Writing Styles. The underappreciated cousin to Harry Styles.

Now, as a reviewer, I've been told off before. Actually, I've been told off multiple times. Sometimes, it's been for telling someone that their characterisation felt too jumpy (even though their protagonist was squealing over how much they love donuts one second and then telling us how their step mother chained them to an electric fence within a sentence). Sometimes, it's been for writing reviews that are too long (thanks, ex-boss).

Once, however, it's been for including "writing style" as part of my criteria (this was before they requested a review).

Their justification was that everyone has their own writing styles, and it's not fair to judge and say that one is better than the other.

And honestly? I agree.

However, that's not what I look at when it comes to writing styles. I will never tell someone how to write.

Nonetheless, there are still some common things amongst good writing styles. These are the things I look at -- fluency, clarity, the build of the tension, the use of figurative language.

No matter what your writing style is -- whether you choose to be more poetic, or whether you choose to use lots of fragmented sentences, or whether you keep it as minimal as possible to make it vague -- your voice should be clear and engaging. There is also one word that is incredibly important to me, that I use a lot when I'm helping younger authors in the schools I work at.

Can you guess what it is?

It starts with a

It has

It is not the male genitalia. Get your minds outta there!

It is:

Your story needs to be purposeful. Each sentence -- heck, each word -- should be like small threads that are all woven together to make this tapestry. These individual threads can be whatever colour or make whatever shape you want, but it must all link together to create the big, overall picture.

And don't be fooled! The purpose doesn't always have to be character development or progression of the plot. Sometimes, and a lot of mystery novels do this, the author focuses on small details that are irrelevant -- and it's to do a red herring effect, where those small sentences are designed to make the reader suspicious or paranoid about a character who is completely innocent. In the end, the reader may be like, "That felt purposeless -- why did I need to see that character at all?" But there is purpose, and that is to make you paranoid or less likely to see exactly who the threat is in the story until it's too late.

However, there are some moments where I'm like... did I need to know that the protagonist has ninety-eight followers on Instagram, when she never logs into the account again, and there is no recurring theme of self-esteem or friends or popularity or anything of that sort?

Do I need to know that she has seventy-three Tupperware containers in her basement, when she never accesses them?

Do I?

So, overall, as I go through some questions that y'all have asked, don't be surprised if I keep bringing up the p-word.

Here are some questions I have been asked about writing styles! I've gotten a few since last year, but I've kind of combined them into three.

I know I keep saying this over and over again, but I am not an author. I am not a writing expert and a writing genius of any sort. And no, I'm not being humble, I'm serious -- I am not an expert. So, honestly, feel free to disagree with everything I say here, and do take what I say with a grain of salt [or pepper. you do you, hey?].

I am a reader, though, and I like to think I have a pretty good eye for catching and communicating things I don't enjoy about stories. So, these are all coming from my experience of what I have found in my years of reviewing.

Hence, 101 Writing Tips from an Exhausted Reviewer.

Not, you know, 101 Writing Tips from a Sexy #1 Bestselling Author.

But yes, to the questions!

If you want a good writing style, it really doesn't matter how exactly you choose to shape your words. What matters is how fluent you are. You don't want to be jumping from... donuts to chains and whips... with no bridge in between them.

See this? This is what you don't want.

So, for example:

Hi, my name is Lulu Lime. I love donuts. My mum chained me to an electric fence when I was a kid.

That's giving me whiplash. You need something to bridge those two very distinct concepts.

I don't know how I'm going to do this myself, actually. Um.

I love donuts. There's something about the softness of them -- the dough always just crumbles when it lands in my mouth, and even though the icing is hard and cold, it tastes like sugar and bubbles and joy.

It was the only sweet thing I was allowed to eat when I was a kid. Once a month, my mother would bring some down for me, to congratulate me for being so patient and quiet while she shackled my wrists and chained me up to that small, silver fence that sat in my room.

Look, it's not perfect, but it shows more cohesion than the first example. There's sort of a bridge? It's "donuts" to "being chained to electric fences" -- give me a break.

Yes, I am very aware that I came up with that idea myself.

I make such poor decisions.

I have multiple answers for the same question!

Clarity is also super important. If your reader can't understand your writing style, we've got problems. So, this includes:

- Vocabulary that makes sense. I don't need to see, I had adorned consciousness which I had gained at the slightest perusal of my alarm clock. As someone who knows what all those words mean, I still have no idea what you mean. Just... tell us that she woke up to her alarm! It's not that hard!

- Punctuation and Dialogue. Yes. It needs to be as impeccable as possible. It's the best way to ensure clarity.

- Paragraphing.

Don't.

Keep.

Doing.

Fragmented.

Paragraphs.

Like.

This.

Otherwise.

It.

Gets.

Annoying.

And.

Repetitive.

On the same note, don't make paragraphs that are extremely long. It gets really hard for the reader to read. Because it's too many words in a single clump. It usually means you haven't separated ideas out. A paragraph usually contains one 'concept' that is expanded across several sentences. I am currently trying to make this paragraph as long as possible to make my point. So let me change subjects because, if I am changing subjects, I should be including a new paragraph. But I won't create a new paragraph. Because I'm trying to show you an example. Anyways, so on the table I'm sitting at, there is a pot of flowers that is blue and green. I also have a pencil sharpener here. Side note: I actually much prefer pacers to pencils. Like, not the heart pacers, but the pacers that are basically pencils but you pump out the lead. Oh, gosh, is this long enough to be an adequate example of a long paragraph? I am so exhausted. This is genuinely so much hard work. Oh, there's another vase of flowers, I realise. This one has roses and daises and I have no idea who gave them to me, but that's really sweet of them. I once got delivered fruit-themed socks from an anonymous admirer, but I still have no idea who gave it to me. It's been literally months and I have no clue who it is. Okay, I'm pretty sure this paragraph is long enough now. But just for extra measure, I went grocery shopping yesterday, and bought some ingredients and made a pad thai at home by myself! I thought it tasted really good, actually. I substituted all peanut things because my friend called over his little brother and that little brother is allergic to peanuts. Is this paragraph long enough yet? Am I making my point? Have you guys zoned out yet? Please tell me you've zoned out.

Okay, I'm exhausted.

I can't do anymore.

I don't mean that each of your characters has to be from a different background and culture, though that is always very wholesome and inspiring to see.

I do mean that we should be getting diversity in your writing.

There should be balance between dialogue, descriptions, exposition, action and other elements to your story. It shouldn't be two characters making out the entire time. It shouldn't be a sword fight the entire time. It shouldn't be dialogue the whole time.

Unless, of course, that is a purposeful and stylistic choice you're making!

It also means that your sentence sizes should be varying. You can't only. Have fragmented. Sentences. You also don't want to have sentences that always have the same structure. For example:

I planted banana seeds in my background. I don't actually know if bananas have seeds. I am only writing this because it's the first thing that came to my head. I wish I was better at coming up with writing examples. I will stop now.

See how the I [verb] [the rest] structure gets really bland after a hot while? Yeah, avoid that -- the same way you should avoiding writing about banana seeds if you don't know if bananas have seeds.

At the end of the day, your writing needs to showcase you and your story. And something that I find incredibly heartbreaking is seeing authors set up new worlds or showing us glimpses of their culture, only to... not describe it at all.

Setting is so important, if you don't want your reader to think your characters are trapped in a white room (with an electric fence!). Show us the sight, smell, and sounds of places. Take us there. Immerse us.

However, do not overdo it. Don't show us every single crack in the pavement. Don't count every tile in the bathroom floor.

Give us just enough to show us where we are, but allow some room for our imaginations to create the rest.

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I genuinely think that those who know their story to its core are more likely to show strong writing styles.

Why?

Because they just know.

They know how they want to describe their world. They know exactly how and when the action should take place, and what pace works best for the development of their characters. They know how to foreshadow events, because they know exactly what will happen towards the end of the story. They know which symbols inherently make sense, and tie up their narrative.

Do you have to know every little bit of your story? No. But it helps when you have an outline that allows you to understand the direction your story takes, and how your writing can support that.

Have a destination and plan, so you can use your resources on the trip well!

A strong writing style will always ensure that the reader has something to cling onto. Usually, this can be in forms of unanswered questions -- whether it's wondering how it will end, or who the killer is, or who delivered those cute fruit socks to my doorstep. We are curious creatures, and you should use that to your advantage! Tease us. Toy with our feelings. Make us want to know how it ends, and make us constantly be asking more questions as the story progresses.

Electricians have their tools to fix electricity problems. Gardeners have their tools to fix flower problems. I have my own tools [tea, books, netflix] to fix my self-loathing problems.

Did I say that aloud?

Anyways.

Writers have tools, as well! We have a lot of them. However, there are some that we are forced to practise in primary school, then we hate them because of that, and we sort of forget how beautiful and powerful they can be in writing.

Hyperbole. Personification. Metaphor. Simile.

And yes, descriptions of settings and people can definitely be romanticised! It's more creative and fun for the reader. Imagine if we told stories literally?

I twisted the doorknob and stepped my left foot outside. Then, my right foot followed. The sky was blue. The flowers were... flowers. There were bees flying. There were cars driving.

Be more poetic! You can make the flowers sound even more gorgeous than they are. You can tell us that the bees were waltzing through the flowers. So what, if they're not actually wearing tuxedos and gowns, holding another bee and literally dancing? We aren't here to be literal, beelieve it or not.

Seriously.

Read.

It's the best way to learn from others who have found strong writing styles.

Time for my favourite word!

Each story will have varying description/dialogue ratios. Oh, Dancing Noodles, did I just say ratios? A maths term? Yikes. You know it's getting late when that happens [it's 4PM as I'm writing this sentence. it's not late at all].

And, honestly, it doesn't matter how much you have of each. That is up to you, as the teller of the tale, to decide.

However, as you edit, ask yourself [and a friend who reads your story]:

- Have I given too much description? Is any of it redundant? Has it gotten boring?

- Why is this piece of dialogue here? Is it to further their relationship? A bit of humour, to cut through all the tension? To learn something new? Has it gotten boring?

There is no 'perfect balance'. What matters is that everything serves a purpose.

I love them.

The thing is, writing styles are a lot like fiction kisses. Everyone makes it sound like, when you find "the one", your world will change. Fireworks. Explosion. Time stopping. Hearts pounding.

In reality... you'll probably just feel slightly satisfied and content. You know you've found the correct writing style when you can look at your work and feel like... yeah. That's how I wanted to tell the story.

How do we get there?

I said it already, but this time, I mean to Read a variety of genres and authors. See if anything just... clicks. See why it clicks with you. There will definitely be some writing styles that you will adore, but others just won't like. Find the one that vibes with you and see why it vibes with you.

Be honest with yourself when you write. Did something feel uncomfortable? Did you overthink every word? Are you being authentic, or are you using a lot of thesaurus.com?

Don't force something that isn't there. If you just feel like your words aren't singing, then take a step back and evaluate this.

However, just because your words aren't, well, 'singing' or dancing or composing a whole ass musical, doesn't mean that your writing style isn't meant for you! As authors, we can be a little critical on ourselves. Don't doubt your writing style just because you have a moment of unsureness.

Try new styles! Short stories, mysteries, fantasies, realism, romance, historical fiction, smut, parody, a retelling of Happy Feet, whatever! You'll surprise yourself! Try first person and then third person and even second person, or past over present, or character-focused, or even write the story from a completely different setting.

The best thing is, you'll learn that either:

- That style I just tried did not suit me. That was weird.

- That style felt a bit uncomfortable, but I'm kind of... wanting to keep going with it. I'm intrigued by it. I think I could work with this.

- That style just felt so natural. I think it might be more promising than my tinder matches.

I love p-words, man. Is there a single word that starts with p that isn't just amazing?

Oh, right.

Penguins.

Ugh.

Happy Feet retelling, my ass--

Anyways!

Practise makes perfect, and will help you hone and polish your writing style to be the best it possibly can be. I highly recommend this one!

This was a long chapter, but I guess I had a lot to say! I thank that huge paragraph that I had written for the sake of writing a huge paragraph.

Did you find this helpful? Do you have your own advice to share? Do you have anymore questions?

Next up, I'll be talking about the types of authors we find on Wattpad! It'll be a fun one. Stay tuned! Let me know if any certain types jump out to you!

And if there are any other topics you want to hear about, let me know, of course!