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Avoid adverbs and excessive adjectives in your writing from "summary" of On Writing by Stephen King
Adverbs, you will remember from your school days, are words that modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. They're the ones that usually end in -ly. Adverbs, like the passive voice, seem to have been created with the timid writer in mind. With adverbs, the writer usually tells us he or she is afraid he/she isn't expressing himself/herself clearly, that he or she is not getting the point or the picture across. Consider the sentence "He closed the door firmly." It's by no means a terrible sentence (at least it's got an active verb going for it), but ask yourself if firmly really has to be there. What about context? If the preceding sentence had been "He slammed the door," firmly is obviously unnecessary. You might not even need the word that follows closed. The door can be closed firmly. In other words, I can think of no adverb that does not qualify as a lazy writer's word. Adverbs, like adjectives, are like too many candy bars. The very best ones are the ones that need the fewest. Adverbs, as I hope you will remember, are words that modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. They're the least of the writer's worries. Adverbs are not the writer's friends. Adverbs are the tool of the lazy writer. Adverbs are the sign of a weak writer. Adverbs, adverbs, adverbs. Avoid them like the plague. The adverb is not your friend. It's like your doddering uncle who's always looking for money. The adverb is the enemy of good writing. It is the enemy of clarity. It is the enemy of brevity. It is the enemy of precision. It is the enemy of everything that is good and true and beautiful in this world. The adverb is a parasite. It is a weed. It is a virus. It is a plague. It is a scourge. It is a curse. It is a blight. It is a bane. It is a pox. It is a pestilence. It is a cancer. It is a carbuncle. It is a canker. It is a sore. It is a boil. It is a blister. It is a rash. It is a pustule. It is a wart. It is a mole. It is a freckle. It is a b
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