Kill Your Adjectives!

Hemingway worked for Kansas City Star. And, as we mentioned earlier, their style guide was clear: use short sentences, active verbs, and vigorous English. But mainly: cut the adjectives.

Why? Because adjectives are lazy. They tell instead of show. And they're a shortcut that weakens writing.

Take "beautiful woman."

What does that mean? Nothing specific. Everyone pictures something different.

But "her walk turned heads" – now that shows something.

It creates a picture. It makes readers do the work. It interacts with a bored reader (And now think about the bored admissions officers tired from all those templates).

Writers who rely on adjectives are like painters who explain their art. "This bit represents sadness. This bit represents joy." Don't explain. Show.

"Show not tell" advice is cliche and will remain cliche unless we understand what Hemingway really meant with it.

And he used using adjectives as a way to prove why they explain rather than show.

And that's why Hemingway wrote:

"The old man was thin and gaunt with deep wrinkles in the back of his neck."

Not "the decrepit old man."

Simple.
Direct.
Strong.