Andrew Mayden

By Andrew Mayden

I recently finished reading Stephen King’s On Writing, as I have discussed previously. I mention this book again because of an interesting observation I had in connection to a short story I read. The short story (novella really) Who Goes There. The story was written in 1938 and features an Antarctic research base that discovers a shape shifting alien frozen in the snow. The alien has the ability to absorb and become any living thing it wants. In fact it is so deadly that if freed from Antarctica the monster could potentially consume all life on Earth. The story is hailed as a Science Fiction classic, groundbreaking in style and content, leaving an impact on the genre.

As I said, I had just finished reading On Writing. In his book King argues again and again to use adverbs sparingly. So, while reading Who Goes There, I was struck by the sheer volume of adverbs Cambell used in his writing.

I have no idea what King would say if he were here. He might say that the sheer mass of adverbs in the story proves his point: they date the story. Who Goes There has a definite pulp vibe that can be felt even beneath the seriousness of tone and the maturity of the story in other regards.

I have come to one conclusion: adverbs are perfectly useful in adding appropriate color to the text. The only time they were a distraction was when they modified dialogue.

he said nervously

he answered angrily

he said heartily

he answered bitterly

When used to modify non speaking verbs I did not find them distracting, nor did they contribute to the cheesy pulp feel. But when the adverbs were used in relation to what a character said I was able to see King’s point.