Purple Prose/Headscratchers: Difference between revisions

** I believe it's part of the definition to be bad. If it's not bad, it's not purple, just elaborate. Just like how if a [[Mary Sue]] is written well, they aren't a [[Mary Sue]] anymore, just a decent character. Or if a [[Straw Man]] had many good points and was believable, he'd cease to be a [[Straw Man]] and be an opinionated ass.

*** Unless the [[Straw Man Has a Point]].

** I agree with the above. "Purple prose" is an insult, and thus refers writing that is bad. If your prose is elaborate or elegant, but those traits are not extended to the point where the writing ceases to be good, then it is not purple prose.

*** As mentioned several times on here already, [[Purple Prose]] ''is'' bad, but it is ''not'' the same thing as elaborate prose. It's only "purple" if it's ''too'' elaborate.

*** [[Purple Prose]] is bad, but this page also includes examples of simply elaborate prose.

** You've just indirectly answered your own question; you ''don't'' need to use more obscure words in most contexts, but how else are the readers going to know how smart you are?

** I think the word "egress" is cute and I like reading it... Personally, I think that ghettoizing thousands of nice English words just because they aren't widely known is waste of the richness of this language.

* This troper disagrees that it has much to do with literacy. Yes, literacy and vocabulary size are a factor, just like attention spans. But it's not just about that. Writing is meant to ''evoke images'' and do that ''effectively'', so that the reader can imagine things on the run and remain captivated by the story. Using long words when shorter words would do wrecks your pacing and is ''not'' effective. Showing off your vocabulary instead of using more common words is not effective, either. The reason those words are common is because we need them, and that is why they themselves, as words, are invisible and unobtrusive - much like the [[Said Bookism|"said" versus "stated/exclaimed/inquired"]] issue. Long and exotic words, on the other hand, are often unknown to the reader because their meaning is far more specific and limited than the author probably suspects (actual Purple Prose very often contains word that are blatantly falsely used). Even if it isn't, simply by bringing the word outside of its usual context you draw attention to it, make the prose obtrusive and distract from the story. Hence why "ear" is a better word for writing than "auditory organ" - the latter term has connotations that just get in the way.

** I think it's a case of being common in [[Purple Prose]] works rather than an example in itself.

* Orbs. ORBS. If I see this word one more time, I think I might punch a baby. I remember being a thirteen-year-old [[Neopets|Neopian,]] roleplaying wolves and thinking that this was the coolest word ever. But seriously, if there's a single bit of purple prose by fanfic writers and roleplayers the Internet over that makes me want to scream, it is this word. '''''ORBS'''''. That is all. Thank you, have a nice day.

** My glistening blue orbs totally filmed over with a sheet of salty sorrow at this unfair comment.

** Would you rather see 'curved spherical photon receptor cells with a dark pinpoint ringed by a coloured iris and containing a clear gelatinous substance near the nose and above the mouth' all the time?

** What bothers me, is when a characters eyes are described as "[color] orbs". The entire eye ''is'' an orb, but the iris is a circle on front of an orb.

** I agree with the above troper. "Blue orbs" makes me think of solid blue eyeballs.

[[Category:Purple Prose]]

[[Category:Headscratchers]]