Lush and overwritten

[pjthompson]

So, what is the difference for you between lush prose and overwritten prose?

I’m not asking to be a smart aleck or because I have an ax to grind (I don’t), I’m genuinely curious what the breaking point is for any of you who would care to comment.

I know that one person’s lush is another’s overwritten and vice versa, so some of it is a matter of taste, but I’d still like to hear your thoughts on this if you’re willing.

For myself, yeah, I do sometimes hit a wall with some lush prose where I want very badly for the author to tone it down several notches. Usually for me it involves the use of a lot of two dollar words when simpler ones would flow better, but it can also involve a great deal of artery-clogging images piled one on top of another. Still, other people lap that kind of thing up like cream—arteries be damned.

There probably isn’t a consensus. But, please, discuss…

Mirrored from Better Than Dead.

Comments

[asatomuraki.livejournal.com]

Oh! Read Sutree by Cormack McCarthy. Well, okay. The prologue. THAT is overwritten. Don't get me wrong, it is very clever, any individual image is lush and surprising and fun. Some writers write like they have something to prove, like every metaphor is them tying a cherry stem in a knot with their tongue. That's not necessarily a bad thing.

But, in Sutree, McCarthy builds a cherry stem Eiffel Tower with his tongue, and, as impressive as that is to see, it's also kind of gross. Off-putting. Also, he uses about 6-7 uncommon words per page and (in this book) eschews punctuation.

You know when contortionists fold themselves up into little boxes right in front of you, and you're amazed just to see it done? It's like that. The point of it isn't the story, it's watching how many times the author can fold himself.

To me, THAT's overwritten.

[pjthompson]

Well written definition!

Whenever I see a contortionist like that (or watch Cirque du Soleil) I think, "Yeah, but that's not human. What does that mean to me?" (Of course, when I watch Cirque du Soleil, I usually wind up saying at some point, "Gee, I sure do miss the animal acts.")

I don't mean that everything has to relate to me and my little world, but I do need something I can hang onto, and if it is so far removed from the pathways of my heart, why bother?

[asatomuraki.livejournal.com]

Trouble is, the line between lush and overwritten is often in a different place for different people. It's a moving target.