Should writing be complicated or simple?

simple

complicated

>>7999361
>>7999368

this.

>>7999371

also, i just want to add, that i agree with the sentiment presented here.

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there can be more than one work of written word so that question is irrelevant

Economy is most important. Some ratio of aesthetic to information is what i go by, it shouldnt remain the same throughout though, a consistent variety.

what a loaded example

the 'complicated' example is not complex but bloated
obviously you don't want to go thru your writing and rephrase everything in the most obtuse ways you can
the argument of simplicity and complexity is about how much meaning should be put into any given sentence or paragraph, how exhaustive a piece of writing should be in specificity

and the question becomes harder when you look at fiction. sure 'simplicity' sounds nice, but read hemingway and faulkner back to back and the answer isn't as easy.

of course there's no absolute, it's what you do with your writing, but consider the rolling aesthetic of joyce's prose, or the obsessive and axious aesthetic of kafka's, two things which could only be achieved with long winded writing. also consider the complicated nature of technical writing, philosophical writing, law etc. complexity is needed to make its points specific to a practical level.

>>7998441
I'm a bit biased due to my background in mathematics, but simple, concise, and elegant gets me so fucking hard

>>7999463
Yeah, the only consistent trait I've noticed across all good writing is that it condenses as much substance as necessary into the least number of words.

>>7999463
>>8001549
This is something I've noticed with Franz Kafka's writing. It will go from plain ordinary explainations and things being very simple but well done to a barrage of vivid and complex descriptions then it will just calm down again a sentence later and I feel both attacked but engaged because I didn't see the flamboyancy coming.

>>8001585
Yeah, I think 'violent' describes his style of writing very well. Bu that's because he is very conservative with his words, and why it's sometimes difficult to find rhythm in his language, which doesn't really detriment his writing as a whole anyway.