Elder the Dwarf
Maester
I actually kind of like them. If they're used way too much I guess it could be bad, but I like more descriptive writing, and I don't mind at all when writers throw them in.
Years ago I was reading someones story and one of the characters had a nice long paragraph of dialog, and after that is done, I find out she has a southern accent. I had to pause, go back, and the read it again.
Using adverbs is a crutch and speaks of an author that needs more practice.
Ok, think of it this way. The reader is reading the text, and when they hit the part that identifies who is saying it, you then modify how it is said, after it has been said. Now the reader has to make a mental correction on what they just read to try and adjust it to the modifier thrown in after the fact.
If you want to find someone to use as a role model for writing, maybe pick someone who doesn't do the things we really shouldn't be doing. To quote an author and say..."See, this person does it." is kind of like telling a copy that it's ok, someone else famous was doing it. Maybe not as drastic, but still, why an excuse to change things to a sloppier form of writing over striving for better writing? The reader doesn't really want an excuse, just good writing. Shouldn't we strive to give them that?
I may just be pathetically defending my own crutch here, but would you say that there are situations where a dialogue tag enhanced by adverbs and adjectives would be appropriate? Or should I just have faith in the dialogue?
"I'll get you you bastard!" she furiously roared.
"If you can catch me..." he smugly taunted.
"I'll get you you bastard!" she yelled.
"If you can catch me..." he said with a smirk.
"I'll get you you bastard!" she roared as the weapon in her hand thrust towards his chest.
"If you can catch me..." he taunted as he stepped back a pace, his arms spread wide with whimsy.
Yeah, but try . . .
They have a use. The word is segue. They are the transition from dialogue to action.
There are two schools of thought on this:
The old school is that using the same word too often is bad and your speech should be as colorful as possible. So get out a thesaurus and replace every instance of the word "said" with a description that precisely conveys the tone.
"I'll get you you bastard!" she furiously roared.
"If you can catch me..." he smugly taunted.
The new school is that the dialogue should speak for itself (no pun intended) and colorful speech is painful to read in long bouts. The best thing to do is use standard words, perhaps accompanied by actions to convey the tone.
"I'll get you you bastard!" she yelled.
"If you can catch me..." he said with a smirk.
It's a matter of taste but honestly, I prefer the second.
I agree completely, and I didn't mean to give the impression that you should never use colorful words, but I failed to express myself by using a poor example. That scene was clearly a high-drama moment but in a more general sense, there's not always an interesting action to go with every line of dialogue being spoken, in which case, it's still better to use the standard "said" or "yelled" than more colorful phrases so as not to overuse them.
Once we established who started the conversation it bounces back and forth.