Why do screenplay writers hate adverbs?

Thank you. I complain about this all the time. It isn’t just screenplay writers it seems to be many many people in the US. They have forgotten about adding ly to the end of a word. How many sentences can we say? I take it personal. Please drive safe. He walks very slow. Gawd! I just don’t get it?! I think I have written it as a pet peeve at least 5 times on fluther, not to mention complaining about it in general.

When I lived in MI they didn’t know how to add en to a word. They were all bit by mosquitos, never bitten. And, they would have forgot to add ly to the end of the word.

Because many of them think they sound more intelligent if they use more words.

Eeek. If their stage direction is written that badly, it doesn’t bode well for the rest of the writing.

Because they give direction to an actor that may not be appropriate once actually on the set?

I think they are taking too literally the admonition to “show, not tell,” so they take whatever they would naturally tell about and try to form it as a “showing.”

So they don’t want the character to “sigh desperately,” or “look desperate,” they want “desperation to spring from the look on his face.”

I kid you not reading further in this screenplay, one of the characters loses one eye and on leaving the hospital…

His eye reveals utter despair.

maybe they get paid by the word and want to maximise their earnings. I do not know.

They are talking to actors, so they have to think in terms of action. Show worry, not do something else worriedly. This puts the focus on the emotion, and that is key if you want the movie to do well. The screenwriter is telling the actor the emotion to focus on, and not so much worry about what else is going on. This is especially important if the shot is a closeup. It would be interesting to see if the shot directions have an impact on use of adverbs.

By the way, this is just bs I made up for purposes of the question. But I anxiously await the feedback of my fellow jellies.

Scripts by their nature can’t describe internal processes because unlike written stories you are limited to communicating with action what the audience can see and hear. While you could argue that worry can be seen it opens a structural can of worms once you start writing internal states into your text.

Think of it like this:

Good writing is supposed to show the reader what’s happening and who it’s happening to rather than tell it. This is compounded when a story is to be delivered in visual format rather than the written word as film is rarely able to deliver the sort of first person perspective that is so natural in text.

For what it’s worth the examples you give sound like a failed attempt to avoid writing internal states.

Also, it can be bad to over-direct actors from the page. They might feel tied to the behavior written on the page and have their ability to naturally inhabit the character hamstringed.

There are lots of ways to show worry, directing someone to “look worried” isn’t a great way to get a realistic performance. It’s not much better than telling someone to smile for a camera, and you know how natural that tends to look.

@fundevogel Yeah, I think that someone told them not to write “She is sad,” expecting them to rewirte, “She quietly tears the photograph into small pieces and drops them into the river.” But instead, they write, “Her eyes have great sadness coming out of them.”

@6rant6 My mouth is expelling great mirth.

Because the writing in a screenplay is also an instruction to the actor. “Joe shows a look of worry” is more informative to the actor than “Joe is worried”. After all, you can be worried but not show it.

@downtide Only if they actors are very stupid. And even so, “Joe looks worried,” conveys everything.

Nothing personal, but you are reading bad screenplays.

I don’t know who the scripts are coming from or who has written them, but have you taken the time to read Oscar Nominated screenplays for comparison? They are nothing like what you are describing.

Do you know what draft the screenplay is in when you get it for review? Is it a spec script? One of many rough drafts? Final shooting script? The quality of writing changes drastically after every draft.

The magic number screenwriters aim for is 120 pages. That’s a feature length script. Translates to about a minute of footage per page. Anything well below or above that number & most people wont even touch the script unless you have the words ‘Academy Award’ on your resume. They are not paid by the word when a script is sold.

Directors hate when a writer tells them how to do their job. Don’t direct the actors from the page. It’s not your job. That’s the directors job. If the story is good enough, the emotion comes naturally. If you need a lot of detail on how a character should be feeling/acting/reacting during each scene, you’re not doing it right.

This phenomenon is not limited to screenplay writers. Most my English professors have said, at one point or another, how much they hate adverbs. It’s a writerly thing. See what I did there?