It’s easy to mistake facility with language with poetic ability. Don’t.
Wordplay, cuteness, glibness — all to show how damned clever you are just shows how lacking in substance your writing is. Cuteness, glibness cannot replace real insight, real ability in communicating insight about the human condition.
Being clever will…
Think of your words as a paintbrush for the senses. EVOKE.
Most amateur writers get lost in abstractions, abstract concepts, vagueness. Don’t say love.
Tell me what love looks like…