If there's already alot going on, say a fight scene, adverbs can convey exactly what you want without disrupting the fast pacing such scenes usually call for. I didnt see it mentioned so I thought I'd throw it out there.Īdverbs are also a powerful way of controlling word flow and pacing of a scene. Oh, another thing I just remembered as far as adverbs go. Idk why but I always default to "red" even when the tense doesn't call for it. It's just something I noticed and by no means needs correcting unless it becomes a common problem. ".can be read" is how I read it, but that could be cause you meant "reed" instead of "red." "especially one that can read as an innuendo" Sorry to double post, but I noticed a weird thing that may be of interest and decided to keep it private. In the next article, we will be looking at how to give your character a unique voice in dialogue. Choose all of your words carefully and with thought, mix things up, and try not to repeat the same words and phrases too often. They can be used to enhance your dialogue just like any other word. They can be used badly or lazily, but their presence in writing does not automatically make the writing bad. 'She smiled sadly', perhaps, or 'she smiled coldly.'Īdverbs do not deserve their reputation. By using adverbs, we can twist a smile into something else. Let's take the above example of a smile again, which is, by default, a happy or cheerful gesture. This leads in to a great use for adverbs - subverting expectations. For example, 'she smiled happily.' Smiling already has the connotation of being a happy gesture, so the adverb 'happily' adds nothing to the sentence. These are adverbs that do not change or enhance the meaning of the verb they are attached to. There are some other things to keep in mind when using adverbs in action tags, though.īe careful of redundant adverbs. For example, instead of 'walked' plus an adverb, consider 'paced', 'staggered', or 'stalked'. Moderation is key.įinding stronger verbs is perhaps more important with action tags, as taking a deliberate approach to your word choice can offer the reader a wealth of information if they pay attention. Shouting happens at the peak of emotion, whether that is anger or fear, whereas saying something loudly gives the impression that emotion is starting to rise.Īnother way to avoid using adverbs is to use a more descriptive dialogue tag.Įverything we already talked about in regards to adverbs still applies here. Someone saying something loudly, for example, gives me a much different mental image than someone shouting. I also find that sometimes the stronger verbs can carry a different connotation than what you want to get across. Stronger verbs can feel overused more quickly than words like 'said' and are more noticeable to the reader. If you go through and replace all the instances of 'softly' in your work, though, you end up with a bunch of characters murmuring and whispering. In this case, 'murmured' or 'whispered' could work. Most writing advice states that we should find a stronger verb that means the same thing. Let us take 'he said softly' as an example. I believe that adverbs are fine to use in moderation - even in dialogue tags, the place where they are most maligned. Like most writing advice, this black and white view is pretty extreme. In writing circles, they tend to have a bad reputation, so much so that much of the advice ends up being to not use them at all. Other words with this similar property include 'asked' or 'replied'.Īdverbs are words that describe verbs, much like adjectives are words that describe nouns. It is a word the reader's eyes will glide over, allowing the pertinent information - who is speaking - to sink in without taking them out of the story. However, 'said' is a great verb to use if you want your dialogue tag to be mostly invisible to the reader. Some writers find themselves deliberately avoiding the word 'said', seeing it as perhaps boring. The most simple and basic form of a dialogue tag is the ubiquitous 'he said' or 'she said'. In this article, we will be looking at dialogue tags, action tags, and whether or not it is okay to use adverbs. Their other purpose is more interesting they help the author convey information that is left unsaid, from tone of voice to hints the speaker is being dishonest. On the most basic level, they help the reader keep track of who is speaking, whether it was Jacob or Andrea or a disembodied voice from the void. Dialogue and action tags serve several different purposes.
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