writercises | Entries tagged with adverbs

Original Posting 13 July 2009

Writers' Digest, October 2004, pages 26 to 33, has a collection of short "nuggets of wisdom" related to getting published. Maria Schneider is the author of the compilation. Take a deep breath, and here we go:

"Remember that verbs are power words. Adjectives are weaker words that can dress up your work but can also interfere with the smoothness of the writing. Make sure each adverb you use is essential. Ask yourself if you can eliminate the need for the adverb by choosing a different, stronger verb." Bob Mayer

Adverbs? That would be the "ly" words, such as "he wrote smoothly?" It seems to me that part of the trick here is noticing that we often add add adverbs instead of really describing things. If we've set the scene properly, described the characters well, and shown the reader what's going on in this scene -- we don't really need to say, "Joe stomped angrily across the room." The reader knows what Joe was feeling, so all we need to say is, "Joe stomped across the room." The impulse to add that adverb either comes from feeling that we can't quite trust the reader to figure it out or perhaps knowing that we haven't really done the description. Trust the reader. Do go back and doublecheck that you've done the foreshadowing and the description needed to make sure that the reader knows what's happening, then you can use simple verbs.

Nouns and verbs. The meat and potatoes in the writer's meal? Some spices, a little pepper, some garlic, but by and large, nouns and verbs. Although I have to admit, I do like a salad and maybe some dessert, too :-)

Original posting 5 April 2009

Tags for the dialogue

Writer's Digest, November 2005, pages 20 and 21, in the Fiction Essentials column by Nancy Kress, talks about Who Said That? Not so much what they said, as how do you tag the dialogue. So here's Nancy's thoughts:

Substitutes for "said" Lots of people try using synonyms or substitutes for said. Most of the time, it's a mistake. Said is almost invisible. However, occasionally you may want to use a substitute that identifies a tone of voice. Shouts, whispers, murmurs, and screams, for example, may need a different verb. Just don't overdo it -- most of your dialogue is just said.
The great adverb controversy. This is almost as controversial, with Tom Swifties as the culprit for those who recommend wiping out adverbs when using said. In many cases, the dialogue should carry the meaning. Which makes the adverb redundant. But sometimes they add something. Nancy offers the example: "I did try to kill you, yes," he said tenderly. That little "tenderly" at the end raises some questions that leaving it off would hide.
Avoiding tags completely. Sometimes you have character actions. "You don't have to add anything when the action identifies who said it." Or when you have two people going back and forth. Although if they talk too long, and don't have different vocal styles, toss in a tag to help keep the reader oriented. And of course, if there are more than two people or it is ambiguous who is talking, use said.
Pacing. Sometimes you want to slow down the dialogue and emphasize key points. Adding a tag, or even a interspersed chunk of action and description, can slow it down. You might not think he said or she said do very much, but they do slow it down just a bit.

Tags are tricky. It's easy to overdo, ornamenting the dialogue with unnecessary character twitches. At the same time, you need enough to keep the reader oriented and interested. You don't want floating heads chattering away.

As an exercise, you might take a look at a book or story that had some dialogue that you really liked. See how they handled the tags. Then try to write a scene yourself using mostly dialogue. Take a hard look at the way you use tags.

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Entries tagged with adverbs

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