In this article I will spare you an exhaustive lecture on style, because your time is precious, and my space is limited. Instead, I will point out four common pitfalls to good style that a writer must avoid if he or she wants to become published. More on the subject of style will follow in later articles. Adverbs Galore Adverbs are those verb modifiers that often end in -ly. Sometimes they come before the verb, sometimes after, and sometimes they are a word or two removed.
Adverbs are powerful words.
They modify verbs cheaply and efficiently, allowing a writer to say more with less. Well, not in this case. Editors loathe adverbs above all other words. No, because if you remove the adverb, you will not change the meaning of the sentence. The dialogue already conveys the man's sense of urgency.