A Writer's Diary Part III: On Style

Style; what is it? Style is the matrix of vocabulary, sentence rythym, context and mood that a writer chooses to employ in his story. It is the atmosphere created by the author, and in many ways, it is he, manifested as letters, commas, ideas...

I say chooses. That is not the best term, however. Since a good writer's style is him, or a part of him, he can no more choose his overall style than he could choose his hair color. His style is formed from his world-view and his experience, his educatiuon, loves and hates. Yes--it's that complicated!

What the beginning writer tries to do, is write what he has seen before. There is nothing wrong with this. It's like a child copying his father, wanting with all his being to be like Papa. But in the end, the child will find his own way. The father will provide him the scaffolding on which to build his life, but it up to the child to find his own way, figure out the details and solve life's annoying and miniscule problems. And let me tell you, there's nothing wrong with the likes of Tolstoy or Conrad fulfilling the role of literary Papa!

As the writer matures, his own personality must emerge if he is to become a professional. Otherwise, his words and sentences will never flow, never express a new thought. They will be like the Frankenstein Monster, a patchwork of styles, and yet not truly art.

After about a year of serious writing, a writer should have gained enough confidence to forget about all of the great authors he's payed homage to while reading. Blasphemy? Yes. You must have confidence. You must think your potential to be the equal of the greatest authors, for only by aiming for the highest art, can you hope to write anything worth publishing. The best thing to do with your "style" at this point is forget about it; enter the trance that I've spoken of before, and just write. Keep writing, let your words be you, truly, let them be what you think, feel. Let your characters speak and act as they would, according to your vision of them, not as you think other authors would make them speak or act.

Relax. Be you. And this is the gift of writing. You'll find out what you REALLY think and believe. The outside influence of the world will take a back-seat to your own observations, and I guarantee that if you're doing things right, you'll discover aspects of yourself that you never knew existed.