The Adjective Addiction

The Adjective Addiction

A writer can do several horrible things to a reader. There’s confusion, boredom, and outright deceit as some of the most prolific tools of literary torture every writer has at their disposal. The worst part is that most readers have very little idea it’s going on, all because of the cunning use of adjectives.

The story of the adjective is a tragic one, as it always begins with wondrous possibilities when it’s first introduced to aspiring writers in grade school. Poor instruction and lack of guidance forces the adjective to devolve from a tool of descriptive precision into a blunt force weapon as time wears on.

It’s a less noble literary version of The Dark Knight.

The Adjective Trap

Writers wishing to immerse their readers into the story, often fall into the trap of trying to describe every object, every concept, and every scene. They inadvertently bludgeon their audience with details about an element everyone understood within the first few words.

Adjective overuse drags the eye, forcing the reader to suddenly stop their train of thought, causing the quality of the article or story to suffer.

Adjectives are very similar to a chocolate bar: a great occasional treat, but it can give a person diabetes or cavities if they indulge too much. It’s a restraint that most writers – even published authors – lack.

It’s one of the most glaring observations international readers make and dislike when reviewing Filipino writers. Imagine being a reader that has to cross syllable trains, exposition mountains, and adjective swamps just to get to the end of a page.

It can get exhausting.

Stuff Over Fluff

Cutting down on adjective use is a bad habit that’s difficult to break, especially for people who’ve been able to count on flowery descriptions for the effectiveness. It is a habit they should break nonetheless, because the more adjectives a writer uses in an article, the less substance it will eventually contain.

Readers will quickly pick up on this, and will drop the article as a fluffy waste of their time.

This particular three hundred and ninety-word article has an approximate fifteen adjectives. It’s a very small fraction, but it’s enough to carry the idea across. If you think you have all the right tools to express difficult to understand concepts and ideas, contact us and join our team.

We’re always looking for able writers to supply the Internet with better quality content.

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