Purple prose is easy to write. You start with an idea or a scene you want to convey. Then you pull out the adjectives. And pile them on, burying the original sentiment underneath a blanket of 'pretty words.' Mostly, I think, people do this unconsciously, with a feeling that what they're doing is marvelously poetic. It's not.
It maddens me because it's exceedingly unnecessary. Words themselves have connotations, and it's these that should be exploited to build a scene or evoke emotions. An excess of words bogs a story, or scene, or sentiment down to the point where it loses its meaning entirely.
Another thing that pisses me off is the overuse of 'poetic words.' Words themselves are not poetic. If they're seen as such, it probably means they've been overused and should be shunned. Otherwise one risks, and almost always ends up, sounding trite. This is because an excess of meaning, an excess of 'poetry' in a single word often hems the writer in from making work that's truly original, due to often-repeated connotations that can't be gotten away from.
All words are poetic, or can be. Everything from the pure sound of a word to its many connotations (and denotations, of course) can be considered in this. But single words, ideally, should not be used to evoke poetry or meaning. This is, at best, an 'easy way out.'
Juxtaposition to other words is, in my opinion, one of the most important provokers of meaning. Perhaps moreso than anything else, as the entire connotation of one word can be changed by other words in the phrase (see right-wing framing tricks such as the phrase 'tax relief,' [implying unconsciously, that taxation is a burden, of course] if you don't believe me).
Words are an extremely potent tool for the manipulation of minds, and most people, writers included, seem to not pay enough attention to them.
I suppose the basic argument of this entry is that short, precise phrases using exactly the right words are the most effective and memorable, and excessive or trite wording should be cut out as much as humanly possible.
Of course, this is just my opinion. A rant based on a number of things that have been bothering me lately. And I'm not even a writer, so what do I know?
revoless.
10:54 p.m.
January 18, 2004.
Listening to: Nothing.
So, what do you want to be when you grow up? or learning from dreams