I've seen a lot of articles that seem to hint at everyone taking the same basic approach to writing or assuming their way is successful for everyone. I'm always here to defy convention and elaborate where advice could be more harmful than helpful. Noooot because I'm an expert, but because I talk to people and do research. I always hope I can narrow some things down.
I may be off on my terminology to start but by writing styles, I'm talking about how you get words on the page. I guess it could encompass everything from voice to pace to what equipment you use, but I've always assuming that style, like with fashion, refers to your unique output.
One thing I've noticed is that I don't tackle every writing project the same. Some are meticulously planned before the actual writing ever starts. Some are creative flow followed by technical editing. My current project is a Frankenstein. I wrote the first 36.5K, then made outlines and plots, then attacked it with creativity for 35K. I actually started second draft editing at that point. I'm writing some character development scenes in,something I held off on until I was sure that the story moved in the right direction to develop those scenes. Those will be separately edited, pieced in at bookmarks, and given one final read through.
Some stories are less demanding on our ability to form details. Extensive lore and world building often entails a lot of forethought before you get going unless you are prepared to do a lot of adding later. Genres like romance tend to be emotion-driven, so elaborate plotting is usually unnecessary. Thrillers even tend to be pretty direct, even when it's a puzzle to the reader. Genres like fantasy tend to attract the large-scale ambitions of detailed authors, but can be more lighthearted once you attach subgenres like romance or paranormal to them. How you write, how you put things together, is often a matter of what you want out of your story.
If you know me at all, you know I absolutely hate deciding what 'genre' I fall under, but I sure as hell don't want anyone doing it for me. However, your writing style, your voice, often draws certain crowds with certain tastes. Genres aren't meant to limit the writer; they are simply meant to draw in the largest possible market for those ideas. They aren't foolproof and are often deceptive and wrong. If a writer is worth their salt, they're spitting in the face of convention and writing to tell a story, not fill a market demand.
I wish I had more juice on this subject, but I pulled a 7K day, working from 4PM to 11PM and I am bushed. As usual, shoot me a question in comments if you have any specific questions or curiosities. My email is also available for more personal questions (this doesn't mean to turn my inbox into Tinder hell, but if you have writing questions you may be too shy to ask publicly or are curious about my education or something, by all means, let's correspond on that).
As always, keep writing. Even when it sucks. Especially when it sucks. You learn way more from the goofs.
Some stories are less demanding on our ability to form details. Extensive lore and world building often entails a lot of forethought before you get going unless you are prepared to do a lot of adding later. Genres like romance tend to be emotion-driven, so elaborate plotting is usually unnecessary. Thrillers even tend to be pretty direct, even when it's a puzzle to the reader. Genres like fantasy tend to attract the large-scale ambitions of detailed authors, but can be more lighthearted once you attach subgenres like romance or paranormal to them. How you write, how you put things together, is often a matter of what you want out of your story.
If you know me at all, you know I absolutely hate deciding what 'genre' I fall under, but I sure as hell don't want anyone doing it for me. However, your writing style, your voice, often draws certain crowds with certain tastes. Genres aren't meant to limit the writer; they are simply meant to draw in the largest possible market for those ideas. They aren't foolproof and are often deceptive and wrong. If a writer is worth their salt, they're spitting in the face of convention and writing to tell a story, not fill a market demand.
I wish I had more juice on this subject, but I pulled a 7K day, working from 4PM to 11PM and I am bushed. As usual, shoot me a question in comments if you have any specific questions or curiosities. My email is also available for more personal questions (this doesn't mean to turn my inbox into Tinder hell, but if you have writing questions you may be too shy to ask publicly or are curious about my education or something, by all means, let's correspond on that).
As always, keep writing. Even when it sucks. Especially when it sucks. You learn way more from the goofs.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Let me know what you think! Constructive feedback is always welcome.