Young Writers Society

Prose, as defined by Wikipedia, is simply;
...the most typical form of written language, applying ordinary grammatical structure and natural flow of speech rather than rhythmic structure (as in traditional poetry). The English word "prose" is derived from the Latin prōsa, which literally translates as "straight-forward."
Everyone uses prose. I am using it right now to write this to you!
Good narrative prose, is something that, when written, becomes invisible to the reader. It shouldn't draw attention to itself; it should simply serve to tell the story. It should be prōsa, or straight forward. Pick up any well written book, (The classics, ones by Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Victor Hugo, Oscar Wilde, Rudyard Kipling, Virginia Woolf, Stephen Edwin King, Tolstoy, or even C.S. Lewis) and notice how you don't even notice their sentences!
But on how to write it?
Well, there is not really any one, solid advice on how to do this. Except for, to read almost as much as you write. Read! Read! Read! Then go and...Practice! Practice! Practice! You can start practicing with easy writing exercises, (you can even use my "describe the glass of water" as a starting point.) and write in different forms than what you're used to. Poetry is an excellent place to practice your skills. It gives you a sense of how words sound, and how they flow together. Try it, it really does help.

TIP: When you need to describe something, simply say what it is:
"The ocean was blue."
Then look in a thesaurus for a better adjective for "blue:"
"The ocean was a deep, aquamarine."
Then, add a strong verb that backs up the adjective:
"The ocean lay in deep, aquamarine."

Practice Exercise:
Try and think up some interesting and different takes on a single object, such as an ordinary glass of water.
Describe!
Is the water is still, or vice versa? What colour is the glass? Is it patterned? What colour is the water? Is it clear? Murky?

You are contradicting yourself between these two points:

Good narrative prose, is something that, when written, becomes invisible to the reader. It shouldn't draw attention to itself; it should simply serve to tell the story.

TIP: When you need to describe something, simply say what it is:
"The ocean was blue."
Then look in a thesaurus for a better adjective for "blue:"
"The ocean was a deep, aquamarine."
Then, add a strong verb that backs up the adjective:
"The ocean lay in deep, aquamarine."

In the first point, you give a good guideline for writing. In the second, you encourage the very behaviour the guideline was made to eradicate.

Focus more on using the right words instead of flowery ones.

By using the stronger verbs and more unusual adjectives, the prose begins to draw attention to itself and is no longer good prose (bordering on purple, if not jumping into that territory. As your last example proves through using a verb that is nearly fringe logic to go with colour descriptions).

Often, what looks like very flowery prose is written in simple language; there is no reliance on a large vocabulary to make the prose simply look strong. A good story can be written by somebody with a rather limited vocabulary, so long as the words used are decisive and specific (vague being "things" and "stuff").

Because the first point I quoted is actually solid, I would follow that advice before going to a thesaurus every thirty words to make prose seem "stronger". As I said, prose written with strong words is the ideal— the author's interpretation of "strong words" is what determines the amount a dictionary could be consulted by a reader.

Only use the words needed to describe. One quote I remember but cannot attribute at present is, "Do not use 'infinitely' when you only mean 'very,' for you will have no word to describe something that is truly infinite."

That would be my two cents on strong prose.

These are some very good tips, Eloquent. Rosey had a good point, as well.

I felt I could put my few cents in on prose while we're on the topic. To me, prose is a very personal thing. To each writer, prose is different. Some's prose is very beautiful with long, flowery words that somehow, magically (and enviously) fill the page and move the story along. Others, however, have a direct, blunt prose with fewer words, yet still manage to hit you hard with the meaning of what they are writing. And then you have those whose prose is somewhere in the middle with some flowery and some blunt, all meshing up nicely. I don't believe there is a legitimate right or wrong "prose", but it certainly benefits to have some variety in your writing, and that the best place to be is in the middle (some flowery, some blunt) prose range.

Well, there's what I think.
-Mazey

Thanks Mazey, thats kind of what I was trying to get at.
The story behind the "contradiction" was that I was reviewing a story which could greatly benefit from some ground up description, which is why I have "prosa," then go on to reccomend an extended vocabulary. Heh.

EloquentDragon wrote:The story behind the "contradiction" was that I was reviewing a story which could greatly benefit from some ground up description, which is why I have "prosa," then go on to reccomend an extended vocabulary. Heh.

I find it best to give a rationale for such examples, especially if the example was given for a rather specific context. Otherwise, the example looks like it's meant to be applied in every circumstance, when it often should not— especially with something as personal as prose.

My reply was meant to be a counterargument for your example.

Rosey Unicorn wrote:My reply was meant to be a counterargument for your example.

Heh, so ironic...