How can i tell good from bad prose? What makes it good?

I will also be waiting in your thread for answers.

Flow. Readability.

you read enough good books until you undestand what is usually acclaimed as good, then you compare things

but there is no real answer (albeit you will find some really good ones that may or may not appeal to you); ultimately you just have to bee yourself, just stick your ass in someone and die

>>9063982
whatever pleases you. thats why 'good' is subjective

A good turn of phrase a combination of words that communicates something with ingenuity and without pretension or too much abstraction at a pace that controls the reader however it tries.

>>9063982
Ask yourself how else it could have been, and which version you prefer.
Let's take an example.
a) "I bought bananas and oranges"
b) "I bought oranges and bananas"
Which sentence sounds better to you ? Why ?
If you can answer, then you just answered your own question.

>>9064107
b) is obviously the better answer and anyone who says otherwise has SHIT taste

>>9064123
I'd say it depends on the rest of the text (which makes me realize it was a pretty bad example). I can see a) being alright in a dialogue, whereas b) being more interesting in poetry.

c) I bought boring bananas and original oranges
d) I bought original oranges and boring bananas
e) I bought original bananas and boring oranges
f) I bought boring oranges and original bananas

I'm curious as to what people would find better.

>>9063982
if it makes you jealous its good

It comes naturally after reading a lot. You don't even have to try to tell.

>>9063982
There are no rules that you can apply to a text to decide if it is good or not. It is an intuiton.

Still, it is not completely subjective. It can be developed as your read more and your judgement will get closer of experienced reader/critics. Maybe you can then put in words what makes a text good or bad.

>>9064123

but
WHY

I've never seen anyone say that a book that they liked had bad prose.

Hence, it's a meaningless buzzword, especially on /lit/.

>>9064256
alliteration is gay

File: 1480426147860.png (598KB, 5464x3224px) Image search: [Google]

598KB, 5464x3224px

>>9063982
If you like it, it is good.
If you do not like it, it is not good.

If you like, there will at least be another person who also likes it and at least another person who does not like it.

If you do not like it here will at least be another person who also does not like it and at least another person who does like it.

The people who like it, and the people who do not like will form 2 groups and throw insults at each other for their shit taste.

/history

>>9064123

You're wrong. The alliteration in "A" makes it the clear answer.