The passionate cry of an aspiring writer:

I hate adverbs. They are black mold. Once they take root, you cannot get rid of them. They breed and breed and breed until you writing things like “blindingly”. Shutter. Ugh. Gross. Adverbs are the bane of a writer’s career.

Reasons to use an adverb:
1. Your verb is weak.
2. You need the crutch.
3. Your dialogue is not good enough to communicate the bitterness, anger, joy, hesitancy behind the words. You have to clarify…John said bitterly, angrily, joyously, hesitantly.

They are awful, disease-ridden creatures. You are allowed a handful of adverbs to use in your life. Pick and choose with care. It is tempting to fall back on them. You might be able to convince yourself they sound pleasant, poetic. It’s a lie. You sound like an immature, weak writer. That being said, I’m as guilty as the next guy. I cringe when I think about the adverbs of my past. This is my hypocritical cry to rid the earth of these nasty little buggers. It is my new project. Give it a shot too. Try not writing with adverbs, and I think you’ll be surprised at how clean, fresh, and powerful your writing becomes. You do not need them. Believe me.

As Stephen King says in his book, On Writing, “The adverb is not your friend.”