Seven Deadly Sins of Writing - Overusing Adverbs

Adverbs - you can overuse them?

Welcome to this discussion on The Seven Deadly Sins of Writing, as we continue our journey through the most common errors committed by writers. We've got a short one this month. Adverbs. The adverb works alongside verbs, to make the verb stand out more or make the verb more exciting. However, overusing an adverb can often make your writing sound immature or may weaken the impact of what you’re attempting to express, so they need to be used sparingly.

One way to recognize an adverb is that it will often end in -ly. An often-overused adverb is the word 'really.' People tend to love using this word in conjunction with a verb because they believe that it provides that added punch, but in reality, it doesn't. So, instead of 'really' and other weak words, try selecting a stronger word instead; to paint a more vivid picture for your readers. Let's look at an example: 

Overused - The man ran really fast to catch the bus. 
Stronger - The man sprinted to catch the bus.

Is this instance, instead of 'really fast' we're opting for 'sprinted.' This provides a better picture for your reader. So, then, should we avoid adverbs altogether? No, there are times when they do their job well.

Like so:
       Elijah plodded along slowly
       Charlie stopped speaking abruptly.

Now, you recall I said that adverbs often end in -ly; however, there are exceptions. One such being the word 'well,' often describing something that is done skillfully or in a good way (e.g. Masha plays tennis well). People will often use 'good' and 'well' interchangeably, but in reality, they are used differently in writing. 'Good' is an adjective, noun or interjection (e.g. Iron Man was a good movie), whereas 'well' is the adverb, as well as a noun and interjection.

Now that you know a bit more about overusing adverbs, maybe you'll be able to catch a few of the mistakes yourself, potentially creating a cleaner manuscript for your editor and a lower editing cost for you! We’ll continue our discussion of The Seven Deadly Sins of Writing next month with shoddy spelling. Until then, if you can think of further examples of overused adverbs or another deadly sin you’d like us to cover – let us know in the comments.

Write without fear. Edit without mercy.
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- Barbara, Copyeditor/Proofreader

~Art shared from DeviantArt by Marta Dahlig; The Seven Deadly Sins: Gluttony