The Second Coming is remarkably adverb free.
Damn it! You know what? I'm sick of this crap. I'm sick of being the guy who eats insects and gets the funny syphilis. As of this moment, it's over. I'm finished being everybody's butt monkey!
Xander ,'Lessons'
Literary Buffistas 3: Don't Parse the Blurb, Dear.
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
Ginger - Feb 28, 2012 12:27:30 pm PST #18009 of 28769
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda
Matt the Bruins fan - Feb 28, 2012 12:28:17 pm PST #18010 of 28769
You have to remember that being a 5-time Olympic medalist means Hilary Knight has been playing hockey at an elite level at least 16 years. It's impossible for her to be a teenage girl less than 16 years old, thus the President's complete lack of interest.
A poetry teacher who didn't like descriptive language? I mean, I understand that overuse can make for some florid junk, but did he really think poetry should read like an inventory list?
Connie Neil - Feb 28, 2012 12:45:07 pm PST #18011 of 28769
brillig
"while I pondered, weak and weary, over many a curious volume of forgotten lore."
OK, poetry, bad example.
But you'll get my adverbs and adjectives when you pry them from my cold, dead fingers.
Polter-Cow - Feb 28, 2012 12:45:35 pm PST #18012 of 28769
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!
Indubitably.
DavidS - Feb 28, 2012 3:47:34 pm PST #18013 of 28769
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
Adverbs are generally considered to be a weak construction, a way to slather lots of frosting on a mediocre cake. Good writing prefers strong, active verb constructions. Adverbs should be used........sparingly.
DavidS - Feb 28, 2012 3:48:10 pm PST #18014 of 28769
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
(See a better construction would be to say something like, "Be stingy with adverbs." The active verb makes it more vivid.)
-t - Feb 28, 2012 3:52:37 pm PST #18015 of 28769
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration
"Be" is active?
Atropa - Feb 28, 2012 3:52:49 pm PST #18016 of 28769
The artist formerly associated with cupcakes.
Adverbs are generally considered to be a weak construction, a way to slather lots of frosting on a mediocre cake. Good writing prefers strong, active verb constructions. Adverbs should be used........sparingly.
Unsurprisingly, I don't agree with this. I feel it's more of a guideline than a rule.
DavidS - Feb 28, 2012 3:55:39 pm PST #18017 of 28769
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
"Be" is active?
Yeah not so much.
Unsurprisingly, I don't agree with this.
Tell it to Strunk and White, missy.
Atropa - Feb 28, 2012 3:56:59 pm PST #18018 of 28769
The artist formerly associated with cupcakes.
Tell it to Strunk and White, missy.
Strangely, I don't feel Strunk and White are the final arbitrators of literary style, especially not for fiction. I'll be over here with my Ray Bradbury collection, thanks.