Discussions At The Garden Bench

1. Let's talk a little bit more about the LY adverbs we examined in Lesson Three. Scroll down and read the version of Circle of Life below. How many LY adverbs did you see?

I counted 25 not including the first paragraph that you did. I could be wrong.

2. Do you think the story's meaning was lost, or the imagery was diminished with the lack of LY adverb use?

I felt that the story's meaning was lost because of too many LY adverbs. I like using something other than the LY.

3. Did you think this version of Circle of Life was easier or harder to understand than Lesson Three's version? Why?

This is version of Circle of Life was easier to understand because of more usage of different words other than the LY, which I prefer anyway. The more descriptive the nouns are, the more you can visualize what is looks like, what they sound like, the different colors and actions, etc.,.

4. Find a piece of your own work that is heavily sprinkled with unnecessary adjectives and LY adverbs. Take them out and read the story.

5. Did removing them change your story? Did that make it better or worse? Why?

I tried finding a short story with a lot of LY adverbs and I try to avoid those as much as possible but I can see what you're saying. I found a piece and yes I replaced maybe two or three LY adverbs and it does improve it. Readers need to learn words other than LY adverbs and they do get curious or impressed of another word other than the LY adverb. Sometimes the reader will look up the words' meaning.

6. What are some of your worst grammatical habits in writing?

You can say mixing past and present tense in sentences. I love writing fantasy and I use past tense for that genre. Sometimes reviewers said that I mix past and present tense, I want to make sure I won't make that mistake again.