Is Your Writing Strong or Weak? Find Out How the Words You Use Can Make All the Difference
Your ability to use the right words to convey your message is one of the most important aspects of creative writing. That’s why writers are often called “wordsmiths.” We use words to create thoughts and impressions and scenes in readers’ heads. We use them to inform, inspire, incite, or entertain. Using the wrong words can not only muddle your message, it can also weaken your writing. One example of this is the overuse of adverbs.
Adverbs are often called “-ly words,” because they commonly end in –ly: usually, mostly, unjustly, etc. By definition, the adverb is the part of speech that “modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb.” In his memoir, On Writing, Stephen King’s says, “Kill your darlings.” Adverbs are some of the darlings to which he was referring.
Don’t get me wrong; the adverb is a valid part of speech. As such, it has its uses. Often, however, we overuse it to the point that it becomes ridiculous. When it reaches that point, it weakens your writing, whether you write fiction, hard news, essay or poetry. For example, instead of, “She cried really hard,” you would want to say, “She sobbed.” Or, even better, “Sobs wracked her body.” See how much more of an image that creates? The first example is weak; the last two are stronger. They’re stronger because they use action verbs and concrete nouns. The reader can envision what you’re writing about.
Of course, in the throes of creativity, it’s difficult to stop and weed out all the adverbs. I don’t suggest you do that. (Even Stephen King doesn’t suggest you do that.) Rather, let yourself get your ideas down on paper. Once you’ve captured them in written form, your work begins. Go back through your writing and pick out each and every adverb – yes, all of them – then put the adverb through a test. Can the verb-adverb combo be replaced by a stronger verb? If so, replace it. If you can’t find a stronger verb, check and see if the adverb is even needed. Often, it won’t be. For example, in the phrase, “He was terribly handsome in a forbidding kind of way,” do you need the word “terribly”? No.
Okay, we’ve talked about the importance of keeping adverbs to a minimum. What about adjectives? Adjectives, of course, are the words that modify, or describe, nouns – pretty, large, angry, petite, etc. I’m not going to spend much time on adjectives. I do want to point out that, while not as problematic as adverbs, they can be overused. Like adverbs, they have valid uses, but they often provide the lazy way out when it comes to descriptive writing.
If you want to know if your adjective is needed, test it in much the same way you would an adverb. For instance, instead of a “big house,” you’d want to say, “mansion.” That’s a simple example, but you get the idea. Here’s a point you should remember: never use two words where one will suffice. But that’s for another article. For now, work on using the “write” words to both strengthen your writing and give it that missing creative edge. You’ll be glad you did.
Andrea’s diverse writing background includes features, editorials, reviews, profiles, poetry and fiction. She has published several freelance pieces both online and in print over the past several years, and was the winner of the MOTA short story contest in 2002. She also received honorable mentions for fiction from Writer’s Journal magazine in 2002 and 2004. She is currently working on several fiction projects in her spare time. For more articles on creative writing, check out her blog at http://creativewithwriting.blogspot.com/
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