An issue that I have come across recently in works that I have edited for other writers as well as in my own work is a problem referred to as "telling." Personally, I think of it as an unjustified trait or modifier but I went to school for philosophy so I view most everything in human existence as unjustified, especially short words.
The problem that comes from "telling" is that the writer gives us one word to describe an entity in their story, but they don't tell us what that means or how it's present in the fictional actual. We don't actually see the character, we only hear about them. To tell us that a dwarf is grumpy when all of his dialogue is mild and he doesn't have a constant frown is counter-intuitive. One might still include the adjective but they must also include salty language and paint a picture of just how sour this dwarf's mood is through his expression and demeanor. The action should stand, on its own, to plant the descriptor in the reader's mind without the writer every having to put it in words.
Remember to always justify your modifiers and eradicate short words. - Cheers
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