Writing Shortcuts Are Lazy, But So Are Dogmatic Writing Rules
Some writers insist that adverbs, adjectives, and any dialogue tag besides “said” are lazy shortcuts that weaken your writing and should always be avoided. However, dogmatic writing rules are lazy in their own way. Dogmatic rules are just a way to avoid thinking about individual situations. The truth is, in writing and in life, there are exceptions to just about every rule.
Should Writers Avoid Adverbs?
In On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Stephen King famously said “the road to hell is paved with adverbs.” He compares adverbs to weeds, and warns writers against letting their writing become filled with them. Unfortunately, a lot of writers with less experience – and many who haven’t actually read the book – take this advice as a dogmatic insistence to never use any adverbs, ever. They insist that adverbs are the mark of an amateur, and a real writer will always look for a stronger verb instead.
This is far too absolute. If a more specific verb is available, one that combines the meaning of the verb and the adverb, it is probably the better choice. Instead of “really disliked,” you could use “detested” or “loathed.” However, in many cases, a stronger verb simply won’t exist.
You can say “rushed” or “hurried” instead of “walked quickly”, but there is no verb for “bathed quickly.” If there is no stronger verb, you should feel free to use an adverb, but you can show how the action was done without it:
“As she stepped in the bath, her eyes fell on the clock. She had to get moving! Instead of her usual long, relaxing bath, she would have to cut things short. She skipped the candles, grabbed a loofah, and scrubbed her pits and parts, and only sang one verse of Bohemian Rhapsody.”
A bit more interesting than just “she bathed quickly,” right? So when do you do that, and when do you use an adverb? When you want to slow down the scene and show the action, skipping the adverb will generally create a better visual than using it. But when an action isn’t particularly plot relevant or when you want to speed things up for the sake of story pacing, using an adverb is just fine.
Writing is an art form, not a mechanical exercise. Simply avoiding certain words will not automatically create a better piece. You have to have a goal in mind for each scene, and then you can judge each word by how it contributes to that goal. Have you created a clear picture in the reader’s mind? Did you put in the effort to make your writing the best that it could be, or did you take a shortcut so you could finish a boring block of description and write the fun fight scene instead? The answer will always be a judgement call, not simply looking it up in Scribbles McExpert’s Big Book O’ Writing Rules.
Should Writers Avoid Adjectives, Too?
Some writers think adjectives are a waste of ink, and only make your story sound like it was written by a student trying to pad his word count. An overreliance on adjectives can make your writing sound amateurish and sloppy, but completely banning adjectives from your writing can make it feel sparse, colorless, and dull. Like all writing rules, it’s best to avoid absolutism.
Just like adverbs, adjectives must be used carefully to keep from weakening your writing. Overusing adjectives can be a sign that the writer should put more effort into choosing the right nouns and verbs. Compare this scene with and without adjectives:
- Rachel scooped up the sweaty gym clothes Tom had left on the floor. His stinky shirt made him wrinkle her nose. Why couldn’t he just clean up after himself?
- Rachel wrinkled her nose as she scooped up the gym clothes Tom had left on the floor. The stench reminded her of the time he had broken a jar of sauerkraut in the pantry. He hadn’t cleaned that up, either.
In the second version, I avoided both adverbs and adjectives. This forced me to search for another way to describe the smell, which led to me creating this bit of background for their relationship. Now the scene gives a much stronger picture of how Rachel feels about Tom. In just a couple of sentences, you can already get a sense of the argument that’s likely to come. It wasn’t following writing rules that improved the scene, but simply avoiding shortcuts and putting in the work.
Should Dialogue Only Use Said?
Along similar lines, some writers object to using any dialogue tag but “said,” believing that descriptive words like “screamed” or “whispered” are a cheap shortcut. They say that dialogue should be able to indicate the tone of the conversation without special dialogue tags. However, dialogue is one of the more flexible parts of writing, with many reasons to ignore writing rules. You can hint at a character’s background with bad grammar or malapropisms. An anxious or hyper character may ramble on and talk about nothing. Dialogue tags are flexible, too.
It may be worth sticking to “said” in your first draft, to force yourself to work a little harder to convey the dialogue’s tone in other ways. In addition to word choice, the right gestures and other action beats will help create the reader to picture the scene.
Compare two versions of the same scene:
- “I can’t believe you would do that!” Rachel yelled. “How am I supposed to trust you?”
- “I can’t believe you would do that,” Rachel said, tossing up her hands. She furrowed her brow. “How am I supposed to trust you?”
The second version is definitely more effective. Instead of just indicating the volume of the dialogue, it creates a picture of what the character looked like as she said it. However, words like “screamed,” “yelled”, “shouted,” or “whispered” still have their place. Just like with adjectives, there will be times you will want to speed up the action and communicate tone with a single word. If you are writing a fast-paced action scene, like a bank robbery or a super hero fight, you will probably want to skip a detailed description of body language and facial expressions and just use “yelled.”
I would avoid dialogue tags that no one uses in casual conversation, like “quipped” or “intoned.” Odd dialogue tags can be distracting and pull your reader out of the story.
Wrapping Up
Whether people are talking about adverbs, showing and telling, or grammar, writing advice should never be viewed as an absolute rule. All writing rules are actually just general guidelines, and what works for that particular writer. Your mileage may vary.
To create the best story and the best life, you can’t always follow the rules. You should study writing rules and learn what generally works, but you also have to develop the discernment to know when to make an exception.
What’s your least-favorite writing advice? Are there dogmatic writing rules that get under your skin? Leave a comment below!
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