| Writing Non-Fiction posted May 16, 2022 |
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the colour purple
Show, Don't Tell - part VIII
by giraffmang
Purple prose is a particularly evocative phrase and has a provocative reputation to match.
Quite simply, this is the type of writing which is so stylistically embellished that the reader can struggle to gain a good understanding of what’s going on. (I’m sure we’ve all read a lot of poetry like this!)
Symptoms of this include excessive adjectives and adverbs, overblown similes and metaphors, pseudo-philosophical musings that play out too long, or all, or any combination, of the above.
I’m betting we’ve all read some. At some time, with our literary prowess high in our minds, we’ve probably written it, too and felt very clever about it.
The key to avoiding this is to recognise when your writing veers too far in this direction so that you can pull it back and strip it down.
It’s too easy for purple prose to raise its head in the arena of ‘show, don’t tell’. Evocative descriptions can easily lip into overwrought and distracting prose, which is counterproductive to the immersive atmosphere you’re trying to create.
Not familiar with purple prose. Here’s a quick sentence:
Could he possibly comprehend the magnitude of the situation within which he was encompassed, per chance?
Or, simply put, did he know what he was doing?
This is a more subtle example of purple prose; often times it can read as follows:
When it comes to the nature of fraternal relations, the tragic melancholy of each unit is vastly different from the seemingly similar next, and those who remain buoyantly disposed are actually fundamentally identical. The strange befuddlement that befell the normally calm household that morning was the unfortunate result of the husband’s unscrupulous infidelity, and the righteously indignant wife declared that her residence was to quickly and violently diverge from his.
Huh? If this scene sounds at all familiar, it’s only because it’s an adverb-heavy version of Anna Karenina’s opening lines:
‘Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. Everything was confusion in the Oblonskys’ house. The wife had discovered that the husband was carrying on an intrigue with a French girl… and she had announced to her husband that she could not go on living in the same house as him.’
The second piece of writing is clear and more striking whereas the first is bloated with unnecessary embellishment. The distinction is easy to grasp when you see the two pieces sitting side by side. It can be more challenging to recognise it in your own work.
Here’s a few tips on how to do just that.
- Pay close attention to longer sentences in your work. One hallmark of purple prose is run-on sentences If your sentences exceed 25 words, pay particular attention, and ask yourself the question ‘Do I really need all of that?’ 99% of the time you probably won’t. Try to streamline wherever possible.
- Avoiding modifiers such as adjectives and adverbs can help. Try to replace adjectives and adverbs with robust verbs. Making your writing more concise can make the experience more direct, immersive and powerful. ‘She cried forcefully and hysterically’ – ‘She gasped and sobbed.’
- Be wary with figurative language. If the metaphor doesn’t come easily, skip it. It shouldn’t be a struggle. Make sure it fits within the context of the story. I once read a piece set in the 18th century which likened a howling wind to the warp drive of the Starship Enterprise from Star Trek. It was not only a ridiculous comparison, it took me clean out of the story.
- Get a fresh pair of eyes, or ears, for your story. Sometimes, we just can’t see, or hear it, so get someone else to do the dirty work. BUT, be open-minded and remember it’s about the work, not the writer.
If you’re worried about slipping into the dreaded purple prose, remember that not everything in your story needs to be shown. It’s perfectly fine to utilise telling when an opportune moment arises (stay tuned for more on this soon). Always remember that writing, like most things in life, is about balance.
Purple prose is a particularly evocative phrase and has a provocative reputation to match.
Quite simply, this is the type of writing which is so stylistically embellished that the reader can struggle to gain a good understanding of what’s going on. (I’m sure we’ve all read a lot of poetry like this!)
Symptoms of this include excessive adjectives and adverbs, overblown similes and metaphors, pseudo-philosophical musings that play out too long, or all, or any combination, of the above.
I’m betting we’ve all read some. At some time, with our literary prowess high in our minds, we’ve probably written it, too and felt very clever about it.
The key to avoiding this is to recognise when your writing veers too far in this direction so that you can pull it back and strip it down.
It’s too easy for purple prose to raise its head in the arena of ‘show, don’t tell’. Evocative descriptions can easily lip into overwrought and distracting prose, which is counterproductive to the immersive atmosphere you’re trying to create.
Not familiar with purple prose. Here’s a quick sentence:
Could he possibly comprehend the magnitude of the situation within which he was encompassed, per chance?
Or, simply put, did he know what he was doing?
This is a more subtle example of purple prose; often times it can read as follows:
When it comes to the nature of fraternal relations, the tragic melancholy of each unit is vastly different from the seemingly similar next, and those who remain buoyantly disposed are actually fundamentally identical. The strange befuddlement that befell the normally calm household that morning was the unfortunate result of the husband’s unscrupulous infidelity, and the righteously indignant wife declared that her residence was to quickly and violently diverge from his.
Huh? If this scene sounds at all familiar, it’s only because it’s an adverb-heavy version of Anna Karenina’s opening lines:
‘Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. Everything was confusion in the Oblonskys’ house. The wife had discovered that the husband was carrying on an intrigue with a French girl… and she had announced to her husband that she could not go on living in the same house as him.’
The second piece of writing is clear and more striking whereas the first is bloated with unnecessary embellishment. The distinction is easy to grasp when you see the two pieces sitting side by side. It can be more challenging to recognise it in your own work.
Here’s a few tips on how to do just that.
- Pay close attention to longer sentences in your work. One hallmark of purple prose is run-on sentences If your sentences exceed 25 words, pay particular attention, and ask yourself the question ‘Do I really need all of that?’ 99% of the time you probably won’t. Try to streamline wherever possible.
- Avoiding modifiers such as adjectives and adverbs can help. Try to replace adjectives and adverbs with robust verbs. Making your writing more concise can make the experience more direct, immersive and powerful. ‘She cried forcefully and hysterically’ – ‘She gasped and sobbed.’
- Be wary with figurative language. If the metaphor doesn’t come easily, skip it. It shouldn’t be a struggle. Make sure it fits within the context of the story. I once read a piece set in the 18th century which likened a howling wind to the warp drive of the Starship Enterprise from Star Trek. It was not only a ridiculous comparison, it took me clean out of the story.
- Get a fresh pair of eyes, or ears, for your story. Sometimes, we just can’t see, or hear it, so get someone else to do the dirty work. BUT, be open-minded and remember it’s about the work, not the writer.
If you’re worried about slipping into the dreaded purple prose, remember that not everything in your story needs to be shown. It’s perfectly fine to utilise telling when an opportune moment arises (stay tuned for more on this soon). Always remember that writing, like most things in life, is about balance.
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