Let's Discuss: Writing Prose
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- Опубліковано 11 лип 2024
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Lemony Snicket has a quote about good prose that I love: "It is a description I admire very much, because it is so startling that you know no-one else has thought of it before the author did and yet so perfectly clear you wonder why you've never thought of it yourself."
Love this!
exogenous In moments of fear, humanity is tested. The heavy burden of Exodus is existential loneliness. Today's indulgences, the faithful martyrs died piously. It occurs in the passion of virtue, in the fury of desire, not in necessity, and the ideal of human happiness dies as an ideal of idleness. Endogenous evidence of exogenous truth, drawn from aristocratic prejudices that refused to regard the pathologies of nature as bland and sensible nonsense. Euphoria is everywhere and everywhere.
I adore Douglas Adams’s whimsical prose:
“Many people went straight into shock as their minds tried to encompass what they were looking at. The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don’t.”
Just finished Hitchhikers series couple weeks ago. Can't believe it took me this long lol. Strongly, strongly recommend Wodehouse. Bought his Everyman Library collection 2 months ago and am now on my 8th book. Consider me smitten :)) My new gold standard in summer reading.....
Kind of reminds me of Terry Pratchett and DIscworld. "At 130, he had spent most of his life as an old man. Didn't seem fair, really."
I still believe the series has one of the best opening lines of all time.
“In the beginning the Universe was created. This had made many people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move.” (The Restaurant at the end of the Universe)
a brand new writer showing that to youtube betas would get this as an edit "youre telling us they are in shock instead of showing their reactions to what they are seeing, and can you use a better example for the brick metaphor? using an example of something closer to the size of a ship would make more sense than bricks being compared to ships"
guaranteed, todays 25 year old editor will say that. having learned from the best of em... the book tubers of ten years before now... the moral is use your gut because if somethings sparks it sparks and if you try to make it go along with the rules, all its going to do is check boxes, not visually immerse, which is much less about actual words than we think.
That second sentence is so odd. Is that supposed to be comedy?
Art admirer #1: "I love the subtle glow in this painting--how the brush-work adds texture and depth to imagery. It's evocative."
Art admirer #2 (same painting): "Nice sunset. Makes me feel warm inside."
I feel this is the difference why a writer would admire an author and how a reader would admire the same author. The reader likes the story, but doesnt care much about how its done, the writer also likes the story by HOW its told is important as well, if not more, a good story that was poorly told may ruin a book for him.
@@saymyname2618 Pretty much proving Merphy's point, that it's all subjective.
You forgot Art admirer #3: “This painting is trash, a second grader could have done this and it’s boring. Only idiots like this painting”.
@@mrnemoid
I think this often fits in the first category, because people with high standards tend to talk trash about mainstream stuff they dont like, even though the thing itself is not that bad.
Reminds me of that tale where two bakers are showcasing their cakes to an audience.
One is a masterpiece of a cake; excellent design, flawless frosting application, the cake is moist and fluffy.
The other isn't as good; sloppy, design leaves much to desire, the cake is somewhat dry and crumbling.
But when people come, all they say is:
"Wow, TWO cakes? Awesome!"
I honestly respect the work that goes into making purple prose so much. That being said, I was already tired of it after the first example
I think you've actually hit upon a great way to think about the difference between purple and beautiful prose, since both can be elevated and elaborate. It's never tiring to read beautiful prose - it might be work, but it's not tiring. Purple prose is exhausting almost immediately.
@@formerclarity8836
I agree@! Also the difference between purple prose and beautiful prose is The Name of the Wind (beautiful and vivid and draws you into the story and makes everything feel real and emotionally impactful without you having to stop and read the sentence four times to understand it but if you do then you will discover something new each time rather than just trying to comprehend it).
This Is How You Survive the Time War is so pretentious and self-indulgent that it almost makes me throw up
@@juliall255And yet indulgent language is like crack cocaine for some of us 😅 Also, it kinda fits the POV. These aren't young adults or middle-aged veterans. They're individuals who have transcended time and reality. Their POV and inner voices are gonna be a bit wild.
Sorry to necro this. There's totally arguments against and for it
I group 'good prose' in to two categories. 1. Beautiful prose that describes emotion and the feeling in order to connect with the reader (Rothfuss). 2. Effective prose, which is more basic and describes the scene BUT its strength is it allows the author to more easily inject emotion into the PLOT itself rather than the way the plot is described. (Brandon sanderson)
For sure. Sanderson's books are like 1000 pages, and at that point I really do prefer a straightforward prose- not that Rothfuss writes 'short' books. I def agree that it depends on the story. Personally, I'm not into 'beautiful prose' for war/military stories or grimdark books in general.
I find myself wanting less from Rothfuss, and a lot more from Sanderson, to the point where I can't enjoy either of their writing styles. But there's a third type of prose which include the likes of Gaiman, Hobb, and Le Guin, who ride the line between the two you mentioned. They are the greats in Fantasy, imo. No one else comes close. They have clear prose with strikes of utter brilliance.
@@jamesb7924 I understand what you mean. I read rothfuss and often find myself wishing he’d have just focused more on his plotting. I read BS and often wish he’d write scenes with a tad more nuance. But I suppose it’s personal taste with many people preferring each style. I think they’re both valid ways to write, just different.
This is a good breakdown
I doubt you will ever read the works of Halldór Laxness, The Nobel Prize winning author from Iceland ( which is also where im from ) but his prose is so remarkable that every line sings. His prose sings, because there is not a single sentence that goes to waste. I absolutely adore his prose.
During my army (obligatory in my country), a not so easy period and situation, I happen to find that the camp had a bookcase. In there, I was drawn to a book called world light. I didn't know the book or the author beforehand, but it kept me a really good company and saw me through the end of the service!
@@leykosminotauros Oh wow. Finally someone outside Iceland that has read him. World Light is one of my favourites of his. Im happy to know it kept you company to the end of the service.
Well NOW i have to check him out
Thank You
@@Greendalewitch Tbh, it wasn't easy to read. It's quite different than nowadays' literature, and also the edition in greek was from 1978 using the older tone system, but nonetheless, even if it sounds silly, it felt like a sign, and it was a much needed company. A great book indeed!
Can you recommend any specific translations? I always feel something is lost, no matter how good the translation. Makes me wish I could speak every language on earth.
I’m an aspiring author, and I definitely use average/boring prose. I’d love to be able to write beautiful prose one day, but it made me very happy to hear some Sanderson. The scene you read sounds exactly like how I write, and people love Sanderson. Just gave me a bit of a confidence boost 😊
I was really struck by the simplicity of it. There's so much left unsaid that the line really does linger.
(my English is not very good sorry) I'm an aspiring author as well and I think I fall more on the beautiful prose side, but beautiful prose would be nothing without normal prose. That's the thing that makes it stand out at the end of the day, not just the way it's written. And just because ideas are not conveyed in a beautiful way does not mean they don't have a strong essence. Often times there is even more power in simplicity and pragmatism.
We simply write what our eyes can see, and I believe writing is an act of surrender and honesty. Do not lie about what you see, that's how you lose sight of the Way. I'd much rather walk a meaningful journey of discovery than tell stories about empty shells and echoes.. and slowly fade into silence and confusion. Clarity is the base of art
Plain response: I enjoy these alot.
Proserific response: It's like plucking out a single crystalline facet of priceless stained glass. It's just a piece of the shattered landscape, but its light deserves specific study.
Personally my favorite kind of prose is not the kind that stands out in its own but the kind that’s very impactful in context. Simplicity in prose can go a long way for me.
For example: “She longs for him so greatly. She would go to the moon and back again just to please him etc.”
Hits so much less than something simple like:
“She wondered if he would smile when he saw her.”
Literally went on UA-cam cause I was getting frustrated trying to write and this video was just uploaded and it’s always good to hear your insights, thank you Merphy! :)
My favorite prose is Joe Abercrombie’s. It’s easy to read and doesn’t take much to get through, but it’s simplicity is so beautifully done. It’s brutal, concise, but still has a lot of depth. Great stuff.
Body found floating by the docks....... 😁
Exactly!
Agreed. It’s easy to read, yet always vivid and descriptive enough. Flows perfectly. I never feel like any detail is extraneous.
Yes! Simple, not flowery, but also not boring. I'd been trying to get through Mistborn, made it halfway through the second book and unfortunately had to give up. Sad to say, the writing just seemed dull to me. Then I picked up The Blade Itself. Like a fresh breeze. Not to mention I fell in love with the characters.
@@rkgrkg oh my... Try the audiobooks for Mistborn. They're way better. The narrator Michael Kramer is top tier.
* Cormac McCarthy is the god of balancing the most beautiful prose-poetry with the most intense and realistic horror/gore... have yet to encounter another author who even gets a little close to him in terms of this.
I personally love purple prose, especially prose where we really get into the head of the character in third person limited. It makes me happy.
:D
More poetic prose takes me out of a story, while someone like Sanderson can write in a way where I forget I'm reading-I get completely immersed in the story, my imagination on overdrive.
Same. I admire the art of beautiful and purple prose, but standard/boring/straight forward prose prevents the story from dragging to me. And as you mentioned, my imagination can handle the rest
That's because Sanderson writes in an 8th grade reading level. If anything he could use more prose. ...Or not, because he isn't capable of doing it.
@@teehee-yn3jh the thing is that people often confuse "poetic prose and beutiful" prose with "purple prose" and they are not the same, purple prose is overdone, pretentious and distracting it isn't even really poetic as in many cases it's just cringy, true beautiful poetic prose has rythm, musicality or can create beautiful literary images that inmerse you in the story by being evocative and emotional not distracting, purple prose is just bad writing
@@camiloordonez4906 I agree for sure, but sometimes beautiful prose is too distracting for me. Idk, maybe it's because I'm a very straight forward person in general, and pretty/musical prose(not purple prose) is just unnecessary at times for me. Like Name of the Wind has beautiful writing and a lyrical prose, but I'm not always in the mood to be reading something like that. It's less of what's 'better' to me and more of just a personal preference
@@JOSEPH-vs2gc He is however capable of writing great stories. What do you have to show?
Prose is the writer's voice. It's how they talk on the page. That's pretty much it. Some are evocative, vivid, and compelling, others are dull, turgid, excessive. Purple prose is misused language, over-reaching, mixed metaphors, nonsensical similes. Good prose is clear, touching on depth, usually via metaphor. It is effective in communicating layered aspects of people and situations. It is articulate, using words correctly. The right word for its context, not the fancy one to impress someone. Great discussion, Merphy. Some of your examples levitated my eyebrows but I had already eaten lunch so I was okay. In the main this is solid. Brava. It's the singer, not the song.
As someone who's not as avid of a reader as you I appreciate these literary breakdowns because I don't have to worry about spoilers, or adding another book to my already long wishlist.
To say the truth, whenever am reading a book and the author starts with there flowery prose, my brain just shuts. I think thats why I love Sanderson, I like being on point.
Sanderson can't write complex prose, he's actually a very clumsy writer, so he resorts to writing "on point".
@@JOSEPH-vs2gc stick you what you're good at, as they say
@@JOSEPH-vs2gc and I think that is a good technique. I once saw the Sleeping Beauty ballet which was a lot of fun, but one scene stood out to me. There was a scene where she was meeting suitors and she was standing on point on one foot the whole time. One would take her hand and slowly spin her, let go, she would raise her hands above her head and then lower them to take the hand of the next all while holding the same position with her legs. What she did was incredibly impressive, but she was not strong enough to maintain it the entire time and she was shaking and wasn't as steady by the end, was only breifly raising her hands before immediately grabbing the next man's hand. It wasn't a good performance. Doing things like that while practicing is great! Push your abilities, just not on stage. The work you display should be what you have mastered, not what you are still learning or a week point. If an artist is good at creating landscapes they shouldn't try to put a portrait in the gallery until they have studied and become good at that also, and it's okay for them to never want to become good at creating portraits, there are already artists that do that.
You don't have to like Sanderson's work, plain prose isn't for everybody, but clearly a lot of people prefer it, so there is no point in critisizing him because he never got good at a different kind of prose. He doesn't have to, there are other author's that do know how to write like that, and some of them probably don't know how to write in plain prose. Which may sound weird since Sanderson writes at an 8th grade reading level, but it might be hard for someone to write plainly enough for an 8th grader to read it. I took a technical writing class and that was all about simplifying how you were writing, which was surprisingly difficult. Beautiful prose is not better than plain and plain is not better than beautiful.
Thank you. I love Abercrombie and Erickson... I am not a prose Snob... but I am a Coffee Snob while reading wonderfully and beautifully written violent Prose.
The prose that struck me the most was Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse 5. All of his sentences are sharp, direct, and staccato. It's almost entirely simple sentences, ands, buts, or becauses are hard to find. It made the whole story vivid, clear, and jarring. It's probably my favorite book to read on prose alone.
So it goes.
Immediate note: it's not snobbery to want the authors to give you craftsmanship. Just like you wouldn't want a bricklayer to build you a shitty house ... it's all about the care and attention to how it's made.
To me, the snobbery comes in when people describe just-okay prose as worse than it really is. When I see people complain that Brandon Sanderson or JK Rowling write TERRIBLE prose I roll my eyes. It's like they're trying to one up with you with how much higher their standards are than yours or trying to make you feel lesser for liking something that has supposedly bad prose. I think if you're talking to people about how high your standards are for prose, you should express that so you don't come off as telling people "I'm too good for the crap you like!"
@Eric. That very perception can be viewed as snobbery.
I think the problem can become when craftsmanship is seen as equalling beautiful. I’m not saying you or Merphy is doing that, but it happens a lot. My fiction is often very plain, but my characters are very much everyday folks who don’t talk or think that way. It’s very intentional, but I doubt many people would call it pretty. I doubt more people would hold it up as good craft, but writing in deep POV means being very clear and intentional about how the character talks, not how I as the author does. That’s notwithstanding me sitting here trying to think of a good synonym for nice, but it needs to be one syllable because of the cadence of the sentence. That’s boring, and probably no one will care, but that’s all craft too.
'Tis true that craft comes on many scales. There's nothing wrong with plain prose if it fits the story and characters. Unfortunately there's the backlash against Hemingway and how so many waves of authors have been obsessed with trying to be as minimalist as he is. As a result, plain prose gets generalized, and writers who don't even know who Hemingway is get lynched by the post-post-modern mob.
The way I see it, craft is performed with tools. Prose flourishes are a tool in the toolbox, and you won't be using it for every job.
But prose can be good and expertly done without being flowery or beautiful. There is a difference between plain prose and bad prose. When done right, plain prose make the words invisible, so people can get completely immersed in a story. It is very intentional if the author knows what they're doing.
I appreciate you so much for saying that there is nothing wrong with purple prose, or with liking purple prose, even though you're not purple prose kinda person yourself; Thank you!. 💜
I just finished The Lies of Locke Lamora. Loved it. The closer I got to the end, the harder it became to put the book down.
Immediately started Red Seas Under Red Skies and just after the first 15 pages I am already really excited for what’s to come.
Thanks for always talking about this series so passionately Merphy. The main reason I picked it up. XD
I don’t write very often, but when I do, I desperately try to write beautiful prose. It’s by far the most impactful to me
"Pick up a book it's probably prose" 😆😆 awesome stuff as always merphy
This is very interesting to me, I’m doing some creative writing for a personal project and was just wondering about this. Thanks for predicting what I needed!
These are my favorite kind of videos that you make! Thank you!
Camus has beautiful prose and is amazing with hooks. I'm sucked into the story by the first page + chapter every time! Its so good
Omg was this a direct response to my request??? Thank you so much for this!!
15:26
I started watching this video precisely to get an understanding of how that specific kind of prose is. and you just said "Do you need an example for that?" And just skipped over it...
I look forward to the day when your favourite author writes a book that you have Been long expecting in PURPLE prose.
when youre in love, the 'ilove you i love you i love you' example hits extra hard
Thanks for the insight. Your description of prose makes perfect sense, and you describe it in a way that is easy to understand. Thanks for sharing!
Wizards 1st rule, and yes I’ve heard it all about how it was stolen from Jordan, even though I don’t see it, is a great book with terrible clunky prose. With Goodkinds second book, thankfully, he correct it, and wrote an excellent book. Nicholas Sparks writes simple five word sentences (I know this because my wife complained). This is a different kind of clunky, and in seeing the same, repetitive structure, it throws you out of the story. And while you call Sanderson’s prose simple, his prose still flows. To me it’s still beautiful, and it gets to the point. It’s a flowing prose I like, simple or purple, and I try to emulate it in my writing. Robert Jorden is on the verge of Purple, and I say this only because he loves to explain too much during action scenes, when I want him to just get to the point! Good video, and lots of food for thought for my 4th book. Can’t stop learning, and maybe one day I’ll see my book in your hands. My 4th book.
I’ve been waiting for a video about prose for so long! Definitely one of the things I struggle with most in my writing.
This kind of content is so satisfying for the brain. Love it.
Also I think that communicative language is under noticed, so I really love your emphasis on the communication aspect of these terms.
Your “bad prose” examples reminded me of reading the beginning of Way of Kings perfectly. I couldn’t continue it after it read so strangely.
I really like your channel and this video. I found it very useful. I never paid attention to my literature classes in highschool. I maybe read 3 books during that time. A year after I finished highschool I started reading for fun, and I made it to 30 books both in my own language and English. So I'm still learning about these topics. Thank you for these types of videos.
The mists UNDULATED?
Bucky!
@@Nasser851000 the headless chicken?
I like these examples, particularly the purple prose which felt very emotional.
Pratchett is my go to for excellent prose, with lines like: “Something screamed. It was harsh, guttural, it was malice and hunger given a voice.” -Going Postal
I like when authors sprinkle in that little bit of extra oomph at just the right moment, rather than having the whole text be flowery writing, or too emotionally heavy with excessive use of figurative language.
Another Pratchett gem from the same book: “It’s a plan that will work, Moist thought. It’s simple and deadly, like a razor.”
A wonderful description that is itself simple yet effective. Bonus points for occurring while the protagonist is shaving!
Girl you have been cranking out videos lately! 🙏
It is nice to see you adding more education in your content. Very nice, and great job!
Hey Merphy, just wanted to say that it was very useful, at least for one aspiring writer. Good job breaking it down in such detail. Apparently, I do fall somewhere in the middle. I guess you write what you like to read. Not too much purple prose, but at the same time keeping the language interesting and fresh. I could simply describe the story, but it feels like my artpiece and not just a medium of narration. I believe authors should have a deeper relationship with words themselves. Sure it's twice the work, but also twice the quality and artistic value. Have a pleasant weekend. :)
I completely agree! So nice to see more authors paying attention to the small detail and becoming a wordsmith. ☺❤
This was an absolutely awesome video on prose. You really taught it all really well. Thank you.😊
Glad to find your channel👍 That was so useful and informative.
Uuuu, finaly someone addresses this subject directly. It is not all that difficult to figure out the different terms but still, better to know than to guess. Thanks, Merphy!
Thank you for the differentiation between beautiful prose and purple prose! Very helpful!
The descriptions of the silences in Patrick Rothfuss books are so, so brilliant. That would be material for just one video!
thanks for doing this honestly wondered for a long time
Fitzpatrick writing prose is my favorite, the way he describes scenes , it brings the reader to the scene. I also love the part of "for what it's worth.." ...I enjoyed the prose of Harper lee, reading is like breathing, can be without it. Nice video Murphy📚
This is such a good video!!
Your feedback is great. I’ve been pushed in writing groups to dump the metaphorical in favor of realism regarding what is possible. In other words, sunlight can’t be felt or heard as sound from the longing of a thousand worlds lived and yet unlived as of yet. Going back to the novel to input my true voice, more prose.
This was informative & helpful for both readers & writers! It's very easy to say "I think this has bad prose" without explaining what you mean by bad prose, because everyone's definition is personal!
I'm literally working on word choice right now and your video popped up. I think it was a sign. :)
Thank you for the video. I have never heard about "purple prose" and also never really understood what "good prose" entailed, so I really enjoyed watching this.
I'm always curious about Pros because you do say it a lot and it makes me question my own Pros when writing. So this video is helpful for me. Thank you!
I never understood when you would say you liked/disliked the prose. This makes it so much clearer. Thank you!
Extremely helpful video.Thank you!
Randomly clicked on this video to see some discussion on prose. Subscribed so fast when you're the first youtuber I've seen to name-drop my favorite author. Joe Abercrombie.
Thanks for this informative video. As someone trying to get better at understanding writing styles and other facets of a story this is very helpful.
It was really helpful, thanks! ✨
Wonderful video, Merphy! This was comprehensive with great examples. You mentioned your friends who don’t care or notice or nitpick prose, but I can’t help but wonder if prose affects us readers on an unconscious level more than we realize. If the author rewrote Beneath the Dragoneye Moons with better prose, I wonder if the story would’ve had even greater impact. Maybe your friends would’ve loved it even more. Just a thought!
Yesss, thanks for the explanations!
I'm one of those who asked for a video on prose, so I want to let you know how much I enjoyed and appreciated your thoughts. Thanks!
~Another great video ... Thanks for your insight & input!
This is so helpful!! Thank you very much ❤️
This was so helpful! Thank you!! 🤩
I'm not really a book reader but I found this video pretty interesting because I never really cared to recognize differences in authors' prose. Great insight!
Thanks for enlightening us non-native speakers!
This was really interesting, well put :)
Thanks! That was helpful.
Thank you, I've never truly understood what proses were. I need this video. Thank you
Well done video on prose, and there's definitely a time for most of them.
Malazan Book of the Fallen, well there's a doozey you're biting off! I think I made it to Reaper's Gale, the 7th book in the series, before I got distracted with another series, or tired of the Malazan series, or both, can't really remembers what made me drop the series.
Of all things I love in the books is the way Erikson is able to make you sympathize, understand, love and hate god tier characters and do it on an epic level. Also his ability to elevate normal characters into god tier levels just floored me. They are a tough series to get through, but with big payoff throughout. I thoroughly enjoyed them, so not sure why I dropped them. I'll definitely be picking them up again in the future.
After soooo long a good video
Learned about writing prose today, thank you!!
Thank you so much for explaining prose.
Some of my favorite prose is in Good Omens. Or the Amulet of Samarkand. Few things are more funny or snarky that pure British wit.
Yes. I couldn't help staring at "The Hitchhiker's Guide To the Galaxy" on the shelf in the background of this video, and thinking of how great the Brits are at writing funny, witty prose (Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, Lewis Carroll, P.G. Wodehouse, etc.)
@@Steve_Stowers I'm actually looking into searching for authors with similar styles to Terry Pratchet, Niel Gaimen, Jonathan Stroud etc Would you say those listed authors are a good recommendation?
@@QuillASMR If you like Gaiman and Pratchett and haven't tried Douglas Adams, you should. (Gaiman has even written a book about Adams.)
Lewis Carroll is the author of Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass, and I think many people who haven't read them don't realize how comedic they are. They're very well written, in a way that I think influenced much British humor that came afterward, and they're very funny if you have the right kind of sense of humor.
P. G. Wodehouse (best known for his Jeeves and Wooster stories) didn't write fantasy (except in the very loose sense of his stories NOT being grittily realistic), but he did write in a very clever, witty style that's one of the reasons his fans love his writing so much.
If you like Jonathan Stroud, you might try "The Gates" by John Connolly.
@@Steve_Stowers Thank you for the detailed recommendations! I'll give them a go 😁
@@QuillASMRYou should try Peter Pan.
Such an insightful video, thanks Merph! I've been thinking a lot about prose lately (I'm writing my own book), so this was perfect. I'm not a very writing-oriented reader, so the bottom line for me is: If it takes me out of the story itself, it's doing something wrong. I tend to go for more "boring" prose, because at the end of the day I just want to know what's happening and let the story play out in my mind. I have nothing against beautiful prose, but I have noticed it's more likely to take me out of the actual story, and that's where my problem with it lies
I love Jim Butcher's prose in "Codex Alera". It's beautiful without being flowery or taking away from the pacing.
This was helpful! Thank you for making it. I've always been a casual reader but around the end of 2021 I started to dive deeper into the fantasy genre (from romance fantasy to more epic tales). Understanding pose helps me, in turn, understand what I like in a book's writings style. Case in point. I have found a sort of "sub genre" in fantasy pulling more on the elements of Eastern European folklore. I truly enjoy those books but even within that sphere some I like more than others. Looking back on it, I would say it is those authors who are more "dry pose" that appeal to me. They throw in a few lavish "purple pose" from time to time but that's about it.
Also, I find that sometimes books with these more lavish prose become lengthy to read. As I'm a more "cut to the chase" kind of reader, I tend to loose interest. But maybe there is a difference between flowery or lavish prose and just rambling lol.
Thank you. That was very helpful
watched u for one piece chapter reviews, didnt expect this video to pop up for a school project
i loved the video! it helped a lot 🥰
Wonderful video! Writer here. You'd be surprised how little explanations like this actually show up in writing books.
Great video and very well explained. I am one of those people that don't really pay attention to prose but more the characters.
It helped. Always wondered what the difference was, thanks
It was great getting a glimpse inside of what you, personally, classify as what and how/why; Thank you for sharing! I actually really enjoyed the opportunity to compare your thoughts on prose in contrast to my own thoughts on prose, and I kind of wish more people would do this, because I think it paves the way for more constructive interaction than say two people merely arguing endlessly back and forth over whether or not x-prose was/wasn't [insert-highly-subjective-word-here]-if you know what I mean. ^-^ 😁😅Lol
This was helpful to me. Whenever I write, there's a lack of prose. It's typically two poorly described characters chatting or fighting. I can probably write decent prose if I ever wrote prose at all 😅
Your failure to utilize a 'prose and cons' pun has not gone unnoticed.
As a casual reader, I've never heard of these terms before. Thanks for the vid! I didn't know that I didn't know this, haha.
For someone that just got into writing, and has no college education, this helped a lot in defining what what prose is. It also encourages me to continue writing
The Emperor’s Soul is my favorite Sanderson work, in no small part because his prose is on another level here, and the short story itself is tight yet evocative.
Never even heard of purple prose before, really interesting vid👍
I learnt a lot, thanks!
Excellent video!! Thanks for this. I enjoy these uhhhh... well I can't say discussions lol... shall we say "fireside chats"? 😆
Yes, fireside chats about genres and literary style and craft... I can honestly say more, please 👍👍👏👏👏👏
Ooooo let's discuss is back!!! 😄
Thanks!
Love prose talk.
My personal opinion on purple prose is that it can be super effective when used sparingly. Like that paragraph on love example: if that jumped in for a climax after a well paced character's journey on learning how to love or finding their soulmate or something, it would be super impactful. But if it's all purple prose it can feel melodramatic. I love when there's a balance, which is what I try to achieve in my writing. I love to use more description when it's natural for a character to muse over something, and not when I want action, because purple prose can take the momentum out of a scene too!
Good video, and I certainly found it useful and enlightening on how I might describe prose in the future.
I'm recently getting into Abercrombie and have definitely felt his more elaborate style relative to other authors in the genre. I tend to be very much a writing style oriented person, and like good or pretty or clever writing more than just about anything else in a book, but in the Abercrombie book I've finished I felt it was just slightly trite. Certainly nothing I actively found myself not enjoying, but, well, a little trite. The book was "Half a King" and I'm gonna be on the second of the trio soon. Looking forward to it. Another author I'd put in the category is Tad Williams, but I've always thoroughly enjoyed his writing with no caveats.
Funny enough, I have read the time war book with the so-called "purple prose", and I actually loved it, which is weird because I actually don't think I'd enjoy that style of writing more than for a couple books. Still, I really liked that book, and as you were quoting it I was like, "Wait, I know this!"
Maybe my favorite kind of prose is what I'd describe as clever. Think Douglas Adams (though I'm not really a fan of most of his books I love his style) or Jasper Fforde. It's like the author is "in on the joke" so to speak. Fforde, in particular, is just ridiculous with his prose, and his use of language is second to none in my mind, of what I've read.
As far as dry prose, I'm willing to be wrong here, but I've always found Stephen King super dry. I like a couple of his books, like "The Mist", but when he waxes on and on about the contents of a medicine cabinet I just want to die. I understand it's there for a reason but still.
As far as bad, this is why I tend to stay away from any modern YA. C.S.Lewis wrote kids books that were gorgeous and poetic and had spiritual connotations and he did it in a way that didn't talk down to the reader and assumed a certain level of intelligence. Modern YA tends to be overly descriptive of menial things and uses language that an 8 year old could easily parse. That seems to me a travesty when considering the age range the books are allegedly shooting for. I'm sure there's good prose to be found in YA but I've read enough bad to not be overly concerned with finding the good.
Thanks for the video!
Prose snob here 💅
Same
I like how your describe the subjectivity of everything. I was today years old when I learned the term purple prose, so that's cool. Also, the "I love you" sequence *does* technically fit that description by my estimation, and yet... it didn't make me want to bang my head against a wall! I think of myself as not liking that style of prose, but I think it's moreso when it's doing absolutely nothing functional. That excerpt tells us a *lot* about the character, bonus points (if there's context I missed it) if that's an *actual* confession. In which case, it's moving the story along because now the other person has to decide how they feel about all that. So yeah, a little purple at a big moment? Totally solid. Though if I had to read a whole book of that I'd sooner make friends with a swarm of centipedes.