Oct 27 2008
Actually Useful Writing Tip #4
If you’ve been keeping up on this series on writing tips, you’ll know that (Tip #1) Keep a Writing Log, (Tip #2) Make a Soundtrack, and (Tip #3) Go for a walk, are strategies I’ve tried myself and find beneficial to my writing.
Well, now that you’re all organized and inspired…
My Actually Useful Writing Tip #4 is: Find A Unique Style.
No, this doesn’t involve making your writing so different from everyone else’s that no one wants to read your story. Granted, you’d be unique, but not in a good way.
What you need to find is a voice that comes naturally to you. It may be just one small element that sets your writing apart from the next author’s. For example, I find that for some reason, I tend to use a lot of brackets in my writing. I can’t help it—I just find them so useful for expressing what my characters have to say! (Sometimes I need to stop myself from using brackets too frequently). In any case, it’s a stylistic component of my writing that I’m somewhat proud of, because it’s slightly unusual.
I also find that using brackets gives my narrator a deeper sense of reality, because the reader tends to see thoughts inside brackets as being asides—a further look into how a character thinks, which they wouldn’t normally see.
The best way to find your own unique and natural style is to read widely. If you’re literary, read literary books. If you’re genre, read genre books. Make notes, if you must, on the different styles and unique voices you find. Jot down your thoughts on each style and what effect it has on you as a reader.
Above all, you must be comfortable using whatever style you choose. If it’s forced, you’ll never have the energy to keep it up through 50 000+ words. Be true to yourself, and be true to your characters.
Don’t force your characters into a world that isn’t meant for them—create a world in which they can thrive.
