Wednesday, January 4, 2017

IWSG: The Most Hated Writing Rule



It's the first Insecure Writer's Support Group post of 2017. Thanks to Alex and his co-hosts for putting this event together every month. 

 This month's question is: What writing rule do you wish you’d never heard?

 Per the great Stephen King, "The road to hell is paved with adverbs." In other words, don't use adverbs. 

 I happen to love adverbs. I think they're lovely. I like how they sound and how they slip delightfully from the tongue. They display beautifully on the page and contribute meaningfully to the story being told.  

 I hate cutting them from my writing, but upon editing, I troll through the pages and spitefully kill the little darlings. (kill your darlings is from Stephen King's On Writing, which I highly recommend). 

 And that is the writing rule I wish I'd never heard of. 
What's the writing rule you hate the most? Why?
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36 comments:

  1. Natalie AguirreJanuary 4, 2017 at 3:58 AM

    Happy New Year, Gwen! Fun that you admit to liking adverbs. Sorry you have to cut them out when you edit. Hope you have a fantastic year1

    ReplyDelete
  2. Alex J. CavanaughJanuary 4, 2017 at 6:01 AM

    I bet your poor little adverbs wish you'd never heard of it.
    Happy 2017!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Chrys FeyJanuary 4, 2017 at 8:42 AM

    People always say to cut out adverbs and adjectives, but I love them, too. I rebel on that one. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anne HigaJanuary 4, 2017 at 1:01 PM

    Aw, poor little adverbs! Thanks for sharing this.


    Anne from annehiga.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousJanuary 4, 2017 at 2:58 PM

    I've heard that one a lot too and often end up having to go through and kill them as well.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Juneta keyJanuary 4, 2017 at 5:25 PM

    I like adverbs and adjectives too and have to watch it. Hope you had a great holiday.
    Juneta @ Writer's Gambit

    ReplyDelete
  7. Julie FlandersJanuary 5, 2017 at 7:13 AM

    I love Stephen King and can't help but chuckle when I notice adverbs in his books. I feel like he uses them a lot! LOL I'm with you though, I like them and don't see why they are so hated.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sheena-kay GrahamJanuary 5, 2017 at 4:15 PM

    I love adverbs too. Used them a lot in my fan fiction and no one complained. But the writing world can be a treacherous place for those darling manuscripts. Happy New Year Gwen.

    QueendSheena
    2017 IWSG January Co-Host

    ReplyDelete
  9. UnknownJanuary 5, 2017 at 6:39 PM

    I agree with you, and it's the first thing I thought of when I saw the question this month, though I decided not to blog about it. Glad you did though :-) Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Crystal CollierJanuary 6, 2017 at 9:51 AM

    I used to like adverbs, until I weighed them against prose where they didn't exist. The difference was striking--in a good way. Haven't gone back...but they do sneak in every now and again.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Heather R. HoldenJanuary 7, 2017 at 4:33 AM

    I love adverbs, too. The hate many people show towards them is too intense, IMO!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Susan Gourley/KelleyJanuary 9, 2017 at 11:39 AM

    Those lovely adverbs, the darlings that seductively make writers feel poetic. It is hard to kill them all but I do try to cut the little beasties out.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Christine RainsJanuary 11, 2017 at 6:55 AM

    I kill those adverbs too. And all the time I use "just" in my manuscript.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Ellie GarrattJanuary 12, 2017 at 6:12 AM

    I hate killing my adverbs, so I feel your pain.

    ReplyDelete
  15. M PaxJanuary 19, 2017 at 2:55 PM

    Hmm. I hear you. I think I'd go back and unhear most rules and learn to write using some of the books I most recently read, which were more about constructing a better story. I think those are what we need to concentrate on. So, I felt for me. :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Elizabeth SeckmanJanuary 27, 2017 at 12:27 PM

    I think you have mastered sprinkling them in most tastefully!

    On Writing is amazing.

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