Dec 04 2008
How to Edit - Language #1
Now that most of us write on computers, we have some easily accessible tools to edit language. One of the first things to do is search for “ly”. Words ending in “-ly” are usually (but not always) adverbs. Go to some writers’ circles and you’d think all adverbs were the work of Satan, but they’re not really that bad. There are times when adverbs are very useful and perfectly correct. The reason they get a bad press is that they can be a sign of lazy writing.
A descriptive verb will almost always be more powerful than an ordinary verb with an adverb. Say you want to describe your heroine making a desperate dash to save her child. Saying “she sprinted headlong towards the park” paints a much stronger picture than “she ran quickly towards the park”, doesn’t it? ‘Ran quickly” sounds positively feeble in comparison with “sprinted”. You could also have used “raced” or even “hurtled”. It takes time to think of these more expressive verbs, and we often opt for the verb + adverb option without thinking. Going back over the manuscript at the end and checking every “-ly” word may sound tedious, but it gives you a chance to check you haven’t been lazy! You may be surprised how often you have used them.
Some word-processing packages have a Word Frequency Checker, which will count how many times each word appears in your manuscript (Microsoft Word used to have it in older versions). This can be a great way of identifying words that you over-use.
