Style
Style is the sense of what is distinguished and that which distinguishes – that something which sets your writing apart from someone else's. Style is the personality that breathes through the written word. It is what separates you from others and your personality should emerge in your writing. How does one evolve a style? How can one evolve a style that will fire a man’s imagination, convince, anger and bring forth a host of other emotions? This has to be worked at. The information detailed below will help you considerably in developing your own distinctive style.
When we speak of a person’s style, we speak of the manner he writes – the way he arranges the words in a sentence – the way he presents a point or a thought. Every writer's style differs because every writer’s style reflects, to some degree, his character, his bias, his spirit and his thought process. In writing he communicates this. It is the writer baring his soul to the reader. That is what makes it fascinating.
Every thought – every point can be written differently.
John Kennedy, in a stirring speech said, “Ask not what your country can do for you”.
This can be written as:
•“You should not ask what your country can do for you."
•"Should you ask what your country can do for you”.
It is Mr. Kennedy’s style that made these words memorable not the words in themselves.
A good writer can paint pictures, help you visualise persons or situations or places. That is by the dexterous way in which words are used.
Each person’s style is different. This is because each person’s thought processes, emotions, psyche are different. You can study style. You can learn from someone’s style. It is impossible to replicate it. And you should not even try because by replicating it you lose your identity. Your style has to be like your fingerprint – your DNA - Unique.
It takes time to develop a style. And the only way you can develop it is by writing. It takes time. At the beginning writing is slow and laborious. There will be corrections and
more corrections but after a time a style will emerge that is your very own.
How can one develop a style.
• Write in a natural way
• Put yourself in the background
• Write initially without a plan
• Write with nouns and verbs
• Revise
• Forget Macaulay
• Do not overkill
• Do not be frivolous
• Spelling
• Do not make unnecessary clarifications
• Seek clarity
• Do not use foreign language
• Avoid business language
• Avoid clichés
• It is not necessary to state your opinions
• Write only one thought in a sentence
• Use Personal Pronouns
• Write Positively, not negatively
• Coherence
• Parallelism
• Continuity and Transitions
• Sample transitions
• Barriers to continuity
• Sound of Prose
• Summaries
"There is in writing", as H.L. Mencken says, “the constant joy of sudden discovery, of happy accident."
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