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Words ending 'ly'

MutleyMutley
edited December 2010 in - Writing Problems
How many is it acceptable to use in a novel? I don't agree with the premise that you should get rid of them all. I think that is unrealistic, particularly in dialogue, but how many is too many in a novel of 100,000 words?

Comments

  • SilentTonySilentTony
    There is a school of though that say to type 'ly' into Word search and delete each entry. You are right about dialogue as that follows very different rules to normal narration.

    I guess the real answer is how many are you happy with? I can't stand them myself but find I use them now and again when they slip under the radar.
  • heatherheather
    edited December 2010
    Sometimes they add, more often they reduce the impact of what you're trying to say.
    Personally I find some worse than others and it also depends where they are. I don't like them in speech tags, for example (she said, pointedly) and the more 'constructed' they sound, the more they snag my ear (she said, irritatedly.)
    I don't think you need to get rid of them all - especially (!) ones like really, that occur a lot in speech.

    ("Really?" she asked, questioningly.)

    And their occasional use can be quite poetic IMO.

    So to answer (or not) your question, I don't think there is a number. You have to look at each one, see if it is needed, see if it adds or detracts and only keep it if you're certain it's valuable.
  • SilentTonySilentTony
    [quote=heather]You have to look at each one, see if it is needed, see if it adds or detracts and only keep it if you're certain it's valuable.[/quote]

    Great advice about EVERY word in your piece.
  • flyingtartflyingtart
    Great advice from Heather.

    Think of adverbs as seasoning - you can't improve weak writing by liberally sprinkling them on top. Try and use strong verbs instead, like instead of saying "She laughed heartily" you could say "She guffawed", that sort of thing.
  • MutleyMutley
    No one has picked it up as a criticism in my writing and I rarely use them in speech tags, but having gone through and analysed the frequency and number of their use throughout the novel I am surprised by the number, although I do have a lot of variety and there are not many I think I have used too frequently. It is interesting to look through the word usage which Ywriter can do for you.
  • Phots MollPhots Moll
    As a rough rule - use loads in dialogue, a few in the narrative and none at all in speech tags. A lot depends on the genre though.
  • DwightDwight
    I used to think they should be avoided anywhere, but I've revised my position and now like to see adverbs well used. Just a few, that is.
  • MutleyMutley
    Killing darlings can be quite liberating!
  • cekaceka
    My dear Mutley - oh please don't tell me we must now call you Mut
    Or has that 'e' between the 'l' and the 'y' saved you?
    ;)
  • CarolCarol
    At this moment only you can decide if you think there are too many, but Heather's advice is right and again only you can make that judgement.
  • MutleyMutley
    I'm saved by an 'e'. Useful little blighters! :)
  • kadokado
    I think adverbs in speech tags are examples of lazy writing, but a few are OK in dialogue.
  • heatherheather
    I've just looked through a recent story of mine and was surprised to discover how many 'ly' words are in it.

    However, the majority are words such as probably, unlikely, unfriendly, previously, recently, early and lonely. These aren't being used as adverbs in the usual sense - not IMO anyway - so I don't think it's as clear cut as limiting all 'ly' words. I hope so, anyway, as I've already sent it in!
  • BillBill
    [quote=Mutley]How many is it acceptable to use in a novel? [/quote]

    Have you ever read Hemingway?
    You dont have to like him - but read him, and about his ideas on prose. His prose is simple and matter of fact and he never uses an adverb or adjective unless absolutely necessary.

    His characters, his scenes, stay in the mind. He makes you wonder what the people he has created have been doing between the time you closed the book and opened it again. He achieves this magic, and it is magic, with simple prose and and very [necessary?] few adverbs or adjectives.

    We dont have to go to his extremes or like him, but I think he should be read to see how he does it.

    Some of us sometimes, some people all of the time, use far too many fancy images and spectacular adjectives. It doesn't impress anyone. Except, perhaps, the writer.
  • cekaceka
    [quote=bill]You dont have to like him - but read him,[/quote]
    REALLY good advice.
    Unfussy writing but the images stay forever - maybe cos the reader suppllies the pictures and they are more easily remembered.
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