What poetry taught me about writing prose

I came to essays by way of poetry, and the habit that carried over is ruthless with adjectives. Poetry trains you to notice when a word is doing no work — sitting there because it sounds nice, not because it's earning its place in the line.

Prose lets you get away with more padding, and for years I did. Now I read every paragraph and ask which words would go unnoticed if I deleted them. Usually a third of them would.

It makes drafts slower and shorter. It also means when I do use an adjective, it actually means something, because it's one of the few left standing.

Part of the deeper dive: The Guide to Reading and Writing Poetry Without the Intimidation.