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How do you measure "prose quality"?

I read books for the story (well, aren't books stories?) if it is written poorly - I don't enjoy it. And for me Gene Wolfe is written poorly the world is interesting but the story there was not entertaining at all for me and I read just the first book.

(BTW. I'm probably the only one but I just couldn't bear the constant mentions that some females face was shaped like heart).

Hyperion has interesting story and keeps you on your toes (just the first book).



There’s more than one way to tell the same story. Word choice can colour the reader’s perception subtly. Rhythm and pacing matter. Use of poetic devices and subtext make some tellings of stories much richer than others.

Some writing simply makes you go “Wow, what an amazing sentence” even if the plot is gibberish.


It is not measurable, unless you count adverbs and adjectives or things of that nature, but it can be critiqued.

George Orwell on prose: https://www.orwell.ru/library/essays/politics/english/e_poli....

Also, see Elements of Style.

A good story can be "written poorly," that's where prose quality comes into play. When you say written poorly it seems you are referring to narrative and structure--as you deemed it not entertaining--not prose.




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