S is for Simplicity

 Like many writers, I have a genuine love for language, for rhythmic, lyrical--even elegant--prose ... when used carefully and at the right time and place. Even so, while I hope for a certain distinct rhythm in my fiction, I try not to clutter the page with too many words that will need to be looked up by my readers or me-talk-pretty phrases that rhyme by design or virtually drip alliteration.

Little annoys me more (in the field of fiction) than a novel that seems to have been written for...