(image via Wikimedia)

The adverb has an undeservedly bad reputation, I believe.  The adverb is a part of speech, so it has to have an important role in grammar and sentence structure.  I learned that in school.  Yet, famous authors often malign the adverb and say its usage hurts writing.  Stephen King has said: “I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs,…”  When the Modern Master of Horror equates a kind of word with eternal damnation, you have to take that seriously.

I just finished reading On Writing by Stephen King.  It seems that every writer says that every writer should read it, so if I’m going to be a writer, I thought I’d better read it.  I’m not going to review the book because you can get a review of it anywhere.  I’ve criticized King recently about how sometimes he doesn’t follow his own writing advice, and…