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.
- 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 ), Ryukishi07 (creator of Umineko no Naku Koro Ni, yes, I went there )... 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.
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!
PS: i haz a new siggy pic!