Writing Lessons
WRITING LESSON 04:
STYLE, WHAT IS IT?
MOST PEOPLE FIND STYLE MYSTERIOUS THEY BELIEVE:
* AFTER WRITING FOR TEN OR MORE YEARS YOUR STYLE SUDDENLY DEVELOPS
* STYLE IS SOMETHING HEMINGWAY OR FAMOUS WRITERS HAVE
* STYLE HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH SENTENCE STRUCTURE
Ironically, some of all three are true. However, style is not as mysterious as it seems.
BASIC STYLE RULES:
* EVERYONE'S WRITING HAS A STYLE
Ask anyone you know who reads your fiction and they'll say yes I recognize your style from another writers. Most people, because they are developing writers, don't like their style. Sometimes, they're admiring Emily Dickinson or some other famous writer. Admiring them so much, they wonder why their sentences don't flow in the same rhythm as the famed person. In fact, they pay so much attention to other writers, they cannot see their own style developing.
Your natural style comes out most easily to you when you're freewriting--when your words pulse with raw power and authenticity; when you're not straining to be literary or intellectual (unless you already are like that). Write as quickly as possible, focusing on characterization, plotting, and the other vital elements of fiction. This allows your natural style to surface in your first draft.
No one else sounds like you on the printed page.
* EVERY GENRE (ROMANCES, LITERARY, MYSTERY) STORIES HAS A STYLE
Another rule is style emerges from the genre and that genre's techniques. Love stories always are more emotional. More close up to the personalities in the novel so the readers can absorb their every move and attempt at love. Literary stories tend to long sentences and minute-by-minute ventures into the character's mind and thinking.
* STYLE IS INTIMATELY CONNECTED TO DETAILS
Third rule is style and details are linked like green coloring and leaf. Perhaps someone spends a lot of time on describing the sights and sounds and feelings in their story. That becomes part of their style. You would come away from the story with a sense of visual, tactile and auditory world in their novel or short stories.
* STYLE DESCRIBES CHARACTERS
Fourth rule connects characterization and style. If your sentences in dialogue are short for the main character, if things are described as being sharp or angular and cold whenever that character shows up, your using style to further define the character.
* SHOW THE ACTION, FEELINGS, OPINIONS, THOUGHTS IN YOUR WRITING.
Showing and not telling helps you sense and see your style of writing.
* COMPONENTS OF STYLE
COLOR: blk & white, color, lush color, reds, yellows, etcs
TEXTURE: sultry, grimy, ritzy, street, sterile
RHYTHM: sentence length, dialogue pacing, length of scenes, slow quiet scenes contrasted to fast scenes for action/violence, pacing slow movements for key scenes
DURATION: spent with characters, on places, duration and time equal importance
SCALE: big-jurassic park, small-accidental tourist
PROPORTION: small for private moments vs big for group scenes, closeness or farness of audience
PHYSICAL PROXIMITY: physical distance between viewers and objects
EMOTIONAL PROXIMITY: first person, second person, third person
NARRATIVE STYLE: narration agrees with scene events, narration disagrees/contrasts scene events
FLOW: scenes sequentially with very few gaps in time, large scene caps in time between scenes.
POINT OF VIEW: See Emotional Proximity above.
TONE: COMBINATION OF ALL
1. SIGHT IS 80%
2. SOUND IS 20%
3. IMAGATIVE USE OF DETAILS THROUGH OTHER SENSES BY USE OF PROVOCATIVE IMAGERY IS ONE'S STYLE
4. VISUAL: Props, actions, gestures shapes, textures, movements, character's physical appearance and mannerisms, sets, costumes, actor's appearances, locations all convey information viewers.
5. SOUNDS: Add strong atmosphere, texture, tension, dialogue, silence, volume, frequency, music and sound effects.
6. STREAMLINE STYLE: Choosing just the right "revealing details." (RAISE THE RED LANTERN)
7. TRANSPARENT STYLE: realistic portrayal of world that doesn't draw attention to itself (ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN)
8. THEATRICAL STYLE: Recognized world factors are exaggerated (BLADE RUNNER, THE ADDAMS FAMILY).
9. SIGHT IS 80%
10. SOUND IS 20%
11. IMAGATIVE USE OF DETAILS THROUGH OTHER SENSES BY USE OF PROVOCATIVE IMAGERY IS ONE'S STYLE
12. VISUAL: Props, actions, gestures shapes, textures, movements, character's physical appearance and mannerisms, sets, costumes, actor's appearances, locations all convey information viewers.
13. SOUNDS: Add strong atmosphere, texture, tension, dialogue, silence, volume, frequency, music and sound effects.
14. STREAMLINE STYLE: Choosing just the right "revealing details." (RAISE THE RED LANTERN) (HEMINGWAY'S WRITING)
15. TRANSPARENT STYLE: realistic portrayal of world that doesn't draw attention to itself (ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN)
16. THEATRICAL STYLE: Recognized world factors are exaggerated (BLADE RUNNER, THE ADDAMS FAMILY).
17, NARRATION: How often, how long you use narration, defines your style.
18. DESCRIPTION: How often, how long and what you describes defines your style.
19. HUMOR: Whether your writing has a lot of humor in it, describes your style.
WAYS TO CREATE STYLE
1) SELECT THREE OUT OF THE FIFTEEN STYLE COMPONENTS ABOVE.
Make a conscious effort to always use those three or four style components in everything: description, dialogue, narration, plot and characterization.
2) WRITE A STORY USING MOSTLY SHORT SENTENCES. Sentences no more than seven to eight words and shorter. Even if you throw in a long sentence of twenty words or more, always come back to short sentences.
3) WRITE A STORY USING MOSTLY LONG SENTENCES. Sentences no less than ten or fifteen words. Even if you, have to toss in a short sentence, always go back to long sentences.
4) DEVELOP STYLE IN THE REVISIONS AND EDITING PHASE. After you've gotten the story on paper, then you might want to think polishing your style components to a high brilliance.
5) DON''T CLUTTER YOUR PROSE WITH EXTRANEOUS ADVERBS OR ADJECTIVES.
Adverbs describe verbs and Adjectives describes nouns. They are unnecessary if you choose strong verbs and strong nouns. So get into the LE MOT JUSTE (just right word) habit. If you can't do this while drafting the novel or short story; do accomplish this on your revision or editing.
5) REALIZE YOU ARE ALLOWED TO USE STYLE HOWEVER YOU CHOOSE
You are in charge. Use whatever style components you want, whenever you want.
SO GO START USING STYLE IN YOUR STORY!
This page was last updated: August 31, 2009
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