Writing style in AAO V1.0

Find detailed help from the AAO community, or write your own tutorials.

Moderator: EN - Forum Moderators

Post Reply
User avatar
Ryu Ushiromiya
Posts: 2361
Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 6:57 pm
Gender: Male
Spoken languages: American English, Español (Puerto Rico)
Location: Puerto Rico

Writing style in AAO V1.0

Post by Ryu Ushiromiya »

Writing style in AAO V1.0

By: Ryu Ushiromiya


Table of Contents

I. Terms of Use
II. Writing style?
III. How to develop it
IV. Recommended Reading
V. Conclusion

I. Terms of Use

You are free to use this guide however you wish as long as it remains unaltered and you let me know if you will use it.

II. Writing style?

Writing style is quite simply how you write. It reflects the way you word your sentences, organize your paragraphs, how you address certain subjects and so on. Writing style can be easily influenced by what affects you in life and knowledge. In other words, what you see, what you live, what you read and what you feel is what determines your writing.

III. How to develop it

Developing your writing style is actually simpler than you think, and quite logical. There is only one thing you absolutely must avoid: don't think about style when writing. Act natural and write whatever comes to mind. If you think about writing style, you'll wind up sounding either too scholarly or too stilted: clearly not who you are. Take a look at the list below for ways you can improve your creative writing. (=3)
  • READ!

    This is really important. In order to improve your writing, you must read. A lot. But like I've said: read what YOU want to read! :) If you want to specialize in a specific genre or area, you need to read from that genre. Things you absolutely should read are: classics of prose and poetry, such as Edgar Allan Poe, Mark Twain, Boccaccio, Charles Dickens, Gabriel García Márquez, Luis Rafael Sánchez, Luis López Nieves... the list goes on. Of course, don't be afraid to read modern, contemporary fiction. A few names I can mention are J.K. Rowling, Anne Rice, Stephen King (even though I hate him :calisto:), Ryukishi07 (creator of Umineko no Naku Koro Ni, yes, I went there :calisto:)... experiment and just read!

    Another thing I'd like to add is that you should do what is known as author studies. This, basically, means immersing yourself completely in the author's life. See how the events in said author's life influenced the creation of his or her work. I will mention an example you probably saw coming: Anne Frank. She was a Jewish girl living with her family in Nazi Germany. She was also one of the many that went through some of the darkest eras history has seen: The Holocaust. The mass extermination, or murder, of Jewish people ordered by the Fuhrer Adolf Hitler, marked her for life. During these times, she began to write in a diary in Dutch about what she saw: the cruel imageries of war, the cold and relentless iron fist of the Nazis, and the slow but eventual extermination of the Jewish. That book is today known by two names: The Diary of Anne Frank, and The Diary of a Young Girl.
  • WRITE CLEARLY, BE PRECISE, AVOID OR USE CLICHÉS AND STEREOTYPES WISELY.

    This is also important. You should take some time during the week to write as often as you can, as much as you can. Try writing short stories of the first thing that comes to mind. If you have to write about hot romance, then write how you see a romantic evening, even if you end up delving into private matters. If you have to write about science, then write about experiments gone wrong, or how cells divide. After getting used to writing just write whatever the hell you want. Just make sure that you have a space in your room or house for that purpose and that it's comfortable. When writing, always aim to be as clear as possible. Don't always use extravagant or otherwise unusual words unless you know what they mean.
IV. Recommended reading

Rather than post lots of links, I'll instead direct you to About.com's Fiction writing section. I've found it to be an invaluable source of information many times. I hope it's the same for you.

V. Conclusion

As per usual, I hope this guide is of use to you in the future. Please let me know if it has helped you in any way! (=3)

PS: i haz a new siggy pic! (=3)
IMPORTANT MESSAGE! CLICK HERE PLEASE?
Apologies if I do not reply in a timely manner. Sig by Tap!

Image
User avatar
SuperGanondorf
Posts: 3729
Joined: Sat Nov 01, 2008 6:37 pm
Gender: Male
Spoken languages: American English, learning German
Location: The End of Time

Re: Guide: Writing style in AAO V1.0

Post by SuperGanondorf »

This, too, is a very good guide. To be honest, though, I think it is a little brief. Maybe instead of making a new guide for each new topic you cover you could add on to this one. That way we would have one massive compendium of writing techniques rather than a bunch of small tips. Either way, though, it is pretty good.

A tip I might suggest is in the section about author studies, maybe give a couple examples of fiction authors whose lives influenced their writing. I don't think Anne Frank is a very good example to use here, at least not as the only example, because her writing wasn't just impacted by what she saw, she just wrote down what she did see. Maybe an example like Edgar Allan Poe would be better, since his life was reflected in his writing, not recorded in it.

Still, this is yet another excellent guide. Keep up the great work! ;)

(Now I really need to finish my comp entry. Bye!)
Main admin of the official AAO Chatroom
Ace Attorneys: Emerging Legacies Team Member
Creator of AAO's #1 Roleplay, Endless Time! Come join today!

It even has a TVTropes page!

Image
ENDLESS TIME: WINNER OF BEST AAO RP
Also the winner of:
Spoiler : Endless Time's Awards :
Coolest Original Weapon or Power: The Relics
Best Villain: Thereme
Most Well-Written Character, Most Original Character Concept, Best Design: Narome (LunchPolice)
Most Depressing Character, Greatest Backstory: Kenneth Roymond (GuardianDreamer)
Greatest RP Moment Ever, Saddest Moment: Narome's Feeding off Mika
Best NPC: The Doctor (ShadowEdgeworth)
Best Fight Scene: Drey Wilkins vs. Narome (Drey Wilkins, LunchPolice)
Best World
Most Eccentric Character: Ewyn (GuardianDreamer)
Best Duo: Narome and Kea (LunchPolice, Paradoxinparticles)
Biggest Crowning Moment of Awesome: The Sabolin Battle
And Best GM: ME ;P
User avatar
Ryu Ushiromiya
Posts: 2361
Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 6:57 pm
Gender: Male
Spoken languages: American English, Español (Puerto Rico)
Location: Puerto Rico

Re: Guide: Writing style in AAO V1.0

Post by Ryu Ushiromiya »

D'oh, I didn't notice that. I'll fix it tomorrow. I'm tired and must sleep. But thanks for the comments. :D I'll keep the tip in mind. And it was meant to be brief for now, since I plan to add more later on.
IMPORTANT MESSAGE! CLICK HERE PLEASE?
Apologies if I do not reply in a timely manner. Sig by Tap!

Image
User avatar
Meph
Posts: 13439
Joined: Mon Nov 10, 2008 10:07 pm
Gender: Male
Spoken languages: English
Location: Probably Disneyland Paris... or the UK

Re: Guide: Writing style in AAO V1.0

Post by Meph »

Ryu Ushiromiya wrote:You are free to use this guide however you wish as long as it remains unaltered and you let me know if you will use it.
You should consider getting a creative commons license. ;)
User avatar
Ryu Ushiromiya
Posts: 2361
Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 6:57 pm
Gender: Male
Spoken languages: American English, Español (Puerto Rico)
Location: Puerto Rico

Re: Guide: Writing style in AAO V1.0

Post by Ryu Ushiromiya »

Excellent idea, Meph! :D Thanks!
IMPORTANT MESSAGE! CLICK HERE PLEASE?
Apologies if I do not reply in a timely manner. Sig by Tap!

Image
Mimi
Posts: 10382
Joined: Wed Jan 27, 2010 6:35 am
Gender: Female
Spoken languages: English: the only language I can brag about

Re: Guide: Writing style in AAO V1.0

Post by Mimi »

You have good advice. :phoenix: Unfortunately, I've never read Stephen King's novels. :?

My writing style is... weird. Blunt and sarcastic, I guess.
User avatar
TKinhonipei
Posts: 2830
Joined: Wed Dec 22, 2010 1:16 am
Spoken languages: asdfjkl;

Re: Guide: Writing style in AAO V1.0

Post by TKinhonipei »

This is good advice.

I've been writing much better essays in college thanks to books, along with some of authors that you've mentioned. :wink:
Image
Gumpei is so awesome for being everything that I've always wished for. <3
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬­▬▬▬

Holhol is my soulmate ~<3

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ஜ۩۞۩ஜ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
BBblader© wrote:The strongest bonds you can make are the ones you aren't looking for, the ones that surprise you. I'm speaking from experience, so I believe in that pretty strongly. Think that's why so many relationships fail, because people wind up forcing themselves to find good in the other person, play up who they are to appear more attractive to them... but well... real love is being yourself, with someone who cares about you and accepts you for who you are.
Post Reply