#WWoW! The Author's Craft: Simple Tip for Editing Your Manuscript #AmEditing Adverbs

Monthly Tips for Tightening Your Manuscript

Writers rarely put out their best copy on the first draft. First drafts serve the primary purpose of putting your ideas to page. So before you even consider handing the manuscript off to an editor, do your own proofreading. Create a cleaner second draft to bring to an editor. Here are some tips how to do that...

January's Tip of the Month 

CUT OUT the adverbs (aka -ly words).

EXAMPLE:

Rather than saying the little boy runs quickly, say he sprints down the field.
Rather than describing the woman as walking slowly, say she creeps forward or tiptoes.
Rather than writing the car door shut noisily, say it slammed closed.

RULE:

Find a more powerful verb to replace the weak -ly adverb. Adverbs weaken your story, are not actually descriptive and slow down the flow.

HINT: Use Word’s find function to look for words ending in -ly in your manuscript. Consider each instance individually to determine if you should remove it. You will more often than not but every so often, you might choose to leave an -ly adverb for effect.

POST CONTRIBUTED BY Perk It Up.
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