5 ms·

I'd even go so far as to say that the removal of all adverbs from any technical writing would be a net positive for my newest graduate students. I've heard thi

by 65 2y ago

I'd even go so far as to say that the removal of all adverbs from any technical writing would be a net positive for my newest graduate students. I've heard this before. Stephen King hates adverbs. However, it can be very difficult to remove all adverbs from your writing. "randomly" for example is an adverb, and if your sentence uses it, it can be difficult to rewrite the sentence without "randomly" that isn't long and complicated. Many adverbs are emphasis words that don't need to be in the sentence ("extremely" for example), but other adverbs are critical to the sentence.

saghm 2y ago
I only heard the recommendation to completely avoid adverbs for the first time the other day, although in the context of creative writing rather than technical. I think there's validity to trying to define a uniform style without fluff for technical writing, but I can't help but think that trying to studiously follow personal stylistic decisions of famous try to improve as a writer won't usually end up with something particularly original. Does anyone think that Stephen King got where he is today by just blindly following idiosyncrasies from writers who came before him rather than developing his own style?
- 65 2y ago
  Funny thing is, he doesn't even follow his own advice. Many of his books include lots and lots of adverbs (The Shining, for example). Besides, adverbs make writing more emotional. Would you rather read the sentence "I'm extremely thirsty" or "I'm thirsty" - the former has more punch and describes the state of thirst better. Try re-writing that sentence describing extreme thirst levels without adverbs, you start getting into an overly technical, hard to read writing style. "My thirst is extreme" (a sentence which doesn't describe the feeling of being thirsty) or "I am in a state of extreme levels of thirst" (a sentence that sounds too technical). The advice should be "don't use so many adverbs," not "don't use adverbs at all." Adverbs exist for a reason.

by 65 2y ago

saghm 2y ago

I only heard the recommendation to completely avoid adverbs for the first time the other day, although in the context of creative writing rather than technical. I think there's validity to trying to define a uniform style without fluff for technical writing, but I can't help but think that trying to studiously follow personal stylistic decisions of famous try to improve as a writer won't usually end up with something particularly original. Does anyone think that Stephen King got where he is today by just blindly following idiosyncrasies from writers who came before him rather than developing his own style?

65 2y ago
Funny thing is, he doesn't even follow his own advice. Many of his books include lots and lots of adverbs (The Shining, for example). Besides, adverbs make writing more emotional. Would you rather read the sentence "I'm extremely thirsty" or "I'm thirsty" - the former has more punch and describes the state of thirst better. Try re-writing that sentence describing extreme thirst levels without adverbs, you start getting into an overly technical, hard to read writing style. "My thirst is extreme" (a sentence which doesn't describe the feeling of being thirsty) or "I am in a state of extreme levels of thirst" (a sentence that sounds too technical). The advice should be "don't use so many adverbs," not "don't use adverbs at all." Adverbs exist for a reason.