For the very new writer, an adverb is a pitfall. It was one of the first things that was brought to my attention in a writers online workshop. Editors hate adverbs; for the most part. As with anything else, there are always exceptions, but to be on the safe side, try to keep them minimal. This falls into the category of Show, don't Tell. For example: John walked angrily through the room. If you were to see this, or write this, alarm bells should go off in your head, your hand, your fingers and even in your toes. Try to show he was angry. Example: The door slammed into the wall as John strode into the room. His footsteps shook the vase on the table. I cringed as he approached and prepared myself to put out the fire. etc, etc. etc
Quickly is an adverb that gets me into a lot of trouble and I find myself inserting it rather than showing it. You will probably discover you have a favorite adverb too. Now, go look at your manuscript. Every place you see an adverb, try to describe the action, feeling, emotion, whatever is happening by character dialogue, movements, or responses. If you need help, drop me an email. I'll be glad to work with you on it.
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