When should modifiers be avoided?

Question

I've come across this Mark Twain quote: > When you catch an adjective, kill it. No, I don't mean utterly, but kill most of them -- then the rest will be valuable. They weaken when they are close together. They give strength when they are wide apart. An adjective habit, or a wordy, diffuse, flowery habit, once fastened upon a person, is as hard to get rid of as any other vice.Can "use modifiers rarely" be accepted as a rule in writing? What are other "rules of thumb" in using adjectives and adverbs?

Answer 1

I don't think your proposed rule works, simply because the situation will dictate whether you need few modifiers or more of them. And, by the way, note that Twain referred only to adjectives. Prepositional phrases, for example, are also modifiers, and we could scarcely get along without them. My advice is to follow Twain's specific advice and also to aim for verbs that really crackle!

Best wishes!