It is really good, a lot of writers recommend it having by your side. For example Stephen King.
And especially useful for those who are not native English speakers, like me.
1 Like
I am neurodivergent and honestly, books that divert from the action (i.e. books which add a whole lot of non-important info about the random topic the protagonist is thinking about at which doesnât contribute to the plot at all and I get so caught up with this random topic I donât finish the book) So I can agree with you that direct books are definitely more fun and easy to read! <3
This is one of the cases I can excuse because if itâs a major part of your character, then why not? But it is quite an ordeal for me, as a non-native english speaker, but if the writingâs not so complicated and do not include lengthy words which I have to look up every time, then itâs a little bit hard for me! 
I agree with this! I think thereâs much more common words that can be substituted for things like splendiferous and of the likes.
yeah, if youâre looking to spice up the romantic atmosphere a bit, a little purple prose is fine, but too much of it can really distract you from the atmosphere.
if you like something emotional but also direct and to the point, i would recommend trying out rent-a-vice. itâs raw and it makes you feel, and the writing is beautiful and simple. be wary of the content warnings it has though! 
thank you so much 
i love book recs and hearing that the writing is simple? and beautiful at the same time? instantly love it! i have checked its content warning and none of it trigger me but the sentiment is appreciated <3
Thatâs not to say that thereâs no digression in the book I mentioned - there are digressions to discuss mathematical problems, and Sherlock Holmes (hence the title), and things like that⌠There are quite a few illustrations in the book, even.
⌠But the manner in which these digressions are handled is very direct. The style is very much:
I said, âXXXXX.â
He said, âXXXXX.â
I said, âXXXX.â
He said, âXXXX.â
⌠and it doesnât really get more complex than that. Itâs super-easy to read (I had no problems reading it in French, even when my French wasnât so great).
Regarding use of flowery language - vocabulary such as âsplendiferous,â âeffulgent,â and whatnot - I donât want to say that you should never use such language⌠Certainly, thereâs a time and a place for this sort of approach - and I think that one of the things that makes me delighted to be a native speaker of English is that itâs a language that has so many different roots, and there are so many near-synonyms for words, and that each near-synonym nonetheless has a subtly different meaning⌠I think this allows for great precision with the language, while nonetheless remaining quite conciseâŚ
⌠But at the same time, the more direct style of writing is usually preferable, I find. Meh, itâs hard to make hard-and-fast rules, when youâre talking about an art form.
2 Likes
as a reader, I prefer a more simple approach rather than flowery or something complicated. Iâm not a native english speaker, and although Iâm nearly fluent for speaking it half my life I still sometimes struggle to understand what the hell is going on. so many times, I had to stop reading books or IFs I was very interested in for the sake of how much itâs hurting my brain. flowery writing can be done beautifully, but some writers just⌠exaggerate it, the piece loses its beauty when they do that. and⌠sigh, not to mention exaggerated flowery writing feels almost pretentious? or at least to me.
as a writer however, I still have a simple approach to writing but I mostly write in passive aggressive (thatâs how my friends described my writing,) and often prefer showing rather than telling.
personally Iâd say it depends on the genre youâre writing; romcom would be better with a simple style, gore would require twisted writing to add to the horror, while fantasy on the other hand or anything YA [young adult] would be better in a flowery writing I guess. but again, exaggerating it is⌠confusing to say the least.
thank you for the question! Iâve been meaning to ask this or a while.
As a reader, I like a mixture of both.
Short and direct to the point sentences are nice if you want to make an emotional impact against your flowery language on occasion.
Flowery language is nice if I want to get immersed in the setting when the author takes the time to describe the scene using the five senses.
I do not have a preference for what Iâd rather read in a story. Just make sure whatever you execute is well written, not plagued with grammar or spelling mistakes, is nice to look at while I read/easy on my eyes, and weâre good.
As a writer, I like using a mixture of both. I use flowery language as an indicator, or try to, and subtle clue to the reader that if I start using it then whatever the subject matter is is likely important in some way.
If a gun goes off then I write that. If itâs a tense scene then I might make that a single sentence for more punch.
6 Likes
âPurple proseâ is when flaunty prose completely overtakes the text.
It doesnât mean the more esoteric of words canât be enjoyable. When my character went off and became a nutter, the prose got all wonky because they couldnât quite understand what was happening. When my character witnessed a mind shattering, eldritch event, they couldnât put their thoughts in simple words. The fancy prose helped emphasis those points.
Prose is just like any other tool for writing. It can be used to aid or hinder the text depending on the authorâs skill.
3 Likes
Language interests me, so skaz is always nice to see. Basically, things like Trainspotting (not that Iâve read it), though it has the caveat of making things hard to read. If you know what youâre doing, you can break the grammar rules and create prose that really matches the character. Of course, Iâm aware itâs hardly for everyone and Iâm perhaps odd as Iâve bought many books to study language and how the story is put together, as opposed to simply reading for the story.
On topic, however, I favor simple and direct as a writer with not being very descriptive and being more focused on character, thoughts, emotion and story. I try to do as much as I can with as few words as possible, which can lean to more telling as opposed to showing particularly when dealing with a short story. That said, I have tried more . . . flowery language. Depends on the piece really. As a reader, I donât mind direct writing nor flowery prose. The caveat is it should be well-written and it shouldnât feel like the author is reaching for a theasaurus. No real reason to seem smart for the sake of seeming smart, in my view, and it may not be pulled off very well anyway. Of course, there are some writers who can make it work and some stories that it fits.
I guess you could say that, as ever, every writer and story/piece is different. Hence not too good a reason to lay blanket rules down and besides, there will likely always be someone who enjoys your work anyway so it comes down to âwhat do you want as the author versus possible salesâ and the like.
By the way, StorybookParagonâs post is quite a good one. Probably much better than my own here.
5 Likes
Give me purple paragraphs, sleek minimalism, steady workmanlike prose, and anything and everything betweenâas long as itâs good. Whatâs good seems natural. It flows, leading you along its many passages. A story with good writing will drag you along to explore its nooks and crannies no matter how many syllables in its sentences.
Of course, there are more limits in interactive fiction compared to standard fiction. COG titles seem a hybrid of things like the Choose Your Own Adventure series and traditional IF, with game stats/mechanics thrown in. A creator must adjust to the medium. As much as Iâd enjoy reading an IF game in the style of, say, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, it couldnât meander quite as much as a novel could. The writing would need to be pared down, to the level of a novella, perhapsâeconomical in its dispensing of big words and rich detail, but still needing some splashes of color amongst the streamlined decor.
If those splashes of color suit the whole, theyâll fit in like theyâve always been there. (Writers know better, lol.) Itâs the same of all good writing, really. It seems effortlessly formed when reading it.
The spectrumâs a funny thingâIâm autistic and Iâm the complete opposite when it comes to books. Although I love other styles of writing, Iâll always adore lush, dense, or complex prose the most. The more âvisualâ the better, too. Itâs like being wrapped in a lovely labyrinth of words that I need to explore every twist of, and after Iâve finished Iâll go back, in a day, a year, whenever, and find something I missed the first go around.
4 Likes
For me it depends on the genre but, for the most part, I tend to like more descriptive or even flowery writing.
Personally, it depends on the genre. If I am reading an epic fantasy, then I would prefer a flowery prose. But if itâs a gritty urban fiction, then most certainly not.
Now I actually want to read a flowery noir book 
I value balance; some stories, or even some parts of the same story, benefit from both in moderation. To successfully ride the extremes of either brevity or floridity for an entire work of prose takes skill and practice.
3 Likes
Iâve always loved reading but Iâve never been more stumped than reading H.P. Lovecraft. I try very hard to read his works and it is so incredibly difficult for me, I have to really dedicate time to read his work otherwise Iâm lost in the sauce of all these big words that make no sense, then, while Iâm trying to figure out what
âI do not recall just what my own part of the conversation was, for the baffling alienage of my seatmate filled all my consciousness. With every moment my feeling of elusive cosmic horror increased, till at length I was in a virtual delirium of longing for the end of the drive. Derby did not offer to relinquish the wheel, and I was glad of the speed with which Portsmouth and Newburyport flashed by.â
means, Iâve lost the buildup to that paragraph. Yes, I know what all those words mean individually, but the way the sentences are structured makes it more difficult for me to understand fluidly because I have to think about what each word means before moving on to the next, then once I understand the relative meaning of each word, I can piece together what the paragraph is telling me.
So in my opinion, go for it. Lovecraft is revered for his writing and Iâm certain a lot of people understand right off the bat, but keep in mind that some readers will find it really difficult if your whole game has a rigid, âfloweryâ structure lol
1 Like
The only reasons people love Lovecraft (apart from his name literally being about love) is for his worldbuilding and the fact that almost all of us are somehow attracted to weird, ugly and potentially world-ending things.
Also, public domain characters help a lot.
4 Likes
My dating life proves this is untrue.
To address the topic, though, I agree with some of the people in this thread when they say their preferences vary depending on the genre. In general, however, I think I prefer to write more purple than beige. A little color now and then never bothered anyone! (:
1 Like
Both? Neither?
For me it very much depend on what the text is trying to acheive. Action and very fast plot, I generally prefer short, direct text, but mood and emotion I generally prefer more flowery. In fact when it comes to emotion I need some kind of flowery. Just writing X was happy, mostly does not convince me that X is happy.
So, eh, it depends.
1 Like