>>8031281
my diary tbqh

It's when you're trying too hard and it's fucking obvious. It's nice to have pretty language every once in a while, but purple prose is when you've gotten to a point that's obnoxious.

A good way to avoid it is to just tell your story in the way you naturally would. The details are what's important. No one wants to be swimming in a sea of adjective after adjective while reading a book. If you're describing one thing, you should describe it in two sentences max. That's usually all you need if you're good at compacting sentences. Then, if you want to describe it a bit more, just do it later on when it's convenient.

>>8031281
It's a fine line and there are different tastes. But I would say some pretty consistent indicators are using using large words without proper connotation. Something that says you don't really know how to use it and maybe exchanged it with another word via a thesaurus. It also comes down to how your intent comes off to the reader. Are you trying to sound intelligent or are you trying to make something beautiful? Trying to sound intelligent for your own ego is going to show to the reader and they might grow impatient. Sometimes this is earned though. It's often a matter of taste, but you damn well better have some good prose if I have to visit the dictionary ten times over the description of butter.

>>8031350
Bad advice. I'd always so go more and then you can cut what you don't need later. If you're inspired in the moment, just put it out there. It doesn't need to make it to the final draft. Revisiting something and toning it down is easier than making something out of very little.

I would agree that you should do what feels natural though. Forcing more could lure you into the trap of trying to sound like a good prosaist than be a good prosaist.

>>8031281
Purple prose is when you think how you write is too boring.

Sometimes people use a thick layer of it to mask that they have nothing to say.

Regular: t b h f a m
Purple: If my demeanor was to be quite clear and humble and honest, if what I were to say was to be lucidly sincere in my diction, perfectly forthright and unscrupulous, I would utter these very words to you my father's heir

>>8031350
>the good old 2-sentence rule

this definitely sounds like something you didn't pull out of your ass

>>8031425
Yeah, you're right. I just wanted to use forceful language I suppose.

>>8031281
The best way to prevent self indulgent writing / prose of a purple hue is to make sure form/style matches content. Content being the current narrative strain but also the broad scope of your vision.

So if you imitate Pynchon or McCarthy but are dealing w/ a trip to the shopping mall, you get purple prose.

It can really only be separated from content in the most obvious egregious examples