Quote:
Originally Posted by gmw
Like a lot of writing advice/rules, the origin lies on over-use/abuse. But, also, King's advice regarding adverbs is part of a wider discussion that included passive versus active verbs, and how this relates to whether the writing feels confident. New writers tend to be unsure of themselves and this may lead not only to passive phrasing, but also to over-explaining; saying things multiple times to be sure the reader gets it (get it?  ). |
They get into these arguments all the time on a screenwriting forum where I go. I understand that new writers tend to overuse (so-called) "passive" verbs and adverbs, but the writing "gurus" tend to overuse "never" when advising their "groupies." And the groupies come to believe that it's a hard and fast rule to "never use -ing verbs or 'are' or 'is' because these are 'passive' verbs." (Which leads to some really stilted and hideous writing.) As the resident grammar stickler at the screenwriting forum points out, "he is walking" is not passive, it's active "present continuous." And there are reasons to use this present continuous tense just as there are reasons to use adverbs.
Present continuous active verbs are often used for description – to describe ongoing
background action.
From the
DejaVu screenplay ...
Quote:
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Doug moves along amid a swirl of activity: ringing phones, ANALYSTS and ASSISTANTS rushing between desks, the frenzy of a crime unit in the wake of a national disaster.
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We're following Doug, the action in the background is descriptive. You could write "Doug moves ... phones ring ... ANALYSTS and ASSISTANTS rush ..." but then nothing really stands out. Doug's action is what matters, the rest of it is background.
As for adverbs ... how else would you write, "Joe slowly backs away?"
There's also the matter of pacing. If the whole story (or script) is written in simple present tense, you'll get shorter ("punchier") sentences throughout. And then, when the pace and action picks up (where sentences naturally become shorter), it won't stand out from the rest of the writing.
(Sorry to ramble.)