Too many words???

I ran into a nice woman the other day who had written a very small book on how to eliminate words from your writing. She was 'presenting' at a meet-up writing group. I thought to myself, why would I want to do that? Granted I have not read her book nor seen her presentation but I've already witnessed this trend. And it reminds me of so many other things going on in this culture that I disagree with!

It seems to go along with the three-second-attention-span mentality that's taking over. Instagram, twitter etc...are examples of this. I agree that older prose is more wordy than necessary but  I do think there's a middle ground. I happen to love words and because of that have not given in to the 'throw all adverbs out' club. I also use adjectives. When I'm looking for a  book to read I don't go for the skinny ones. I figure if I'm going to spend that much I want more words for my buck!

Will we eventually get all our communication down to one clipped sentence? Maybe we'll just go back to grunting. When I read a book I like to be taken into another world, a place that I can see, smell and almost taste, people who are multi-faceted and sometimes verbose. And when I write I try to bring the reader into what I see. How can I talk about a field full of lavender, moving gracefully in a light breeze, the smell permeating my nostrils and almost making me dizzy with its heady sweetness without using extra words? Maybe this pared down writing appeals to the non-visual readers. Perhaps for them it's the action that they're interested in, not the setting.

I find myself in a narrowing group as I struggle to connect with my tribe. Take the recent discontinuation of Longmire by A&E. Despite millions of watchers, the producers decided that they wanted to appeal to a younger demographic. It's as though anyone over fifty no longer counts in this society. According to them older people are more stuck in their ways and don't necessarily buy the products being advertised. (I want to say something rude here but I'll hold it in.) I've also noticed that nearly every show/series I've liked has been taken off just when they were getting into the true meat of it. It seems that people prefer Duck Dynasty to Defying Gravity or Touch with Keifer Sutherland, or Camelot with Joseph Fiennes as Merlin. Fabulous series. I've gotten a bit off topic here but I think the underlying message is the same.

Do you like words? And who out there enjoys a really thick book to read?

Would love to hear your thoughts on this!

Thanks for reading.

rules, rules and more rules!

Why has writing changed so much in recent years? why are adverbs verboten and passive voice obsolete? who decides these things? Yes, I am in agreement that the overuse of adverbs can be annoying but many times the meaning of a sentence is changed when the adverb is removed. A good "really" or "carefully" can change the entire tone of a paragraph...And many times the use of 'was' in a sentence (passive voice) is the only way to go--yes, yes, I know, used too much it becomes tedious and slows down the action. But occasionally? and the thing about POV...REALLY? is it that hard to sort through if it isn't absolutely exact? (there's that pesky adverb) For instance, if a character has a thought and it is an aside to the story and it's clear who is having this thought, why not? (separated out, of course) And yes, I know we need to understand POV before we begin to break the so-called rules.I read books all the time, well written books by published authors, who are much more lax about these issues than those of us who are newbies...and why why WHY does writing have to be so spare? If the story is a fast-paced mystery, this goes with the genre but if it is a more descriptive novel? Are we as readers really so lazy that we'll put down a book that isn't bare bones?

My editor, bless her heart, has been asking me to go into MORE detail about my characters, even peripheral ones...and she wants more background story. The book of mine she's editing is a fantasy and it is my opinion that if I add more I will lose readers--in that particular book the main plot line needs to be first and foremost.

Try picking up a book written back in the olden days (1970's, for instance) See how writers were getting their thoughts down back then...is it just the age of twitter that's doing this to us?  I would love to have your thoughts.