ChapterMuse

Worst writing advice you've ever received?

EEden Kay3 mo ago4 replies0

Mine: a workshop leader once told me to "remove every adverb on principle". I tried it for a draft and the prose became flat and weirdly accusatory — every verb doing too much work alone.

Adverbs aren't the enemy. *Lazy* adverbs are. There's a difference between "she said quietly" (which can be cut) and "the room ticked steadily" (which is doing real work).

What's the worst rule someone has tried to impose on you?

4 replies

  1. NNia Wren3 mo ago

    'Show, don't tell' as an absolute. Sometimes telling is fine. Sometimes a paragraph of summary moves the reader through three months of grief faster and better than any scene could.

  2. MMara Ellis3 mo ago

    I was once told to 'write what scares you'. Lasted about four chapters before I burned out completely. There's a reason that thing scares you.

  3. TTheo Vasquez3 mo ago

    'Kill your darlings' delivered as if it were divine revelation. Sometimes the darling is the only thing keeping the chapter alive.

  4. JJon Bell3 mo ago

    @theovas yes. Some darlings are darlings because they're load-bearing.