Writing How would you describe your writing style?

[gaylolis]

i think mine resembles a japanese light novel since I like to write in short sentences and paragraphs.

i just couldn't get into the long paragraphs and nested dialogues like western novels.

i prefer to just write simply, like i was telling the story to someone i'm on good terms with. that's why i could be honest with my writing. but all in all, i'm not really comfortable with the general audience. i just write however i want, and i don't want to hear any complaints or even flames when i just want to chill.

for a long time, i gave up the idea that readers are anticipating my latest chapter and they want the best i could.

it's better if i assume they will like everything i write, and just write what I like the most. i had enough of trying to impress anyone, i'm getting too old and tired to even care anymore.

i just want to write something worthwhile for myself. all that jazz is just a bonus.

 

[DubstheDuke]

Controlled chaos

 

[Farok]

I write in an Omniscient Narrator kind of way: no single POV, descriptions are always thorough, details fill the story with 50% useless information, and chapters are most likely too long.
It can be confusing, heavy, and most certainly boring, but it is the way I have chosen.

 

[Rapture_edge]

The first novel I wrote (New Game+) light novel styled dialogues and stuff. But the plot and progression weren't very Light novelish.
Because of this, there were several readers who voiced their discontent towards this as they wanted the basic strong OP MC that mows down enemies.

Also, I learned that a lot of readers are SOOOOO used to reading CN novels in particular really want their novels dumb downed. I mean, I would write a chapter wherein the MC lies and won't explain in the text that "HEY THE MC LIED" and people won't get it. They get to the next chapter and soon complain. So I guess, as someone with over 260 chapters worth of following the age-old western writing rule (Show don't tell) I can tell you, that for readers who have been so used to mindless stories (especially those on your face, detail-by-detail CN cultivation stories where you can basically skim through 3/4ths of the chapter and still understand what's going on.) you may have to really show and explain everything over and over again. Which, sort of makes sense. I mean, let's use Martial World or SOTR as examples, you may have to repeat things again and again since readers will read over a thousand worth of chapters and would probably forget attacks, effects, etc, especially if the novel is ongoing. You can't expect everyone to remember an ability explained 30 chapters ago (which would equate to more than a month for active followers.)

So I kinda learned all this the hard way. But I think we shouldn't really limit ourselves or totally change our writing style because of this. I mean, with time, and constant postings, you could still get more readers.

 

[DarkGodEM]

I would describe it as...

SHIT

 

[Aaky]

I would describe it as...

SHIT

Shit made of gold

 

[Luxican]

My writing style is a mixture, I think?
It's certainly influenced by CN and LN, but it's more or less the same style I always had. Although I try to reduce the dialog and word repetition in my chapters as much as possible (it's really difficult) because it's considered to be lazy/bad writing (but it can also be a stylistic device) in my native language.

Still, I'm guilty of something. I just can't seem to make my story flow in between chapters, somehow, everything's episodic, haha

 

[Fox-Trot-9]

I am more a light novel style I guess and I do write just in the first person more. I like the control of a main character while having pretty fleshed out characters. The idea that you get a single character that you share what they know more and only get their inner thoughts and not the thoughts of others so you can see the story through them and even get some hints of what they have worked out even if they are wrong. Description I am pretty lacking with at times keeping it basic. It isn't that I can't do descriptions it just sometimes feels like a telling instead of showing aspect that can slow down the story. I am writing more for the story and characters than to describe the world.

I also feel my style is still adapting and growing. I am dyslexic and english (my primary language) has always been a weakness but it is still my prefered method of creativity. I feel I can make characters that I can understand and write through pretty well, my best moment in writing is where I didn't see a plot twist and had to write around it adding a chapter or so to it just to get the story on track and plot point that came up resolved. That story was a pretty planned out one for the basic story plot and while I had multiple possible love interests I have pretty much settled on making the main character ace instead of lesbian or at least open to those interactions (so could have been bi or pan etc). One of my friends described me as a walking paradox because I could be aromantic but come up with some way too romantic ideas (however that wasn't from my story writing but a little fun idea about 2 characters in fiction).

I think I do a bit of "writing what you know" a bit more which makes me avoid romance a lot. I have never felt love and such so writing that kind of thing through first person feels problematic but other emotions like embarassement, shyness, anger, fear I know very well and can make them more real. Heck my main story I have posted here (written a lot before finding this site and releasing it here has made me work on it more again) was basically taking parts of me and fragmenting them into different characters, the main traits of them but then fleshing them out massively to feel real and making backstories to fit some as to why they are like that, details vary a lot and a lot of characters have had more normal lives than extreme stuff.

Also my signature really describes why my forum posts are like this :p

That's okay. I like ramble-y posts. And that's interesting about what you said about fragmenting yourself into various characters. I know I do that for some of my own characters, specifically in where their interests / hobbies lie. And yeah, fleshing out your characters is definitely an exploratory process of expansions edits/revisions, so I get you.

 

[Fox-Trot-9]

My writing is the bible itself

I am not worthy!

 

[Fox-Trot-9]

My prose has been described as short, stark, and simple. The chapters are very short, one to two pages long, and the descriptions are brief but specific. Most of my human characters get very little description.

That's what we call literary minimalism.

 

[Fox-Trot-9]

Style? Wazzat? Me no understanding

Style is what you make of it, even if you don't think you have any.

 

[Fox-Trot-9]

My style depends on the character's mood, the tone of the story, the genre, and the world's setting. Something less serious will be more like a light novel. A more depressing world has less dialogue, moodier writing, and a mix of sentence fragments when writing first person.

Gotcha. Heavier more serious works tend to have more nuanced writing style, especially when there's a psychological aspect of getting into the characters' heads with emotions and thoughts. For example, characterization of the setting can show the narrator/POV character's emotional/mental state. Also, all these observations can be applied to 3rd person writing as well.

 

[UYScuti]

Gotcha. Heavier more serious works tend to have more nuanced writing style, especially when there's a psychological aspect of getting into the characters' heads with emotions and thoughts. For example, characterization of the setting can show the narrator/POV character's emotional/mental state. Also, all these observations can be applied to 3rd person writing as well.

I agree. When deep diving into a character using third person it certainly should be used, and can be used quite well. But often times I see writers dismiss the emotional tone in third person for some reason.

They try the “show don’t tell” but generally leave it to physical descriptions. They can show emotions and thoughts as well. In first person, I don’t see how it can be avoided.

 

[Fox-Trot-9]

minimalist- third person limited/omni.

I've been told that I need to have characters reflecting more but that's bullshit. They reflect they, joke they're interesting, and have motives. They just don't go into full on monologues every chapter.

the things my characters do and say, and the little moments of reflection are more than enough for the reader to know what the heck is going on in their head.

Read the first two paragraph of my chapter one you'll see clearly what I'm talking about.

I've read, and I see. I see! Saying a lot with a little is a powerful way to doing it.

 

[Fox-Trot-9]

Oh?? I get to dump writing samples as well?

I have several, but I'm partial to experimental stuff.

Ready for some cringe???



Although it only comes out like that if I have a surge of inspiration.

Other times I do 100% dialogue with no description.



Occasionally, I alternate between description paragraphs and the telegraphic stuff.



Okay, I'll stop spamming now, but I think that gives the idea!

Oh, wow, I see you like using fragments to add more nuance to your writing. And balancing it out with simile in longer paragraphs is a cool way of getting into people's heads. Don't sell yourself short. It's very nice, actually.

 

[Fox-Trot-9]

My writing was mediocre, I just write what I thought. I didn't think about show or tell, or any type of deep vocabularies that you'll have to search in dictionary or whatever. I just write, my writing was influenced by web novels and light novels... So yeah. Anyway, I just wanted to say advance merry Christmas!!!! ???

Writing the way you talk is a good way of going about it. Adds voice to what you write. And thanks! Merry (early) Christmas to you, too! ?

 

[Fox-Trot-9]

I write like I'm speaking English. I'm not going to try and make my writing worse or bad grammatically just to make it seem like a translation. That seems lazy to me.

Also, with good English writing, sentences vary in length in order to prevent monotony and keep the reader interested.

Ah, gotcha. You need not conform to a specific style when writing what feels natural to you can go a long way. Especially with varying your sentences. That's pretty much what all English teachers say, actually.

 

[DevilPogoStick]

Definitely hints of my past writing in script format and is mostly manga-centric.

....Ish.

I'm still trying to figure it out to be honest.

 

[Fox-Trot-9]

for a long time, i gave up the idea that readers are anticipating my latest chapter and they want the best i could.

it's better if i assume they will like everything i write, and just write what I like the most. i had enough of trying to impress anyone, i'm getting too old and tired to even care anymore.

i just want to write something worthwhile for myself. all that jazz is just a bonus.

Oh, I know what you're talking about there. Writing what you want instead of what you think other people want will carry you a long way, trust me. It's a good way of thinking about it.

 

[Fox-Trot-9]

I write in an Omniscient Narrator kind of way: no single POV, descriptions are always thorough, details fill the story with 50% useless information, and chapters are most likely too long.
It can be confusing, heavy, and most certainly boring, but it is the way I have chosen.

Then you're in good company. I tend to do that as well.