Upon returning to homeschooling Nichole and Brooke in English and science, I've decided to broaden my scope for this series. Instead of simply sticking to grammatical rules, I will include simple primers on literary devices as well.

The elementary versions of these lessons will stick to explaining what the devices are and how to recognize and interpret them. The high school level classes published here on the blog will cover this as well while also speaking about utilizing them in your writing.

I know today would normally have a Back to Basics grammar lesson; however, I promised to explain why so many seem to hate adverbs. The reasons aren't because of grammar really, and while it can be considered a relatively basic concept, this article just doesn't fit in the Back to Basics series. It's more of a technical aspect of writing, fiction in particular, so I am including it in that grouping.

​As such, there will be no elementary version of this lesson.

If you've ever hung around writing forums or even just google searched "adverbs," you may have the notion they are evil words that should be banned from the language. This is a notion rooted in writing conventions. It has it's place, but it is not the end all, be all for this group of words.

We will discuss adverbs today in a grammatical sense. I will touch on them in writing fiction in another article.

An adverb is exactly what it sounds like. It adds to a verb. Adverbs are words that describe or modify verbs.  

He runs fast.

She sings beautifully.

The dog quietly whimpered after being scolded for chewing the new shoe.

​In the examples above, the adverb is underlined, and the verb it modifies is in bold.

I wish I could say returning to writing after almost a year and a half of barely writing at all, aside from business correspondence, has been a breeze. Well, I suppose I could, technically speaking, but it would be a lie.

Truth be told, returning to writing and soaping has been difficult and rather frustrating. It isn't for lack of trying or a lack of desire to begin creating again. I'm just horribly rusty, so it's a bit like returning to a sport after sitting on the sidelines for a season or two.

Creativity, much like any other mental skill, has been compared to a muscle so much it has become a bit cliche. The thing about cliches though is they come to be because they contain an element of truth. "Use it or lose it" applies to mental skills the same way it applies to physical dexterity and strength.