Adverbs, too, can weight a sentence and leach vitality from the most apt image. As a test, after you've completed a story, see how many words you can delete without changing the meaning. Surprisingly, more words can be deleted from Hemingway without altering the sense, than can be expunged from Faulkner without altering the sense. So brevity is not a necessary goal, but accuracy, making every word count, is a goal. Because words have sound as well as visual representation, it is advantageous for writers not to have tin ears.
Words are potential music.
If your readers have not taken too many speed-reading courses such as those offered by Evelyn Wood, they will hear it too. Since writing is one of the most difficult forms of self-entertainment, you are advised not to write unless you care a great deal for what you're writing about. The writer's dedication and concern must match the effort that will be expended. Rewards in the form of money and fame may be negligible, but if you're sincere, the rewards in self-discovery will go far beyond what a formal education or a competent therapist could offer. As a writer, you will some day be asked why you don't dash off a mystery or a spy story or a romance.