs and all.

Here’s where those dang adverbs come in handy. They don’t slow down the flow when writing that first, first draft. You know it isn’t going to be perfect. It may not even make it to the final cut, but it is a starting point. The adverbs let you TELL the story.

When I have written all I can for one sitting, sometimes I read it straightaway. Sometimes I wait until later. On the first read, between cringes, I highlight all the adverbs, usually with a bright yellow marker.

When the mood hits I go back to those adverbs and flesh out my characters or my descriptions.

“Where were you?” His eyes bore into her, anger rising in his voice.“

“I was out with friends,” she said, her voice a whisper as she stepped back, away from him.

Perhaps my example is overwritten, but you get the idea. The second draft SHOWS. There is action. There is emotion. The last example lets the reader know “she” may be expecting more than words—the step away, the whisper.

Adverbs can be wonderful tools as placemarkers. Each one converts into an action that moves the story forward.

That’s my take on adverbs. Agree or disagree?