How Much Purple is on Your Palette?

Fun fact: Purple is my favorite color...except when it comes to prose. Just to be clear, here's a definition.

PURPLE PROSE: Prose that is too elaborate or ornate

And lest you're wondering what exactly prose is...

PROSE: The ordinary form of spoken or written language, without metrical structure, as distinguished from poetry or verse.

Now that we've got that squared away, let's get down to detail. I like big words as much as the next guy, but too many in a row and a reader's mental tongue will get tied. Plus they're seriously not going to look up those vocab words even --or especially-- if you think you're providing a cheap education. Multi-syllabic words are fantastic for academia. Not so much for fiction.

And while I'm at it, let's talk about the overuse of out-of-the-ordinary words. If you choose to  write things you wouldn't normally say, it's going to stick out to a reader. Now and then it's a great idea to shock and awe, but overdoing it makes everyone involved tired...as in set down the book and maybe never pick it up kind of tired.

All that being said, allow me a disclaimer: I am not advocating dumbing down your writing. I'm just saying spread out those fifty-dollar words and unique turns of phrases so that you'll endear yourself to your reader instead of frustrate them.