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PURPLE PROSE


What is purple prose?
It is when you have read 20 or 30 pages and the character has not yet finished brushing their teeth. Well, I agree with you that never happens in a novel. I exaggerated. But you get my point. It’s when you let your plot stagnate -- for longer than required.
People used to sew purple patches to clothing to show pretentiousness in wealth, since purple dye was an expensive rarity. And, Roman poet Horace compared writing such prose (wordy) to sewing purple patches to clothing.

 Should every word in your novel drive the plot?
Not necessarily. And I agree, you must describe the environment so that the story doesn't take place in a white background in the reader's mind. But don't make your work wordy.

How to determine whether your work is wordy?
According to Majesta Maxwell, author of Trials, “It is hard to actually put your finger on what purple prose looks like because everyone has such different views on what constitutes as ‘too much’ detail. There is a fine line between purple prose and rich description, and that line moves depending on who your reader is. Some readers prefer plot-driven narratives, while other readers want to be in the story; they want to see, taste, and breathe it. Literary fiction will be all story with little focus on description, and high fantasy will have an epic story with rich descriptions (part of the reason these books tend to be very, very long)”
Success of your book depends on your success in connecting with like-minded readers. Of course, you won’t be able to please everyone. Just stick with your style. Focus you energy and time on making your story a gripping one. Because when it is, readers will skim through whatever they consider purple.

Is there any type of description you must totally avoid?
As a general rule of thumb, avoid unnecessary sophisticated words that will confuse your readers. For example, never ever write, ‘Her voluminous follicles cascaded down her blushing epidermis of the neck, catching his desirous eye.’ The much much better version would be, ‘The way her hair hung across her bare neck caught his eye.’ I know, it’s hilarious, right?

A few more examples?
  • ‘He moved slowly, at length, and carefully on tip toes through the room with an entirely unnecessary gaze trained on the purple, wooden front door.’ (He moved carefully through the room, training his gaze on the door) 
  • ‘I watched the beautiful, stunning, resplendent sunrise as it crested the battlefield, casting shadows and hues.’ (I watched the stunning sunrise as it rose over the battlefield)
  • ‘It was a howling, torrential night in December, the coldest month of the year, and the wind ripped through the cedar rafters of the house until the walls were ribboned and diced.’ (It was a stormy night in December and the wind howled through the house)
Where did I look these up?
………………………………………….
‘Step into a scene and let it drip from your fingertips’
-M.J BUSH
………………………………………….

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