Hi my name is __ and I'm addicted to flowery prose

If it feels so right, GO WITH IT. I love the Fitzgeralds, Nabokov, and other "flowery" writers. Done right, it packs immense style. If you can pull it off, you should.

The problem is that few can pull it off without becoming ridiculous. So you just need some good crits from people who understand and appreciate embellished prose.

Prose is the only place I'm fond of purple.

I don't consider F. Scott "flowery." I think writing has been turned into such a austere, utilitarian thing that modern readers no longer have the ability to distinguish artistic elements in language from mere informational writing. I was just reading Gatsby last week, thinking, "wow, finally, I am reading someone who can really write." Writers like Anne Rice go too far in a way with a kind of ersatz historical writing that does not fit in the era-- that is what I consider "flowery" writing.

wrombola said:

I was reading some Zelda Fitzgerald the other day and her writing is so flowery and just barely tethered to reality.

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Yeah, that's um... not the prose...

Samuel Johnson:

"Read over your compositions, and where ever you meet with a passage which you think is particularly fine, strike it out."

Also Virginia Woolf (can't find the quote), who said that she'd go over her writing and make sure to take out the parts that she liked.

I wish my prose were more flowery. Half the time, it seems like it's made out of bones.

wrombola said:

Any other addicts out there that can suggest a good support group to help me out?

I was reading some Zelda Fitzgerald the other day and her writing is so flowery and just barely tethered to reality. I know it's wrong, especially when not taken in moderation, but it feels so right.

It's even worse when I'm editing the stuff out of my novel. I know it's inappropriate and distracting yet removing it is like pulling teeth.

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I know a cure for that: Ernest Hemingway.

Cured me anyway. That was two years ago, I'm editing again now and find myself editing out a lot of unnecessary words and general control freakery.

I treat flowery writing like a diet: cut the majority of it because it's not necessary, but do indulge every now and again or you'll freaking lose your mind. I've yet to go on a purple prose-writing binge, but the night is young.

If I were to write flowery prose it'd take me 10 years to write one book. I really have to stop and think to get a decent bit of purple... it'd drive me nuts.

I tend to write in a bare-boned and straightforward fashion, to the point where I'm frustrated by my inability to perform any linguistic artistry. Story is all I have to make a difference.

There's a difference between writing prose that plays around with language and writing 'flowery' prose. It's okay to want to write dazzling prose- but you have to recognise the line between 'lyrical and dazzling' and 'pretentious and convoluted'.

Cyia said:

Yeah, that's um... not the prose...

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scandalous! (-:

Heh, I have this exact same problem!

argh! Thar be purple on that there horizon!

personally i hate it. but each to their own. if you like it then that's all that matters

Another writer who does flowery prose really well is Angela Carter. (Or Oscar Wilde. He's a master of the pithy repartee, but his descriptions can be almost oppressively ornate. But even the oppressiveness is intentional).

I think "flowery" prose is riskier than sparse prose, because it gives you a lot more opportunities to embarrass yourself and makes you vulnerable to accusations of pretentiousness. That's exactly why I like it a lot, occasionally. What would be art without risks? No risk, no fun, etc.

(Although I have to admit, that afterwards I have to read the Economist just to cleanse the palate.)

Personally, I usually go for prosaic rather than lyrical. I don't mind weeding out the flourishes. My last short story went from 3000 words to 2000 words. I can be a pretty ruthless editor. But I always save the first draft for my own pleasure. This way, editing is easier, because I know the words are not lost.

Another thing I've noticed is that my German is more flowery than my English. I guess, in my case it's a matter of confidence. It's not surprising that I feel free to take more risks in my native language. (Although I sometimes feel that English lends itself better to a more minimalst approach, because English, even when sparse, somehow seems to be smoother than German. If I transferred my English style to my German writing it would sound harsh, I think.)

Gertrude Jekyll writes my favorite flowery prose.

There is nothing wrong with flowery prose, or even purple prose. Like impressionism, cubism, and all the rest of the other schools of art, they're merely different ways of reaching the same end.

Some intricate and embellished prose is good. Some isn't.

Spare prose, the same goes.

You might post something over at Share Your Work and see what folks say that is specific to your writing. If you do this, drop back and say so and I'll try to get over there and comment.

... "flowery prose." Used to be a bit afflicted with that myself. Cure for me was reading lots of kids books, like "Hatchet," which contain great examples of lean prose that make works by Hemingway seem verbose. Suits me, but may not, you. So before you go about fixin' your prose make sure it's truly in need of such as others here have pointed out.

Dang 'em for beating me to the punch.

I'm more, sort of, poetic than flowery. I love me my metaphors, I tells ya.

Yes, I have that tendency. Agents and editors call it 'poetic' - probably just a polite way of saying 'purple'.

As a reader, I love both. Depends on the mood I'm in. Just think if we didn't have the choice. I appreciate that everyone has their own style and merit. It gives me a lot more to feast on.

As a fledgling writer, I like to dabble in both. Words and their omission can be equally poetic. It's fun to explore different avenues, who knows where each road will take me?

I love lyrical/poetic prose. Does flowery/purple = lyrical/poetic? For me, flowery equates to overdone, hard to get through prose, while lyrical equates to skillful, beautiful prose.

In any case, The Great Gatsby is one of my all time faves.

I love reading beautiful prose and I don't think I can bring myself to write barebone prose. Metaphors and similes and adjectives are addicting.