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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.
by 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 agoFunny 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.