No adjectives!

Alexander McCall Smith has little to say about these 'useful, helpful, intensely descriptive words.' They don't do much to help the writer who is attempting to use the English language successfully. 'The real aim, of course, is conciseness. Concise prose knows what it wants to say, and says it. It does not embellish, except occasionally, and then for dramatic effect. It is sparing in its use of metaphor. And it is certainly careful in its use of adjectives.' More...