Understanding style
Ah, style. It’s not just about what shoes you wear but how you string your words together on the page. Delve into the world of writing, and you’ll quickly realise that the style isn’t merely a fancy aspect but rather a vital component that affects your story’s readability, depth, and impact.
What exactly is writing style?
Every author, knowingly or unknowingly, brings a unique flavour to their writing – that’s style. At its core, style is the manner in which an author expresses their thoughts. It’s influenced by word choice, sentence structure, literary devices, rhythm, and tone. Just as an artist may choose between broad brush strokes or detailed dot work, a writer chooses between terse, stark prose and lush, descriptive paragraphs.
Why does style matter?
Imagine reading a horror story penned with the chirpy tone of a children’s book – a tad unsettling, right? Style sets the mood, controls pacing, and even influences how readers perceive characters. It helps in:
- Setting tone and mood: A gloomy, suspenseful tale will have a vastly different style from a light-hearted romance.
- Defining characters: Ever noticed how each character in a well-written book seems to have their own “voice”? That’s style at play.
- Guiding reader experience: Style helps guide the readers through the highs and lows of a narrative, subtly telling them when to pause, think, laugh, or cry.
The different facets of style
Now, before you start picturing style as a big, monolithic block, let me break it down for you. The articles that follow this will dive into various styles and their applications:
- Matching style with your story: Ever wondered how to ensure your style aligns with your tale? We’ll talk about it.
- Examples of different styles: Whether it’s minimal, invisible, muscular, or lush, we’ll dive deep into what each style entails with concrete examples.
- The nuances of writing: Active vs passive, choosing tenses, and effectively wielding figurative language – all are elements of style, and each comes with its own considerations.
Tread confidently
Discovering and honing your style isn’t a one-off task. It’s a journey, sprinkled with trials, errors, tweaks, and revelations. Understanding style is about more than just emulating your favourite authors. It’s about finding your voice, refining it, and understanding how best to convey your story’s essence.
Dive into more resources on writing style
- How to chose a style that suits your story
- 5 examples of a minimal/stark style
- 5 examples of an invisible/"normal" style
- 5 examples of a muscular/conspicuous style
- 5 examples of a lush/ornate style
- Active vs passive writing
- How to choose what tense to write in
- How to use figurative language effectively
