quote:
I appreciate all the response no matter which way it is directed. I simply would like to understand why it is disliked so much.
This was the reason for this post. A few people had referred to parts of my writing as "purple", and I needed to understand why it was disliked so much, and what constituted purple. I didn't feel that I had written overly lengthy sentences or many thesaurus words. I wanted to understand if using metaphor's constituted purple prose, because that is when these comments tend to pop up.My original first sentence read:
The words were hurled back and forth across the room, some in flailing desperation and others with deadly precision - daggers intended to pierce the soul.
Almost everybody said this was either "purple" or "overwritten", but when I removed the "- daggers intended to pierce the soul" part, the comments stopped. Maybe I should have posted this as my example, but I thought I'd use a longer section. Is it simply a matter of metaphor or the dramatic implications of the metaphor that causes the dislike? I believe it is the author's intrusion that is the problem, but then I have to go back to the comments of style. When I comment that the words were daggers readers feel that I'm forcing an image on them, and I am. Now the words are actual objects, which are thought of as doing far more damage. I removed the daggers part, but I still don't understand why it was disliked so much.
Regardless of all of this, just because I would like to become what I consider to be a great writer, doesn't mean I don't have my own style. I dare say that every one of us has somebody we would like to emulate, whether that be in style or success. I have no desire to resurrect this thread; my feelings on this matter are quite resolved. I want everyone to tell me when my writing goes purple, violet, or ultraviolet. My ultimate goal is to write and sell what I have written.
So I thank you all for your incite, criticism, and suggestions.
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