Your fingers bleeding from cutting back and forth on the keyboard trying to make the best novel possible. Your mind is exhausted as it has tried every possible combination, but it’s still unable to find the key to what a good novel is.
You eagerly type: “Which writing style is the best,” in the search bar hoping for an answer.
And you landed right here.
Hello, ready for an unorthodox answer that is a little different that what you expected?
I’m still relatively young writer, even though I’ve been at it for 3 years, I’m still expanding my mind. But my fingers don’t bleed anymore, they skate about the keyboard.
Looking for a way to save your fingers and find your key?
Let me take you on a little trip into why I believe writing style is overrated and why you will succeed as long as you write the way you want.
Your mind: The eternal enemy
I know as an aspiring writer your head’s filled with lots of questions. Everyday is a struggle as a thumping headache tells you, “Is this truthly worth it? Will I ever make it?”
And I get it.
Writing a novel is a lifetime commitment and you don’t want to start just to end up starring at an shell of empty pages that should have been your number #1 story.
How do you write? Do you focus entirely on characters? Do you like to describe a lot? Or maybe a combination a both?
There’s lot of things to consider.
And how do you even figure out the best way to nurse the idea inside your head?
Your mind is working overtime and you don’t get paid and it feels like your novel is getting nowhere.
It’s a true nightmare.
I’m still trying to connect all the dots myself, but I have a good grasp of the questions, because I know what I want to accomplish.
Writing style or personal style?
And the way to get there is by experimenting with multiple ways.
Personally, I was very descriptive when I started out. It was all about my character, what they saw, felt or experienced, and I’d do it from a 3rd perspective. (mainly, because I can’t naturally write a novel from a 1st person perspective.) I don’t know which perspective is better, but I assume it depends on the story you’re trying to tell.
And at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter.
As a new aspiring writer your eyes is focused on the finish line. The accolates, the money, and the fame, it’s the habitants of your tunnel. And it’s, therefore, easy to believe what you want to do, isn’t the correct thing.
But let your guard down and pick up your pen.
While it’s never a bad thing to listen to advice, this is a world you need to explore yourself.
Writing style is like placing different unknown dishes in front of yourself and have someone tell which one to pick.
There’s a chance you’ll pick the renowned sandwich, but it’s just as likely it’ll be a sandwich that’ll leave your mouth dry as sandpaper.
But what if you got to choose the ingridents, the recipe, and the way it was prepared? Then you would know it was worth it.
And if it wasn’t? You would go back and change things until you have something that’ll satifsy your taste buds.
Writing is like the renowned sandwich
It’s the same with writing.
People will have tips, things, and methods that worked for them, and they’ll happily present them to you. But just like with the sandwich, you can take their advice, but the chance for success is much higher when you find it your own way.
And that’s the reason I call it personal style.
You need to choose your style and make it into something that fulfills the demons telling you: You aren’t good enough.
Basically, it boils down to:
Anything you do in writing needs to done, because you choose to and because you want to. Anything less will leave you horrified and make writing boring/less exciting. And no amazing goal will ever be able to pull you up the cliff once you are hanging there.
A unique way of looking at writing style
I’m guessing you were thinking, he’s about to tell me about 1st vs 3rd person, present vs past tense writing.
Don’t worry, I won’t (thank god right?)
I’m not a technical writing genius.
Hell, I’m a non-native English writer. I suck at grammar and probably couldn’t tell you anything worthwhile about writing technicalities.
And while I probably could try to tell you the difference, I know there are way better posts out there that can explain it to you. But luckly enough it’s not the most important thing, because it wold have been hell for both of us.
To be honest, unless someone is a massive writing technical freak, they probably aren’t going to notice a mistake or two in your writing, what most people care about is if a story is good, plot is good, and the characters are relatable.
Therefore, if you figure out what you like and then use a lot of energy on moulding yourself into the writer you want to become, then I think you are well on your way.
Descriptive vs Showing writers
I don’t know if categories like these exist and if they don’t, well, they do now.
In case you’re interested, this is how I’d usually write a paragraph:
“She wanted to explore her curiosity, but didn’t know where to start. She grabbed the book. Its cover was wood made, but it felt like silk with it’s corners bend. ‘It must contain great value’ she thought as opened the book. The sad looking front page didn’t spark any interest, and she wasn’t sure she was going to enjoy the journey as she flipped to the next page.”
Honest, it was way more descriptive in the start. I had a habit of explaining every little thing I thought about, kind of like a closed caption on a show, it became my M.O., but I’m finally a couple of novels in and things are getting better as I’m naturally putting more effort to turn my writing style into one I like.
The Shinkansen to the rescue
When I sit to write, my fingers is like the Shinkansen.
They take some time to get started, but once they are moving it’s difficult for me to slow down and focus on how I want to write. Therefore, I still write in a “bad” way, knowing I just have to use the extra time in the editing phase to make it into something that I like, but with time it’s getting better.
“Why the hell are you telling me this Jack?”
Because, I want to tell you that you don’t have to get it perfect in the first version. It’s okay to let the words flow and then fix everything later on in post. It’s what’s it’s there for.
And to be honest, from my experience, this is where I gained the most insight into my writing and ways I can improve it.
“Fair, but what am I supposed to use it for?”
The obvious answer: To improve.
You get to write a lot, which exposes you to your writing, and then you get to spend lots of time editing, which gives you the chance to make it into a style you like.
How to choose your personal style
Just like you either are a lefty or righty, your brain produces words in a certain way.
And in the beginning, there’s power in just letting your writing flow the way it comes to you without doing too much fixing.
The way to choose your style is quite simple: You choose your style by just writing.
I know, this might push you to “X” at the top of the tab, but please bear with me and let me explain:
If you try to fit a cat inside a box, it’ll fight back using claws and teeth, and it’s the same with writing. Force yourself to write in a specific way and you’ll end up asking yourself: will I stop because of the pain or when there’s no blood left in my body?
Ovbviously there’s no reason to go that far.
But if you just write, then you’ll quickly discover what feels natural for you: Your quarks, traits, personality.
The task is to identify who you are as a writer by writing and then you must define: Which type of writer do I want to be?
You need to find the style that’ll make your fingers jump around the keyboard with ease. Find the style that’ll make your mind combine the words effortlessly, make your sentences sing and convince the message like a choir.
The task is to do what’s necesssary for your reader to see the story how your mind created it or else you have failed it.
Even if this is writing in a very unstructured and messy way, then it’s way better than forcing anything.
And I know it can be intimidating, but you need to go through a few novels before you can truly find what your style is like.
But how do you improve your writing?
A great question.
As a new writer you probably already know what your writing persona is like.
You see the studio, the clothing and you’re seeing the fame and the accolades you’re famous for.
And you want to take that image and paint it all over the inside of your mind, so it’s the first and last thing you see each morning.
How do you tell your story, what kind of characters do you explore, what way do you want your readers to engage with your content? It’s some of the questions you can ask yourself, if you need guidance.
And then it’s just about practice.
It’s writing, editing, and some more writing.
You need to write a lot to figure out where you are now, then you need to edit to turn the work into something you want.
From there, you’ll need to do even more writing until you let go of the “bad stuff”, i.e. the stuff you don’t want and replace it with the stuff you do want.
This will take time.
Exercise to improve your writing
I use about 10-15 minutes every night to write scenes and practice my writing style.
In case you’re curious, this is how it usually goes:
My mind searches its corners for an episode it can write into existence. I don’t have any requirements, so I usually sit back and let it take its time, but normally, it’s in the middle of action: A character getting ready to shoot a gun, two characters arguing, or a man sprinting away from his worst enemy.
Doing something like this once a day is everything you need, but multiple times won’t hurt either.
But because I thought I progressed too slowly, I adapted the exercise next to my primary writing. This is not something you have to do if you feel fine. But if you’re struggling with fine-tuning your writing, I can definitely recommend it.
Remember: It’s not about how you want to write, it’s about translating the idea into actions by practicing it over and over again.
Conclusion
A novel is just a bunch of scenes built on top of each other and it’s your job as a writer to construct the perfect way for these scenes to fit together.
I know it’s overwhelming, but it’s usually a sign you are trying to overdo it.
You are still a new aspiring writer, and things don’t have to perfect. Take it slow and take the time to reflect, and you’ll eventually see the small changes needed to fulfill the images painted all over your mind.
It’s a lot to invest for something that makes you wait for the reward. But remember to look back down the stairs and you’ll see how far up the mountain you have come.
Because here’s the thing about writing: It is about skill and if you’re willing to hammer the blade, you’ll find your pen getting sharper.
That’s a wrap for you today.
Until next time – Hope you have a productive and creative day.
Your writing buddy,
Jack