On Adverbs

An aversion to adverbs is nothing new. I don’t think there is much point to writing about them. It’s not difficult to form a more powerful sentence by leaving them out. This quote from Ann Patchett reminds me how adverbs can get in the way of what you want to say.

If you want to write, practice writing. Practice it for hours a day, not to come up with a story you can publish, but because you long to learn how to write well, because there is something that you alone can say.

(seen on Micro Blog) Writing frees you from the constraint of a conversation and allows you to say something meaningful.

Much of my private writing is littered with adverbs and awkward phrases. To the point where I keep a list of the phrases I would rather avoid. We write often for ourselves, but also for our future self.