Tip Tuesday

It's 9:45 p.m. and I just remembered that I was supposed to fill in for Hope today. Here's a quick tip, although I hope it's not one we've already done.

Sometime when my brother came home from college for a visit, I had asked him to read one of my stories. He did so cheerfully, which I've been so grateful for so many times, and he gave me a wonderful little tip that has greatly improved my writing: Try not to use adverbs to describe your verbs. Why? Because chances are, if you're wanting to use an adverb, you probably need a stronger verb. Instead of saying "The boy quickly climbed up the ladder," you should be saying, "The boy scrambled up the ladder." Of course, this doesn't mean you should always abstain from using adverbs. It's just a reminder to check your verb choice.

Stephanie Morril posted in more detail about this on Go Teen Writers if you want to know more:
http://goteenwriters.blogspot.com/2014/01/why-should-i-not-use-adverbs.html