Write With Style

By Author: Bobby Patterson
Total Articles: 40
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Style is not just the crazy outfits that Lady Gaga wears or how we decorate our houses. Style also refers to the way we write. Just as wearing cherry-red lipstick was Marilyn Monroe's personal style, writing with wry humor and wit is Judy Blume's personal style.
From Charles Dickens to you and me, whenever we write we inject our personalities into our words, thus creating our own personal writing style.
One great example of style is "The Diary of a Young Girl" as this historical book is a real diary full of Anne Frank's thoughts and personality. Her voice drips off the pages revealing her frank attitude, spirited ways, and sensitivity. We get a sense of who she was when she was living, we understand her, and feel a connection to her.
A rather unique example, in my opinion, is how James Frey writes. His book "A Million Little Pieces" truly displays style. James Frey writes with deadpan language and raw details, which matches his personality and the story he is telling. He doesn't ever use quotation marks or a single tag for dialogue, and sets up most of the sentences in his memoir like a telegram:
I smiled. ...
...
Thank you.
He shook my hand.
You're welcome.
Every writer has their own style, whether it is writing erotically (Anne Rice), being overly dramatic and poetic (Shakespeare), or being very descriptive so readers can see every blade of grass in a field (Nora Roberts).
Instead of mimicking how a famous author writes, use your own voice whenever you write, and not just with the dialogue but all the writing in-between. Are you wacky? Use humor in your descriptions. Are you carefree? Write with a carefree style. Are you sensitive? Fill your pages with sensitivity.
As human beings, there is not a single pair of us who are exactly alike; not even identical twins are completely identical. Our features and personalities do not make up the whole of who we are. Our voice, intellect, interests, fashion sense, DNA, and fingerprints create us, and with all of that combined each of us are unique from the other seven billion people in the world. This also means that there are no two writers who will have the same writing style.
Style also refers to how we write sentences. I write figuratively. I can't get enough of metaphors, similes, personification, and repetition; basically all the things that make writing fun and lively. I believe it gives my writing more of an impact.
Do you like to write short sentences with no fluff (metaphors, similes, etc.)? Well then that is your personal writing style!
Just know that there is no wrong writing style. It's who you are!

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