Adverbs in Dialogue

Okay, this is another dialogue post, brought to you by the girl who has begun to hate adverbs. BUT ONLY RECENTLY. About a month or two ago I joined a writer’s group (which, by the way, is incredibly awesome. You need to get one). They gave me back some of my work, in which all the adverbs were deleted. And I thought, what? Adverbs are amazing! The convey exactly what you're trying to say, so why not use them? Right?

Wrong. Adverbs commit the horrible writing sin of TELLING, NOT SHOWING. Let me give you another of my awesome examples.

‘Hello,’ she said unhappily.

That sentence doesn’t tell us anything about her. How do we know she is unhappy? What is she doing that makes her seem unhappy? Okay, now I'm going to show you it WITHOUT the adverb.

‘Hello,’ she said, trying not to cry.

NOW we know why she is unhappy! She’s about to cry! Hallelujah. The point I am trying to make, ladies and gentlemen, is that you should omit adverbs where possible, because before long your readers will get bored - they won't feel like they're part of the story. Take a look at this:

‘Hi!’ she said happily.

‘How are you?’ he said joyfully.

‘I’m good,’ she said shyly.

‘That’s good,’ he said gladly.

Apart from the two really annoying characters up there, and the unrealistic dialogue, the adverbs on every line detract from the reading. Instead SHOW your readers why your characters are joyful or angry or upset.

‘Hi!’ she said, hugging him.

‘How are you?’ he said, stepping back.

‘I’m good,’ she said, smiling and looking down at her feet.

‘That’s good.'

In this example, we know a lot more about these characters. We know that, because she's looking down at her feet, she's probably shy. The point is that readers don't want things shoved down their throats; they don't want you to tell them that someone is shy. They want to figure it out for themselves.

That’s not to say, though, that you can’t use adverbs. Instead just use them when you really NEED to. For example: ‘I’m fine,’ she said automatically.

This works. This shows the reader that perhaps the character is answering too quickly; that they have something to hide. Adverbs in dialogue, when used right, can enhance your writing. But if you use them too often – cut them. Kill them all!

Adverbs, in most cases, are not your friends.

Please don't use them too often.

What are you thoughts? Did you used to use a lot of adverbs?  Do you still use a lot of adverbs and think I'm completely (haha, adverb) wrong? Comment below!