Master Study of Adverbs

Yes, I know she is frightening, but I started messing around with digital art yesterday, and I thought I would share one of my doodles.

I also wanted to study J.K. Rowling’s use of adverbs, since they seem so descriptive for her.  Here are a few from The Chamber of Secrets:

• ·         Of course, he thought bitterly.
• ·         , said Aunt Petunia promptly.
• ·         , cried Aunt Petunia rapturously.
• ·         “Exactly,” said Uncle Vernon nastily.
• ·         “And you?” said Uncle Vernon viciously to Harry.
• ·         “In my room,” said Harry dully.
• ·         He gazed miserably into the hedge.
• ·         Wish they could see the famous Harry Potter now, he thought savagely.
• ·         “Er – hello,” said Harry nervously.
• ·         “Not that I’m not pleased to meet you,” said Harry quickly, “but, er, is there any particular reason you’re here?”
• ·         “Oh, yes, sir,” said Dobby earnestly.
• ·         “Sit down,” said Harry politely, pointing at the bed.
• ·         “Do they know you’re here?” asked Harry curiously.
• ·         “Please,” Harry whispered frantically, “please be quiet.”
• ·         Harry, who was feeling distinctly hot in the face, said,
• ·         But he stopped quickly, because thinking about Hermione was painful.
• ·         “Harry Potter is humble and modest,” said Dobby reverently, his orb-like eyes aglow.
• ·         “Sorry,” said Harry quickly.
• ·         “Dobby heard tell,” he said hoarsely, “that Harry Potter met the Dark Lord for a second time, just weeks ago . . . that Harry Potter escaped yet again.”
• ·         Harry nodded and Dobby’s eyes suddenly shone with tears.
• ·         Whispered Dobby, suddenly trembling all over.
• ·         Dobby made a funny choking noise and then banged his head frantically against the wall.
• ·         “You could just shake or nod,” he added hastily as Dobby’s head tilted worryingly close to the wall again.
• ·         Slowly, Dobby shook his head.
• ·         Stepping nimbly out of Harry’s reach, he pulled a thick wad of envelopes from the inside of the pillowcase he was wearing.

The two most important things I noticed from this exercise:

1. She uses adverbs a lot more than I do, and more than "proper" writers say to.
2. A well-chosen adverb puts accurate images in the mind.  You don't have to use a full sentence anymore, because "said glumly" does a better job.

Also, I thought it might be prudent to share a picture of Ridley with you, on one of our walks.  It's funny, but at this angle she looks like a normal sized puppy.