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Developing Your Style
Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, I was very eager to
develop my style. Not that I understood what style was, but
everybody else had one, so I wanted one, too.
Style is defined in several ways: it is a way of expressing
something (in language or art or music etc.) that is
characteristic of a particular person or group of people or
period; it is how something is done or how it happens; it is
the popular taste at a given time.
If those definitions are a little unclear, it's because style
is unique to each individual.
One of my old writing teachers wisely said, "Don't worry about
your style. It will come in time and it will be your own." She
was right. But if you're wondering if you can influence your
style as it develops, or even change it, the answer is yes,
depending on how hard you try.
It has been said that you will write like your favorite author
if you read enough of his work. That was the part that scared
me. I wanted to have a new, different voice. I didn't want to
sound like anyone. I didn't realize that my own style would
come through strong enough that I would still be me, even if I
patterned myself after Hemmingway.
You will always be you. You will pick up a little from this
author, and a little from that, but you develop a unique blend
that is all your own. Your voice will come through loud and
clear. You will always be you.
Do you want to change your style? That's hard, but it can be
done.
If you have a favorite author and you want to sound more like
him, read everything he has written, over and over. That will
put you into his thinking pattern. Analyze his best sentences.
Did he use snappy verbs? Alliteration? Assonance, consonance,
irony, polysyndeton? What makes him so special? Figure it out.
Read a paragraph of his writing, and then set down to your
typewriter and (without looking), phrase it in your own words.
Compare the two writings and look at the difference. Some of
the differences may lie in techniques you haven't learned yet,
and that could be an indicator that taking writing classes
would highly benefit you. The particular class that would aid
you in this kind of evaluation would be Wordsmithing.
If I could recommend only one class for an intermediate writer,
it would be that class. Reading the book that we use in the
course took my writing to another level. After you become a
wordsmith, you can quickly identify what makes one author
better or worse than another.
When you get familiar with the techniques of the masters, you
will look over your own writing and think, "I need to speed up
this sentence. It drags. I'll use a little alliteration there."
Or, "This ending isn't just right. I'll put a twist in it with
irony." These are only two of dozens of techniques.
Take your writing to the next level by signing up for
Wordsmithing!
by Deborah Owen - 10th October 2008
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Deborah Owen wrote her first story at the age of 13, and
entered it in the school contest. The contest was for 7th
through 12th grades, and Deborah took third prize. Marrying
young, raising children and teaching piano nudged out the
lighted muse within, but in later years, she has blossomed.
http://www.creativewritinginstitute.com
Article Source:
http://www.creativewriter.me.uk
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