"I think that when the topic comes up, description is often associated with ornamentation: with the implication of extraneous decoration. Readers love characters, readers love plot, but not a day passes without someone on Goodreads complaining that a book was "too long," had "too much detail," or was "full of purple prose." And most of the time, I would be inclined to agree with those assessments. I too am easily bored, and find flowery language nigh indigestible. My tolerance for the purple might actually be lower than the average reader — as soon as a writer starts waxing poetic, I start waxing acerbic.
But I also think it's a mistake to conceive of description (as a creative tool and aspect of storytelling) as superfluous, to associate it with extravagance or indulgence, or to see it as sugary icing on an otherwise wholesome meal. Description can, and should, be critical, integral, and sharp."
