Are You Missing Opportunities to Make Your Writing Stronger?

By Janice Hardy

Little tweaks can make a big difference in our novels.

It always amazes me how many decisions go into writing a strong novel. There's the big stuff, like the plot and characters, but something as simple as your title, or where you break your scenes can be the difference between a good book and great book.

Use too many clichés? The novel feels familiar and unoriginal. Throw in a ton of adverbs? Your readers don't feel the full weight of the story's emotional layer. 

You have so many opportunities to write a strong novel, and more writers should take advantage of that fact. 

Sunday Writing Tip: Get Rid of Unnecessary Adverbs

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Each week, I’ll offer a tip you can take and apply to your WIP to help improve it. They’ll be easy to do and shouldn’t take long, so they’ll be tips you can do without taking up your Sunday. Though I do reserve the right to offer a good tip now and then that will take longer—but only because it would apply to the entire manuscript.

This week, cut or revise any unnecessary adverbs.

Adverbs aren’t inherently bad, but they’re often a red flag for weak writing in the manuscript, and opportunities to make that writing stronger. They’re moments of emotion or action that could be fleshed out for greater impact or interest.

This task might take longer than the usual Sunday Tip, but search for ly [space], ly, ly. and possibly ly; in your manuscript. Examine any adverbs found (not all of them will be, such as family), and decide if it’s the best word for that sentence or if you can do better.

Overcoming Adversity Through Adverbs

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy


You've no doubt heard it over and over: never use adverbs in your writing. Sound advice, but if you follow it to the extreme, you could miss out on their very useful properties.

As bad a rep as adverbs have, they're actually pretty handy during a first draft. They allow you to jot down how a character feels or how they say something without losing your momentum. You can keep writing, and go back and revise later.

The Freedom of Placeholder Words in First Drafts

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Some days I’ll be writing along, feeling the words flow, then get to a line where I know there’s a particular emotion or concept I want to show, but I’m not exactly sure how to represent it. 

Smiled doesn’t quite cut it, giggled is too much, and the great writing momentum I’ve built up slams to a halt while I figure out what to say. The longer it takes, the more frustrated I get, and on really bad days, it can derail and entire writing session.

Luckily, I figured out how to deal with these hiccups without ruining a perfectly good writing day.

How to Use Adverbs

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Adverbs.

Writers the world over just shuddered when I said that. The experts tell us to never use adverbs--adverbs are bad, adverbs are evil, adverbs will sneak into your room late at night and strangle you in your bed.

Well, not really.

Poor use of adverbs is bad, but adverbs are a perfectly good tool in any writer's toolbox. Many have equated them to a heavy spice, like cayenne pepper. A dash spices things up, but too much makes the dish inedible. Some writers, especially those just starting out, think they must kill all adverbs and never ever use them or their work will be rejected.

Again, not really.