Post by account_disabled on Dec 14, 2023 6:27:56 GMT
Any aspiring writer who has leafed through a modern writing manual will have noticed a real demonization of adverbs with the suffix -mente. Obeying a rule without understanding its real purpose is a bit like wearing a seat belt just to avoid a hefty fine. With this article I would like to push you to reflect on the adverb of manner and its presumed deplorability. It is urgent to take a small step back. The condemnation of adverbs derives primarily from "show, don't tell", the overused recommendation that should encourage us to reveal things, facts and characters through dialogue and action rather than with simple description. The extremes of this concept have led to increasingly cinematic writing, which has too often become aseptic and not very interactive.
If you think about it, it is precisely interactivity Phone Number Data that constitutes the clearest difference between the language of books and that of cinema. A book leaves the reader with the burden and pleasure of imagining a character based on the peculiarities described by the author, while cinema imposes its times, sounds and colours. The latter is – like it or not – the model towards which modern novels and short stories are evolving. Having made this necessary premise, it becomes easy to understand why the gurus of modern writing are wary of using adverbs of manner. These are generic, synthetic and to be honest even a bit cacophonous. But are we really sure that evil consists exclusively of the adverb? Let's take an example: Antonio walked slowly . The naive devourer of style guides will think that it is enough to replace the demon-adverb with a not too original expedient.
There he is: Antonio walked slowly . What has changed? The adverb is no longer there, but are we sure that the second sentence is more suitable than the first? Absolutely not. Here is revealed the biggest misunderstanding of the diktats of "good writing". The problem is not inherent in the adverb, rather in how we express the complement of manner . We could give in to laziness and draw on an adverb of manner, like a lazy single person who only buys pre-cooked meals to avoid cooking. But if we want to make our Antonio's walk a little more memorable than those of anyone who walks slowly we have to work a little harder: Antonio walked looking at the shop windows. The passers-by, like so many automatons eager to get to who knows where as soon as possible, passed him without sparing him shoulder pushes or pushes. He hadn't even realized he had forgotten his watch at home.
If you think about it, it is precisely interactivity Phone Number Data that constitutes the clearest difference between the language of books and that of cinema. A book leaves the reader with the burden and pleasure of imagining a character based on the peculiarities described by the author, while cinema imposes its times, sounds and colours. The latter is – like it or not – the model towards which modern novels and short stories are evolving. Having made this necessary premise, it becomes easy to understand why the gurus of modern writing are wary of using adverbs of manner. These are generic, synthetic and to be honest even a bit cacophonous. But are we really sure that evil consists exclusively of the adverb? Let's take an example: Antonio walked slowly . The naive devourer of style guides will think that it is enough to replace the demon-adverb with a not too original expedient.
There he is: Antonio walked slowly . What has changed? The adverb is no longer there, but are we sure that the second sentence is more suitable than the first? Absolutely not. Here is revealed the biggest misunderstanding of the diktats of "good writing". The problem is not inherent in the adverb, rather in how we express the complement of manner . We could give in to laziness and draw on an adverb of manner, like a lazy single person who only buys pre-cooked meals to avoid cooking. But if we want to make our Antonio's walk a little more memorable than those of anyone who walks slowly we have to work a little harder: Antonio walked looking at the shop windows. The passers-by, like so many automatons eager to get to who knows where as soon as possible, passed him without sparing him shoulder pushes or pushes. He hadn't even realized he had forgotten his watch at home.