Mark Twain on how to strengthen your writing

Mark Twain cautions us about the use of adjectives: “As for the adjective, when in doubt, cross it out.”

Clifton Fadiman also warns us: “The adjective is the banana peel of the parts of speech.”

Adjectives modify nouns. In the examples below, we see a tired child sitting:

The tired boy sat down.

The exhausted boy sat up.

The tired boy sat down.

The exhausted boy sat down.

The sleeping boy sat up.

The boy nodding sat down.

The sleepy boy sat up.

More than one adjective can modify a single noun as in the following examples:

The tired boy sat down.

The exhausted young man sat down.

The tired little boy sat up.

Adding more adjectives weakens the writing. Strong writing comes from strong verbs and nouns. You may be wondering what strong verbs and nouns are. Strong verbs and nouns have several qualities:

1. They are accurate.

2. Instead of being in common use, they are used less frequently.

3. They are brushes that create visual and visceral images.

We can edit these sentences to tell us that the child is tired without using any adjectives:

The boy gasped for air after running down the mountain and fell into the chair in front of me. The boy finished swimming through the river, came out of the water, staggered to a chair, and collapsed.

We can further edit these sentences, without using any adjectives, to include that the child is small.

After running down the mountain, the boy gasped for air and fell into the chair in front of me, his feet still 12 inches from touching the ground.

The boy finished swimming across the river, came out of the water, stood at least two feet taller than my poodle, staggered to a chair, and collapsed.

These two examples, written with verbs and nouns, reveal more than adjectives. Adjectives just say. Nouns and verbs are displayed. The adjective still has a place in writing. We would like to suggest the following list of rules:

1. Whenever possible, use verbs and nouns to show instead of using adjectives to say.

2. If you must use adjectives to describe a noun, stick to one.

3. When using an adjective, avoid overused adjectives such as nice, good, bad, important, interesting, and beautiful.

4. When using an adjective, try to use unusual adjectives such as decorous, rewarding, wicked, fiery, and dazzling.

5. Use a metaphor or simile instead of an adjective.

The metaphors show how the differences can be similar. Here are two examples:

1. The boy really liked to swim.

2. The boy was a fish, he only left the water to sleep.

The first example is a common sentence. The second example uses a metaphor to convey the same information in stronger writing.

A simile also compares two different things, often using the words like or like. We can use a simile to communicate the same information in the following way:

The boy was like a fish, only jumping out of the water for a second or two at a time.

In moderation, adjectives help our writing. Most writers, however, abuse adjectives. Mark Twain warns us as well. Our suggestion is that the next time you are looking for an adjective, remember the alternatives for strong nouns and verbs, and similes and metaphors. If one of these options is better for your writing, use it.