Writing Style?

[Zero Angel]

Do you believe you have a distinct writing style? If so, what's it like? If not, are you trying to reach some standard of "normal" writing?

Question 2: What are some favorite writing styles that you appreciate or even emulate?

 

[BWFoster78]

Do you believe you have a distinct writing style? If so, what's it like? If not, are you trying to reach some standard of "normal" writing?

I think that everyone has a distinctive style. Word choice, sentence structure, pacing, etc. all play into style, and there are endless combinations. I don't think you'll find anyone in the world that would make the exact choices that you did in all of these. So, in that sense, I think I have a "distinct writing style." On the other hand, I have no idea what my style is. I'm trying to achieve the optimum choices to best engage my reader and induce emotional involvement.

 

[WyrdMystic]

My writing is definitely distinctive - problem is it's overly wrought. I need to normalise it a bit to find my balance - then I'll be very happy. Though, maybe it won't be so distinctive when I'm done!

I'm writing in the Legendary Sidekick Challenge so there will be an example up when I'm done - in the meantime, it is full of emotion, too flowery and I tend to lean toward passive filtering. When its finished and polished though - then it becomes more varied and active.

As for question 2 - I'm really getting into Steven Erikson. There is something about th writing I love - a bit more complex than the mass produced stuff around and that's what I like nowadays. Patrol through the books on amazon and a lot of the time you get the same pacing, the same metaphors, the same story structure - it makes me really happy when I find something that truly stands out. Any suggestions of authors to look at greatly appreciated!!

 

[Anders Ämting]

I tend to think about style as a matter of storytelling, themes and so on, and I do have a lot of reoccuring narrative tendencies in my stories. My usual themes are friendship, finding your place in life and realizing your potential, I tend towards female main characters and almost always have a very large cast. I try to avoid distinct subgenres but my stories are always pretty straightforward adventures with battles against evil forces. I also try to look at stories I like and analyze what stylistic elements makes me like them, draw comparissons, etc. Same goes with stories that are very popular. The mechanics of popularity, and how it relates to quality and originality, is something I find rather interesting.

Haven't really thought about my writing style in terms of text and expression. I assume I'm kinda unpolished in that regard, but then again I usually don't try my best.

 

[Feo Takahari]

I like to use long words and sentences, but short paragraphs, and try to keep a bit of emotional distance between the narration and the characters. In theory, some readers are touched by the emotion the characters demonstrate through their actions and speech, while those more hard-hearted at least don't find the story emotionally manipulative. In practice, this can be a bit hard to maintain, but I try my best.

I try to learn a little from every author I read, but my greatest influence was Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House.

 

[MadMadys]

I know I've had people, who have read different things I've done, even over the course of many years, and can tell when something was written by me. I can't see it, or rather, read it but apparently I have a descriptive style that makes my stuff very much my own. I suppose it is a good trait to have, for better or worse, that at least you aren't just another person stitching words together.

As for the second part of the question, I definitely admire writers like Hemmingway or a Fleming that get across big ideas with little description. Personally, I don't emulate them or anyone else, knowingly. I just write from my head which tends to give things a sort of, conversational or storyteller style, I guess.

 

[Dan Latham]

I grew up on British comedy: Monty Python, Black Adder, Benny Hill. I loved reading P.G. Wodehouse. It has definitely influenced my style which, I hope, has a dry, subtle humor with rich tannins, hints of spicy oak, and zesty overtones of citrus and crisp apples.

The writers I admire and hope to emulate are P.G. Wodehouse, as I mentioned, as well as Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, Christopher Moore, and Donald Westlake.

In fact, an editor had me deliberately tone down the humor in a story because I sounded too much like Douglas Adams. That's a problem a lot of writers would like to have, I think.

 

[Nihilium 7th]

I have a kind of poetic style of writing, I like to an abundance of metaphors and the dialogs can get kind of overly descriptive. I also like dropping hints misguiding the readers sometimes. The problem I think I have is that it gets boring or too confusing for the readers sometimes. I personally have no problem with kind of writing, it's what makes me like the writing of Gene Wolfe, you have to read his books multiple times to get the full story.

 

[FatCat]

I'd love to think that my writing style is unique in some way, but when I think about it, I believe it is not. I simply tell a story and use the theme of that story to jade the word usage to the best of my ability, but that's nothing new. I don't know if I have the talent to truly create my own distinctive style, but in my mind that is something that happens along an author's journey.

 

[Sparkie]

I'd love to think that my writing style is unique in some way, but when I think about it, I believe it is not. I simply tell a story and use the theme of that story to jade the word usage to the best of my ability, but that's nothing new. I don't know if I have the talent to truly create my own distinctive style, but in my mind that is something that happens along an author's journey.

I can't remember where I read it, but some author made the observation that the writers with the best styles are the ones who try not to have one. I've read your stuff, FatCat, and you do have a voice all your own. I don't think style is something you have to worry about.

 

[Steerpike]

I don't try to emulate styles, though I think we're all influenced by what we enjoy, to an extent.

Favorite stylists include Mervyn Peake, James Blaylock's fantasy work, Vladimir Nabokov, Joseph Conrad, Shirley Jackson, Steven Brust.

I'm just as happy reading the more lean, fast-paced prose of Michael Connelly or Robert Crais, however.

 

[BeigePalladin]

Do you believe you have a distinct writing style? If so, what's it like? If not, are you trying to reach some standard of "normal" writing?

I wouldn't say distincitve, but from what feedback I've gotten I have a rather fast paced semi descriptive style. also feminine, apparantly. also, an addicition to short sentances - and hyphons - that I need to break...

Question 2: What are some favorite writing styles that you appreciate or even emulate?

lots. too many to list, though I don;t think I've ever conciously emulated soething I've reread my work and felt that I'd at least been influenced by writers I could notice