There’s an interesting discussion going on over at Crimespace about “lean” or “muscular” prose, what it is and why it’s used. Gerald So has also weighed in on his own blog..

I think that this misses the point of writing. To me, writing in a particular style is not a goal. My goal is to write in the style that fits the story, whatever that may be. I recently sold a story in which the narrator is an over-educated, almost hysterical neurotic, and just finished another in which the narrator is a laconic cowboy. Each is written in a style that would not be appropriate for the other. Now, it’s true that some styles do come more naturally to me than others; for example, I had trouble writing with a story that was intended to be in a loose, objective third-person point of view, in which narrative summary would substitute for much of the dialog.

In a broader sense, I think that prose should generally appear effortless. It should serve only to further the story and should not call attention to itself needlessly. When I say “further the story”, I’m not just talking about plot, but also character, setting, tone – if possible, each sentence should further more than one of these, for example pushing the plot forward while giving insight into a character.

This type of writing is very common in genres such as mystery or science fiction, less so in literary fiction. Sometimes literary fiction seems to be like Olympic gymnastics: capable of amazing feats, but certainly not effortless. I personally believe that this striving for effect weakens the overall work and should be disposed of quietly.