Adverbs anyone?

[damaged-reality]

"The road to hell is paved with adverbs"- Stephen King

I really really don't like adverbs. My friend Stephen agree with me. Why don't I like them?
I don't know.
They don't sound good in writing (most of the time, that is)

Yes, adverbs work from time to time but I feel as if people use them when they don't know what else to say...

I'm actually really scared to post this topic because I'm worried about people's thoughts about adverbs. I'm scared that people won't get what I'm trying to say. Or that they'll get angry at me and egg my house.
One of those two.
In fact, I'm angry at myself because when I write, I use adverbs. I try not to, but I write them anyways. I'll usually edit them out, but what's surprising to me is how much better a sentence sounds without adverbs.
Trust me, when I first read that quote up there, I though that I was crazy.
And not the "insanely creative crazy" but the "craaaazzzzzyy crazy".
But I'm happy that Stephen said this. Because now, I know why he doesn't like adverbs.

So what do you think?
Should I be praised for this thought?
Or burnt to the stake and fed to hungry cannibalistic mutants from The Hills Have Eyes?  

[Secret Kirari]

So... um, honestly, I have no idea what you're trying to say. But I do like lemon poppyseed muffins. That answer was funny because I just bought some... like, two hours ago. I think you must have been stalking me unintentionally. Or unknowingly. (Ooooh, lookie there. I just used exactly what you dislike so much. Aaaaadverbs!) :]  

[FoxyNightPrincess]

i actually LOVE adverbs. I use them all the time in my writing, mostly without knowing that i use them so often.  

[velvetsophisticate]

GAHH
i do love adverbs.

 

[damaged-reality]

Secret Kirari

So... um, honestly, I have no idea what you're trying to say. But I do like lemon poppyseed muffins. That answer was funny because I just bought some... like, two hours ago. I think you must have been stalking me unintentionally. Or unknowingly. (Ooooh, lookie there. I just used exactly what you dislike so much. Aaaaadverbs!) :]

See! Obviously you're good enough of a writer to know how to use adverbs well.

That's a good example of a sentence with proper adverb usage.  

[Xiao Xianyu]

It might be my like of poetry, but I like adverbs. Adjectives too, come to think of it. I doubt that I would enjoy reading a story that avoided them or took them all out. My guess would be that I would find the flow of the story stunted and not to my taste.

I'm curious, though. Can you give an example of a piece you used them in and decided to take them away? Did it really read better? Or get your point across more clearly? Or did you just prefer it because you dislike adverbs?  

[exdraghunt]

Gosh. I really hate adverbs, but it's because I use them so freakin' often. I'll look at something I just wrote and thing "Man, how many words with -ly can I use in a paragraph? one a sentence apparently"

I think they need to be used sparingly. . . .Gah.  

[Demona McRae]

Is it sad that I had to Wikipedia adverbs before I posted? I completely forgot what they were as soon as I started reading.

I, personally (Adverb counter: 1), try not to use them in my writing unless describing a conversation, to indicate inflection in speech, or give a hint to tone of voice. Something like that.

Of course, a few will sneak in tere, and, willingly (AC: 2), or not, there they are. It's like a necessary evil. I actually (AC: 3) understand exactly (AC: 4) what you're talking about. It kind of feels like cheating, or that you're half-arseing it, right? Kind of like weak English. I sometimes feel like there's a more eloquent way to say it, but it doesn'talways work that way.  

[TwinDaggers]

Too much of anything is a bad thing. That said, I really see nothing wrong with adverbs, and they can even be necessary in a few places.

Like, they can totally change how I imagine something. For example:
"He sprinted confidently"
"He sprinted franticly"
Those make me imagine two totally different scenes.

But again, don't use too many adverbs, because too many will annoy the reader.  

[-S-Dancing_Star-S-]

I try to stay away from adverbs. It is not that I do not like them... (I love them!!! heart ) They just make my writing look less professional.  

[The Silver Sundae]

I actually like using adverbs. They help me describe the scenes that I'm trying to portray to my readers. To me, my writing would be stale and dry if I didn't use adverbs to describe something. Of course, I don't use them all the time. Sometimes a scene is better if it is straight to the point or if it is laced with figures of speech like this one.  

[pythonesque]

I dig adverbs.  

[Andirigible]

exdraghunt

"Man, how many words with -ly can I use in a paragraph? one a sentence apparently"

I think they need to be used sparingly. . . .Gah.

I don't hate adverbs.

Adverbs are like salt. The right amount makes the dish better, but too much, and you may as well toss it. (I think I used this analogy before... in the guild... somewhere...)

And what amazes me is that I just wrote that whole post without a single adverb. Wow.  

[Lazarus Larkin]

Adverbs are like... well, every other part of writing.

When used well they're great. When they're not they aren't. End of discussion.  

[Articx-Frost]

Is it bad that I didn't know what an adverb was untill I read this thread. I'm 17 and still taking english, so why the hell didn't I know what an adverb was. Maybe this is why I failed it last year....