Is there a common term for this stylistic misfeature (adjective/adverb overload)?

Cafe Society
1

Is there a term (other than purple prose, which I think describes something related but somewhat different/more general) for the following style of bad (usually narrative) prose?

[ul]
[li]in a nutshell: the word “storm” cannot be used without the word "raging"¹[/li][li]generally: the author cannot bear writing down a noun without an adjective or a participle, or a verb without an adverb[/li][li]these modifiers are often superfluous description, or tautological (lush tropical vegetation, courageously facing a danger, destructive armaments (that’s the point of them, surely?))[/li][li]descriptive modifiers are then often repeated (i.e. when someone is described as plump, five minutes of narrative time later he is redescribed as plump even as he is unlikely to have lost much weight in the meantime.)[/li][/ul]

1: that’s a participle not an adjective AFAIK - bear with me; the max. thread title length did not admit of the third term

2

Over-modified is what I would use to describe it. Or “in need of an editor” or “really annoying.” :smiley:

3

May I suggest “paid by the word?”

Or, in an academic setting, “minimum page count.”

4

“Bad writing.”

twicks, professional editor

5

Could it have something to do with this?

6

With ‘raging storm’ and ‘lust tropical vegetation’, could it be cliched?

7

See The Turkey City Lexicon http://www.sfwa.org/writing/turkeycity.html for this and other writing errors