On a writing forum recently, I read the oft-repeated advice that writers should always eliminate adverbs.
Like many oft-repeated pieces of language and parenting and pottery-throwing advice, always and never say much more about the person advising than they do about any actual rule.
Yes, adverbs can and often do indicate lazy writing.
Yes, when we are tightening up language, providing clear description, and keeping a good narrative pace, adverbs can be and often are obvious, red-handed culprits.
But we shouldn't just kill them on principle. Adverbs do have a place, a purpose, a reason for being. (Adverbs—they're just like us!) For example, you can't beat the brevity and clarity of "Sam arrived late."
The real problem lies when we shove adverbs under our writing armpits like crutches. If a better, more exciting, more interesting or evocative verb dazzles with suitability, let's use those instead. I bemoan the lack of more examples of contemporary Tom Swifties (not to be confused with the Taylor Swifties) to illustrate the point.
Find the adverbs in your piece. Interrogate them--what function do they serve, and is it essential? Are they, like regular spinach consumption, required for a healthy and beautiful sentence? Or can we perhaps give a nutritious boost with verbs instead?
