I thought that, with the festivities almost upon us, it might be handy to share a few simple style tips that will make your prose sparkle like tinsel, a brief thought for each of the twelve days of Christmas. (I was going to try and tie them in with the verses of the carol, but got stumped at first base -- a partridge in a pear tree anyone??)
I'm going to start with my own pet hate - adverbs; these are words which describe an action: crossly, silently etc. To me, using adverbs feels like writing of first resort, they offer the most obvious description, the initial thought which comes to hand, and I think the challenge for writers is to look beyond that. In my writing groups we have the literary equivalent of a swear box for anybody who uses -ly words without due caution. Using more words than you need dilutes the power of your work. Go for the perfect verb, rather than opt for one that is less than ideal and then have to qualify it . The boy walked slowly down the road tells the reader much less than the boy dawdled down the road, or the boy trudged down the road. Become allergic to words like suddenly. The door opened suddenly is a much slacker phrase than the door burst open - here the impact of the action is captured in the short, quick fire words.
Try abstaining and see what happens. My hunch is that it will concentrate your prose and concentrate your mind....
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