When are Adverbs Wrong? (See what I did there?)

One of the things writers often get told is to avoid adverbs. But, as with most writing-related advice, it’s advice that should be followed in moderation.

What is an adverb?

An adverb is a word that describes a verb — how a thing is being done. But, it can also modify an adjective (describes a noun), another adverb, or the entire sentence.

Types of adverbs

There are tons of types of adverbs, but here are the most common.

very

Probably the most common adverb, “very” can usually be replaced with a stronger verb (or adjective): very big = gargantuan, very hungry = starving, very dirty = filthy

-ly

The most common form of adverb ends with the letters -ly: beautifully, angrily, quietly, easily, etc. These are often instances of telling, instead of showing how the character is doing something. In those cases, we can replace the adverb with descriptions of the action or using colorful metaphors.

relative time

Often used in summaries of events, or short stories where you are telling more than showing: today, yesterday, often, then, rarely, early, soon, etc.

relative location

Used to describe where something is relative to something else: near, far, wherever, etc. Again, often used when telling, rather than showing.

When to use adverbs

That said, not every instance of adverbs needs to be scrubbed from your writing! They are perfectly natural in dialogue — depending on your characters.

Adverbs can be useful when showing, instead of telling would slow the pace of the scene.

They can be useful when you need to switch around in time or place, and the details of the travel or passage of time are inconsequential for the story.

If rewording your sentence to remove it makes the sentence needlessly convoluted, leave it in! If you read your paragraph aloud and the sentences don’t feel connected or conjoined, an adverb might be the answer.

Recently, I was editing my query letter with my friend Patrick Hopkins, and we were trying to avoid adverbs. But, the paragraph didn’t read right to me, there was no flow.

“Debris destroyed their sails. They are rescued. Her parents indentured themselves…“

It felt like a list of sequential events. So, we made a small tweak:

“Debris destroyed their sails. After they were rescued, her parents indentured themselves…“

Why this works: The details of the rescue are unimportant in the context of the query letter, so using the adverb downgrades the emphasis and leaves you paying attention to what happens next. But, leaving the rescue out would have destroyed the continuity.

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For me, when it comes to removing adverbs from my writing, I aim for reduction, not eradication. If I can cut 25-50% of my adverbs, I consider that a win.

NOTE: Not all of these words are always used as adverbs, make sure you pay attention to what it’s modifying/acting on.