The Guardian’s Ten rules for Writing Fiction

Never use an adverb to modify the verb “said” . . . he admonished gravely. To use an adverb this way (or almost any way) is a mortal sin. The writer is now exposing himself in earnest, using a word that distracts and can interrupt the rhythm of the exchange. I have a character in one of my books tell how she used to write historical romances “full of rape and adverbs”.  (Elmore Leonard)

Mortal sin?  I don’t know about that.  While going all Tom Swifty is never good for your writing, just like anything else in life, adverbs used in moderation can’t hurt.  Yes, a character’s emotion should be relayed through his dialogue, hence making an adverb redundant and all around useless.  But every once in a while, scattered sporadically throughout your work, they can be used without weakening your manuscript to within an inch of its life.  Now if I see those blasted -ly words everywhere, I just might light the damn thing on fire, especially should the author decide to get creative and make an adverb where there never used to be one.  But really, how much can a single ‘quickly’ really hurt?