Chapter Nine
There are lots of things I could get twitchy about in this chapter, but the one that really grabbed my attention was this:
I vaguely recall reading an article about this very issue back when the book came out (by Stephen King, I think). The characters don't just *say* something. They say it happily, or loudly, or moodily, or pissily, etc., etc. And most of the time? The adverb isn't necessary - we could figure out tone of voice/delivery from the context of what's being said and by whom, and when/where.
For instance, in the little conversation Harry, Hermione, and Ron have while scrubbing mold there are seven lines of dialogue that have adverbs. Sternly, wisely, heatedly, simply, bitterly, hopefully, and irritably. I read through it aloud, leaving out the adverbs and not a single one tells us anything that we couldn't have gleaned from knowing a little something about the characters. "'So you think he's touched in the head?' said Harry heatedly." Well, how *else* would we expect Harry to say that?! Suggesting that his parents/Sirius are anything other than perfect is the best way to get him riled up. Ron "muttered irritably" when Hermione tries to get him interested in SPEW - uh, duh, we know it irritates him. We've read the books!
To my mind, adverbs work best when they're used to make something that much more so, or to provide a contrast - that is, to show the reader that the character is acting in an unusual manner, like "Harry cheerfully said, 'Good news, everyone! Sirius bit the big one!'"
From what I can dimly recall of the article, Stephen King thought of the overuse of adverbs as a sort of writer's crutch - she's not sure she's made it clear enough how the characters act and react, so she helpfully supplies her audience with the information she hasn't provided in the context. I can see where it comes from, but I still want to take a metaphorical editorial hacksaw to the book.
I vaguely recall reading an article about this very issue back when the book came out (by Stephen King, I think). The characters don't just *say* something. They say it happily, or loudly, or moodily, or pissily, etc., etc. And most of the time? The adverb isn't necessary - we could figure out tone of voice/delivery from the context of what's being said and by whom, and when/where.
For instance, in the little conversation Harry, Hermione, and Ron have while scrubbing mold there are seven lines of dialogue that have adverbs. Sternly, wisely, heatedly, simply, bitterly, hopefully, and irritably. I read through it aloud, leaving out the adverbs and not a single one tells us anything that we couldn't have gleaned from knowing a little something about the characters. "'So you think he's touched in the head?' said Harry heatedly." Well, how *else* would we expect Harry to say that?! Suggesting that his parents/Sirius are anything other than perfect is the best way to get him riled up. Ron "muttered irritably" when Hermione tries to get him interested in SPEW - uh, duh, we know it irritates him. We've read the books!
To my mind, adverbs work best when they're used to make something that much more so, or to provide a contrast - that is, to show the reader that the character is acting in an unusual manner, like "Harry cheerfully said, 'Good news, everyone! Sirius bit the big one!'"
From what I can dimly recall of the article, Stephen King thought of the overuse of adverbs as a sort of writer's crutch - she's not sure she's made it clear enough how the characters act and react, so she helpfully supplies her audience with the information she hasn't provided in the context. I can see where it comes from, but I still want to take a metaphorical editorial hacksaw to the book.