Haiku 2023–242

I wholeheartedly

and unequivocally

hate using adverbs

— —

Yes, dear reader, I know I placed two adverbs front and center in this haiku. It’s kind of the exception that proves the rule.

Why do I carry such disdain for adverbs? A friend of mine whom I respect as a writer told me once that adverbs are wasted words. He’s right, they are. The problem is adverbs are often needed to prop up weaker verbs. A better verb choice eliminates the need for the adverb. Let’s take today’s haiku, for example. Hate does a fine job of capturing the sentiment, but other choices could be more precise — choices like ‘detest’ or ‘loathe’ or ‘despise’ or ‘abhor’. Think of adverbs as ketchup — just like food, if the verb is good enough, you just don’t need it.

So again, why use adverbs today? First, I really, really, really, really, really am suffering from writer’s block. In fact, my first swing at this haiku included as many ‘reallys’ (perhaps the weakest adverb of all) as the previous sentence. Second, if I’m going to have writer’s block, I might as well find some humor in it.