Writing style.
The mystical key that most young writers feel like they need to discover—to understand, to master, to help make their words come alive.
But when you sit down to find it, all you end up with is a blank page. A frustrated stare. A thousand questions with no answers whatsoever.
How exactly do you find this “writing style”? How do you discover how to use it effectively? And what even is it?
If those are the questions you’re asking yourself, then you’ve come to exactly the right place.
What Even Is Writing Style?
Writing style is the way you form your sentences, the words you use, the rhythm, and so on. It can differ from writer to writer as well as from project to project.
When thinking about writing style, you have to be careful not to mix style with voice or tone. While these three things are similar, they’re also distinct from one another—and understanding what each of them is and does can save you a lot of headaches and confusion down the road.
Style, as we’ve already discussed, is the way you present your material to your audience—the mechanics of your writing, the variety of vocabulary, etc. It changes from project to project, too—you’ve probably noticed this yourself in the difference between your school papers and personal blog posts or stories.
Voice goes much deeper than writing style. It is who you are as a writer—your experiences, your dreams, the way you see the world. It’s the authentic, vibrant person behind the words you write and expresses itself despite the varying writing styles you may use.
Tone is, by far, the most easily flexible of the three. In essence, it’s the attitude of the writing—be that humorous, professional, warm, cold, etc. You can differentiate between it and writing style by thinking about writing a letter to a stranger vs. an enemy—while the style will likely be the same, one will likely be much warmer than the other.
Style is in the middle. It’s not as easy to change as tone, nor as natural as voice. And yet thousands of different voices claim that writers need to “find their writing style” and “be unique in how they do it”.
A lot of times, as young writers already drowned out by too much advice, we just push those voices aside.
Because, even if we understand writing style, that doesn’t mean we know how to “find it”.
That sounds too hard.
Too complicated.
Too scary.
Well, I’m here to tell you—it doesn’t have to stay that way.
Why Does Writing Style Matter?
But why even put the effort in? Why set aside time and even read an article on writing style? It can’t be that important, can it?
Oh, it can.
Take a look at the following Shakespeare quote:
“Look at how much light the tiny candle can make! Goodness is just like that in such a wicked world.”
Recognize it? I should hope not, because it’s not an actual Shakespeare quote at all! Here’s the real one:
“How far that little candle throws its beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world.”
See how much of a difference you have? Technically they’re both saying the same thing, but the style changes almost everything.
To drive my point home, take a look at the re-written version of the first part of the American Declaration of Independence:
When, in human history, one country becomes forced to rid themselves of any political obligations to any other country, and to embrace, from the power of the Earth, the distinct and free position that the laws of the world and of God give them, a worthy respect to the thoughts of humanity demands that they must explain the reasons which have caused such a thing.
Doesn’t really compare to:
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
Does it?
So, yes. Learning about writing style is undoubtedly worth it.
Nonfiction Style vs. Fiction Style
As with most things, writing style changes depending on whether you’re writing fiction (telling a story) or nonfiction (relating facts).
But it doesn’t have to change that much—and, luck for us, discovering your writing style follows a very similar process for both! Let’s cover the four key differences before we move on, though, as they do influence the way you’ll read the following section:
1. Point of View
Point of view (frequently referred to as “POV” in the writing world) is the perspective you’re taking in your writing—the camera your reader is seeing the world through.
In fiction, you’ll generally take the POV of one of your characters—whether writing in first person or in third person, you’ll let their thoughts and their experiences affect how you tell the story.
In nonfiction, it’s generally advised to take an omniscient stance—if a reader is coming to you for information, you want to present yourself as someone who has what they’re looking for and can answer all their questions well.
2. Structure
As you structure your sentences, there are a lot of different tricks you can use—suspense, build-up, storytelling, relating facts, driving home a point, etc.
When you write fiction, you’re telling a story—this is where you get to play with all your engaging components that go into storytelling. This is where you can use metaphors, keep facts back for later
In nonfiction, you’ll definitely have times when you’re just relating the facts and statistics—but don’t, for mercy’s sake, do only that! You can still use a lot of those tricks I mentioned at the beginning—you’re still presenting what you have to say in the most effective way possible.
So use open ends, hint at what’s to come, play with words—but also keep in mind that nonfiction is generally much more down-to-earth than fiction.
3. Descriptions
Ah, descriptions. A delight to some and a terror to others. If you’ve dealt with descriptions for any length of time, you’ll know that they most definitely shift depending on whether you’re writing fiction or nonfiction.
For this one, let’s compare two descriptions of Canada in October – one nonfiction, the other fiction.
The first comes from a guide to Durhamm, and goes as following:
In the fall, days seem shorter as there are fewer hours of sunlight and the first frosts appear. Leaves turn from green to red, orange, yellow and brown before they fall from the trees. The weather during the fall is usually rainy and you can expect the first snow in November. Temperatures can change quickly from day to day but average around 20 degrees in September to 5 degrees in November.
Pretty factual, and it gives us the information we need. Now let’s look at an excerpt from L. M. Montgomery’s classic Anne of Green Gables:
October was a beautiful month at Green Gables, when the birches in the hollow turned as golden as sunshine and the maples behind the orchard were royal crimson and the wild cherry trees along the lane put on the loveliest shades of dark red and bonzy green, while the fields sunned themselves in aftermaths.
We can see some similarities, right? They both mention that the trees are changing color, that there is still sunlight but not quite as much, etc. Still, there’s a distinct difference, isn’t there?
That’s what it is. That’s the difference between fiction and nonfiction when it comes to descriptions.
4. Intent
Last but not least, we have the intent.
The mindset you approach your writing with, and the goal—even if you don’t realize it—behind what you’re writing is going to radically affect the style of your writing.
And, like you might expect, the purpose between fiction writing and nonfiction writing varies wildly.
If you’re trying to entertain someone, your style is going to change a lot from when you’re trying to teach someone.
If you’re aiming to sober someone with hard realities, your style is going to be completely different than someone who wants to make their reader laugh.
If your goal is to get people to take action, your style’s going to vary from that of someone who’s trying to touch hearts with a moral message.
Intent changes everything.
Point of view, structure, descriptions, and intent—four key shifts in style from fiction to nonfiction.
(Click here to see the different kinds of writing styles broken down even further!)
So now that we’ve explained what writing style is, why it’s important, and how it differs from fiction to nonfiction. . . how do you actually “find” it?
I’m glad you asked.
5 Ways to Find Your Writing Style
Without further ado, I present your master list on the five best ways to find your writing style:
1. Read, Read, Read, and Keep Reading
And, what’s more, read widely. Don’t just stick with your favorite author, tempting as it may be—branch out into other genres, other authors, books written in other languages, etc., etc., etc.
When you read widely, you’re allowing the books that influence you to mature, to be spread off, to have the luxury to pick out the best parts to learn from and ignore the lesser parts.
And, guess what? There will be books that you read that aren’t good at writing style. Authors who haven’t taken the time to hone their writing craft in that area and really let their words shine.
But guess what else? You can learn from the bad ones, too! Learning what doesn’t work as well as what does is insanely helpful, and it will teach you how to pick out the bad habits from your own writing and transform them through the good literature you read.
2. Learn From—and Study—the Greats
There’s a difference between reading a book and studying the book. And while you should be reading a wide variety of books, taking the time to analyze the greats is just as crucial.
But what do I mean by “the greats”? The short answer: Books that have writing styles that just shine. Ones that keep making you pause reading for a moment to think: How do they do that?
(If you’re looking for suggestions in this regard, Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief is fantastic at creating an engaging and beautiful writing style!)
When looking for such books, I’d advise going to a writing community – ask your fellow writers things such as “What books taught you the most about X?” or “Favorite examples about books who did X well?”
So what do you do when you find these masterpieces? Don’t just read them (and re-read them and re-read them and re-read them). . . study them! Analyze them; go back and ask yourself: All right, how did they do that?
I’ve heard of some authors who will hand-copy these great works to give themselves the time to really mull over how they did it and how they can emulate it. Whether or not that’s your cup of tea, it might be a good thing to try—because studying masters at writing style is a key way to progressing in your own.
3. Follow Your Heart (Occasionally)
You know those moments where you just really want to write out of the blue—and not just any kind of write?
I’m talking about the moments where you have this beautiful idea for a poem, or a few lines of a song, or a really heartfelt piece that doesn’t fit any of your characters or any of your stories but is just begging for you to write it.
Well, go ahead! Write the spur-of-the-moment things—I like doing this longhand, unlike all my other writing which I type. Why do I recommend chasing these rabbit trails (though not for long)?
Because this spur-of-the-moment writing is very heartfelt. It’s very close to who you are, and it’s not usually meant to share. It’s just this one story, this one emotion, this one song, that you had to capture on paper.
And after you do that, you’ll notice that this is you without any fancy trappings—it’s very similar to journaling, which I’d definitely recommend every writer try. It’s you not trying to be anyone else, not trying to fit the mold, just you being. . . you.
And finding that intricate part of who you are as a writer, is a key to finding the voice that will be the momentum for your writing style.
4. Just Keep Writing, Just Keep Writing
When it all comes down to it, one of the best things you can do for writing is just to write! Write widely, experiment with different genres and POVs/tenses (if you’re a fiction writer) or topics/audiences (if you’re a nonfiction writer).
And give yourself room to play! Because when you’re writing something you’re honestly enjoying, then your writing style will be a whole lot fresher.
(Please don’t box yourself in too soon, either—I wrote almost entirely in third person for several years before really venturing into first person and falling instantly in love with it. Let yourself explore—you’ll find treasures in places you didn’t even think you’d go.)
5. Don’t Forget the Edits
Read over your writing yourself, by all means—compare your writing to those masterpieces we were talking about earlier (but remember that you’re putting a first draft next to a final draft and don’t let discouragement ruin the experience for you!).
Check for weak verbs with adjectives (walked majestically) and replace them with strong verbs (strode).
Tighten up your descriptions and check and see what each word is doing.
But don’t stop there! Find fellow young writers who’d be willing to look over your writing and give you feedback specifically on your style. Getting that input is invaluable, and it’s a wonderful asset for any young writer.
(Once you’re further along the journey, it’s a fantastic idea to work with a professional line editor – check out this article to see the different kinds of professional editors explained/tips for working with them!)
Finding Your Writing Style Is Possible… Here’s Your Next Step
I know we’ve covered a lot in this article.
We’ve talked about what writing style is, why it matters, how it changes from fiction to nonfiction, and looked at the five best ways to find your unique writing style.
And I know that, sometimes, after I read a good article, I nod, and then walk away.
I forget about all the different kinds of ways I could be implementing the topic and don’t bring my writing to its full potential.
Don’t let that be you—download the cheat sheet that summarizes everything we talked about today and keep it as a handy reference as you go about finding and implementing your writing style by clicking on the image below.
Your writing—and your future fans who will rave to each other on social media about how your style is unbelievable—will thank you for it.
