Writers: Are Adverbial Phrases Smothering Your Writing?

Adverbial Phrases: The Dandelions in Your Writing?

I Don’t Hate Dandelions

In all honesty, I don’t. You can cook their roots, create salads from their leaves, and ferment them to make wine. Some coffee substitutes contain dandelion roots; and I’m sure smart people have devised many other uses for these prolific yellow flowers.

However, too many dandelions can smother your lawn, just as too many adverbs (like just) can smother your writing.

You probably know how to root out ly adverbs (like probably in this sentence). But adverb weeds can hide where you least expect to find them.

Continue reading

Section Breaks: Why You Need Them: How to Format Them

Section Breaks, Section Breaks: How and Why to Set Them Up

Have You Ever Been Drawn Out of a Story by a Confusing Change?

While reading novels, short fiction, or nonfiction publications, you’ve likely grappled with writing where a substantial change takes place between paragraphs. You stop for a few seconds. Huh? After scanning the last few words of the previous paragraph, you realize that a section break would have saved you from your momentary lapse of reading enjoyment.

Continue reading