Indubitably.
Excuse me? Who gave you permission to exist?
Cordelia ,'Beneath You'
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."
Polter-Cow - Feb 28, 2012 12:45:35 pm PST #18012 of 28267
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!
DavidS - Feb 28, 2012 3:47:34 pm PST #18013 of 28267
"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 28267
"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 28267
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 28267
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 28267
"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 28267
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.
Steph L. - Feb 28, 2012 3:59:11 pm PST #18019 of 28267
I look more rad than Lutheranism
Unsurprisingly, I don't agree with this. I feel it's more of a guideline than a rule.
Nor do I. Stark spare minimalistic prose construction has its place, of course, but it's generally not on my shelf.
Amy - Feb 28, 2012 4:01:11 pm PST #18020 of 28267
Because books.
Strangely, I don't feel Strunk and White are the final arbitrators of literary style, especially not for fiction.
That's putting it mildly. I agree, of course.
It's helpful to keep in mind that a lot of writing advice is designed with the lowest common denominator in mind. Like, "CAUTION: Coffee will be very hot." If you have a decent command of the language, and a unique and confident voice, you can break most rules and make it work.
But that's not true for a hell of a lot of writers out there, who could definitely benefit from a few less adverbs (and adjectives, and instances of passive construction, and tense shifts ...).
Kat - Feb 28, 2012 4:21:36 pm PST #18021 of 28267
"I keep to a strict diet of ill-advised enthusiasm and heartfelt regret." Leigh Bardugo
But that's not true for a hell of a lot of writers out there, who could definitely benefit from a few less adverbs (and adjectives, and instances of passive construction, and tense shifts ...).
t cough J.K. Rowling