What do you feel are the hallmarks of your writing style? Do you prefer short or long sentences, certain dialogue tags, really descriptive prose? Which POV’s and tenses do you normally use? Is your writing style similar to that of a published author?

I personally like to use long sentences (semicolons are awesome) and it’s hard for me to feel good about anything I write that’s not first person POV. I am trying to work on my third person though, since some of my stories would probably work better in third person.

also: We did have a thread about published authors’ writing styles a few months ago so if mods decide that this topic is too much like that one, I can just bump it up with this new discussion.

I tend to ramble on tangents, but in the character’s voice and from third-person perspective. You could definitely tell my work apart from most other writers’ because it’s so… “old man telling a story he doesn’t quite remember”, and with added details that certainly reflect the character, but aren’t entirely necessary for the plot.

By the time Taku guided his ox-cart over the last hill, the sun was already high. Below, the land sloped gently down to the bay. His house, close to the beach, was a welcome sight after a hard month’s travel along the trade routes, so he urged his ox onward. The once newly dug road had become increasingly trampled over the few short years since Taku had built the hotel; as trade agreements were being settled with all manner of foreign people, travel in the area had increased dramatically — and where better to set up a hotel than by the bay, a little over three day’s march from the city? The number of visitors they’d had over the past year was witness enough. Taku directed his wandering thoughts back to the house. He had built it himself, with the help of friends and family: a tall, two-level, multi-roomed house built in the sprawling northern style, with many large windows whose shutters were currently thrown open to allow the crisp breeze to blow through. Set apart from the house was a stable to house the oxen, goats and sheep, as well as guests’ horses, for those rich enough to own one. Taku hummed contentedly to himself as he steered the cart toward the stable. As he pulled up, a stableboy — young Hios, he recalled — ran up and began studiously unharnessing the ox. Only when Taku jumped down and began helping him did the boy look up.

That’s from an earlier (Jan 2009) draft of the first chapter of my WIP, but my style has become more streamlined over the past year. I do like this style though, because it sets up lots of important elements of the world: horses are expensive and therefore rare, there are increasing numbers of foreigners in the area, plate glass is either nonexistant or far too expensive for him, the capital city is 3 days’ march away, and ‘northern’ styles of architecture tend to ‘sprawl’. There’s a lot of information there, bu it flows quite nicely without feeling like an infodump (at least, to me).

Still, the action is quite slow, so I’ve been making my style gradually more streamlines, only tangenting to important, necessary information.

As for dialogue, I like “implied attribution via action”, rather than the more overt/explicit “he said”.
So instead of “Nice weather today” Taku remarked, I like “Nice weather today.” Taku gestured at the cloudless sky.

I like to avoid dialogue attribution where possible, however, so I often have blocks like

“Nice weather”
“Yes, it’s a bit warm. Did you hear about Jones?”
“Yeah, I heard his dog got out and ran away. There’s a big search for it.”
“Poor thing. Probably hungry and cold by now. Hope they find it soon”.

I don’t know if I really have a style, either. But several readers on FF have told me they like my style, so I guess I might have one….

I don’t know that I really have a ‘style’, but I have noticed that I tend to write really long sentences.

Right now, I just kind of write, and spew whatever comes out, really.

Also: I tend to use lists. Also, when I want to add emphasis to the items on the list or create stress, I don’t always use commas, but use multiple ‘ands’ instead. I don’t know if that’s good writing or not, but I’ve been doing that lately.

Oogway imitations

Which are?

And totally, completely awesome. Go watch Kung Fu Panda.

Oh, that Oogway. Yeah, I’ve seen Kung Fu Panda and loved it! I thought it would be stupid, but it ended up being total win. But yeah, I didn’t know that’s what you were referring to.

I strive for a lyrical beauty like Tolkien and

Nah. I’m not sure what my style is. I really loved the prose in The Lovely Bones and The Book Thief, so I try to go for something like that. I like using words, especially verbs, in unique ways that help to develop the imagery.

Lol @ Diamonte.

I have a few styles. I have one that’s halfway between Eoin Colfer and Elizabeth Honey, one that is incessantly gloomy and a tad bit too wordy, and one that manages to incorporate description, suspense, and flows pretty well. I think. :\

The thing I worry about is finding a distinctive style, and then writing in first person and then not being able to use that style again, in another book, because it just feels like the same character. Like Meg Cabot’s books. All her heroines have exactly the same way of narrating, and it annoys me. What do you guys think.

Yes, but if you’re writing in first person, that character also needs to have his/her own trademark voice as well.

I don’t think Cabot’s characters are really that similar. It’s just the voice thing that annoys and worries me.

Yeah, I tend to think that exclamation points in writing should be reserved for character dialogue, unless you as a narrator are having a major influence on the story. If you’re just trying to convey the story, exclamation points are kinda distracting.

Along with “so much” with quantities: “...as though the tornado had come down like a giant mixer and stirred the landscape like so much cake batter.” Take out the “so much” and I think it sounds better.

That’s an interesting strategy if you’re writing more realistic fiction set in an actual country. For fantasy or sci-fi, though, it’s not as useful.

For myself, right now, I don’t focus on style as much as what I’m actually saying. Maybe when I’m on my 3rd or 4th round of editing, I can start looking at the way I say things.

@ SWQ

Well, I’ve long since given up Fantasy because I sucked at it. I was very stereotypical and bland. Although the basic plot is the same as my current longest work, and one of the characters has been carried over.

@ DL.

I thought I’d spelled it wrong. Damn.

@ Inspector: Well, who says I’m not stereotypical and bland with my fantasy? Thing is, I like my current idea and I intend to stick with it. It’s ambitious and probably beyond my skill level currently, but I want to get at least a rough draft down if I decide I want to give it a break.

I checked out this really cool book on Victorian London, which should be great research for the steampunk setting I’ve been considering.

@ SWQ

See, I’m obsessive about being different. I’m very, very hard on my work. So I’m often frustrated because it is not perfect. If I thought one of my writings was bland, I wouldn’t be able to write it anymore without a complete revamp.

Steampunk Akkad would be even better.

@ SNQ: who cares? Give the Akkadians steam powered battle mechs, and see who complains.

@ Adam: That is very true.