Modern English writing trends enforce a Hemingway dogma that is far out of step with human experience. Fortunately, we are leaving all that behind. I hope. I think we are. Aren’t we?
All of us amateur writers have heard things like:
- Don’t use purple prose (and, swear to God, if you rhyme, we’re getting pitchforks)
- Don’t use too many adverbs (you get one ‘‘-LY’’ token per page)
- Don’t ever use a big word if a smaller word will do
- Be concise
and be brief and be minimal - Cut anything unnecessary
These modern English writing trends result in manicured gardens.…
