Why is it considered "bad writing" to use adverbs in fiction?

Question

Accoring to this website: http://www.users.qwest.net/~yarnspnr/writing/adverbs/adverbs.htm

Answer 1

Well, that website is one person's opinion. So, if you agree with that opinion than it is bad writing because '-ly' adverbs slow down prose.

I do think they are overused - frequently, even! :-P But I also think that omitting all "-ly" adverbs is idiotic. People use them in speech all the time, so if you're writing dialogue, it wouldn't always make sense to get rid of them all. It's a style thing, and if someone wants to use them (not OVERuse them), I say go ahead.

Also, I think they're particularly (!!!) helpful when writing a first draft - it helps to figure out how your character is speaking or thinking or whatever and then you can go back and find a better word later.

Answer 2

I think it is because it is a North American website and most American speakers are unable to deal with adverbs. In fact, I was speaking to a US national recently who claimed to have a degree in English and who didn't know what an adverb was! Across the pond adverbs are alive and well and the marjority of them end in -ly. We have poems with lines such as: "Slowly, silently, now the moon" and "Stealthily and perpetually settling and loosely lying" and I would defy anyone to say that Walter De La Mare and Robert Bridges were not masters of the written languages. I intend frequently, enthusiastically, indefatigably and unashamedly to continue to use adverbs.

Answer 3

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Answer 4

Some adverbs are necessary, but too many slow down the pace of a sentence:

"he is almost certainly going to lose badly" could be "he might get demolished"

and a lot of adverbs can be eliminated by choosing a more descriptive verb:

"he ran quickly" could be "he raced" or "he sprinted"

Answer 5

Ok so assuming that your a believer in heaven and hell, especially the biblical version, it's a place of torture, and not like kinky torture. More like having the image of the person you love most tell you how much the despise and hate you. I'm not saying that's what it would be but I'm sure that's what it would feel like. I would be your worst nightmare multiplied by 1 000 000 and you would endure it for eternity without the even the slightest hope of it ever ending. Fear and every emotion that comes with it would be the only thing you would know. But like I said, that's assuming you believe in that type of thing.

Answer 6

It's not so much that it's bad writing, as that a good writer can do better. There is so much that can be done with the English language, why would you limit yourself to using weak words, when you can describe what's happening much more accurately using stronger words?