Axing Adjectives
I'm noticing a disturbing trend in Christian fiction. Adjectives. Like so many I'd be a Rockefeller if I were paid a buck apiece for each one -- or two or five -- in a sentence. What's up with this epidemic?
Do writers think the use of adjectives makes them sound smarter?
Are authors using this technique to slyly increase a reader's vocabulary?
Is there an adjective fairy sprinkling glittery grammar dust with a wave of her wand across the land?
Answers:
Nope, no and, unh-unh.
What I suspect is really at the heart of the matter is laziness. Oh, I know. That sounds harsh and why am I such a hater? Whatever. The deal is that while some writers might be slacking off on purpose, the great majority are not. It's easier and quicker to slap some adjectives in front of a noun to get your point across to a reader rather than construct some uber-cool prose.
Newsflash: uber-cool prose takes time. . . a LOT of time.
And who's got time when you're trying to crank out a few books a year to make a living?
Still, the pursuit of stellar writing should not fall by the wayside, not even for the sake of a dollar. But don't take my lowly word for it. Turns out my views on adjectives put me in some pretty good company. . .
“When you catch an adjective, kill it. No, I don't mean utterly, but kill most of them--then the rest will be valuable. They weaken when they are close together. They give strength when they are far apart.”
~ Mark Twain
“[I was taught] to distrust adjectives as I would later learn to distrust certain people in certain situations.”
- Ernest Hemingway
“The road to hell is paved with adjectives.”
- Stephen King
“[The adjective] is the one part of speech first seized upon and worked to death by novices and inferior writers.”
- J.I. Rodale
“The adjective has not been built that can pull a weak or inaccurate noun out of a tight place.”
- E.B. White
So put on a helmet, get out there, and hack away at those unnecessary adjectives cluttering up your writing. Believe me, you'll stand out from the rest.
