Style - Writers Forum

velo · 06-04-2008, 10:41 PM

Not sure if this is the right forum for this, or even if there is a right forum, but the Writing 101 forum is locked and this seemed the closest.

I have a question on writing style. More specifically, how completely oddball is my particular writing style.

For shorter pieces, I tend to come up with a vague idea about a set up and then I just write. I literally make up the plot and characters as I go along. I don't have a plan, I don't have an outline, I don't know what I'm going to end up with.

For example, I wrote this piece of shit today. OK, I know it's not complete shit but it sure ain't Hemingway either. I saw the LM topic and decided to write. I came up with basic set up and had no ending. I started, wrote three paragraphs, decided to change direction, erased 2 of them, changed the voice a little, and didn't decide on the ending until about 3/4 of the way through. All in all I think I spent no more than 30 minutes on this piece. Maybe 45 with subsequent nitpicky edits later on.

Not knowing any other wannabe writers in my area, this is really the only place I have to get feedback so forgive me if this seems a little silly. But I would really like to know if that "style" of writing is completely out there or if others do the same thing. What do you see as the pros? the cons? the dangers or advantages?

Thanks for your time......

Ilasir Maroa · 06-04-2008, 11:07 PM

If by style you mean ("slash... dammit! forgot the word, anyway) genrally unorganized, I have written many pieces that way, and some are long, and some are decent, and some aren't.

GodofLiterature · 06-04-2008, 11:09 PM

Instead of having one style or one voice, it is better to have many styles and many voices to suit your character and tell the different tales you wish to tell. When good writers begin to produce bad writing, it is sometimes because they are trying to tell new and different stories using the same old voice. That's how some writers, late in their careers, end up writing parodies of their own best work. They have come to think "their voice" is an unchangeable part of who they are. The purpose of style is enchantment. The effectiveness of style is that it weaves just the right spell to draw the reader into this particular story.

The best way to develop style is to read.

Read slowly. Take time to analyze. Imitate slowly, with care. When you compose, slow down.

GodofLiterature · 06-04-2008, 11:23 PM

Oh BTW, yours was not shit.

Yours was the best out of all the rest. You'll be the winner; mark my words.

tucanbundy · 06-04-2008, 11:24 PM

I make up most of what I write as I go along.I create plots ahead of time, then just write whenever I want, incorporating anything I think of after I start.It usually works.Sometimes it's a catastrophic failure.An example of a failure is when I created a character named Punky Brewster who was a white girl from Irvine who acted like a South Central gang member and loved to cook.I have no idea how that happened.

I only ever have a beginning and end in mind, the rest is just random shit that I either made up on the spot or stole from a movie.

I put a lot of effort and thought into characters, though.I have more than 80 of them in my book and they all have their own personalities.

I don't think it's weird at all.

Mike C · 06-05-2008, 12:34 AM

It sounds like you write the same way as me. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, and often you find yourself suprised by the outcome. It's the only way I can write.

velo · 06-05-2008, 10:01 AM

Well thanks, all. I don't feel so unique now. I've always heard about planning your works and outlining characters and so on....it's nice to know I'm not alone.

DavidGil · 06-05-2008, 12:51 PM

I never plan either.

dwellerofthedeep · 06-05-2008, 03:33 PM

When I plan I don't get nearly as much done. I did over 30,000 words in the last twenty days, all in one story, and I'm proud, but I know that if I'd planned more of it, I wouldn't have gotten so far.

GodofLiterature · 06-06-2008, 07:11 PM

And how much of it is good or even publishable?

It's all about quality over quantity, never the other way around.

Mike C · 06-07-2008, 02:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GodofLiterature

And how much of it is good or even publishable?

That's daft. How much of any first draft is publishable? It's 100% editable.

Just because it was written quickly doesn't make it bad; Mike Moorcock used to be able to write a novel in 3 days, and he's got around 100 now in print.

Loulou · 06-07-2008, 02:31 AM

Hey Velo,

The only thing I absolutely know when I 'set off' is the characters. Other than that I don't plan either. I have the loose idea that inspired in the first place and off I go. Don't sweat the small stuff - ie planning. Just see where you end up. I decided to start a longer work on 7th May, one month ago, and without having any sort of outline I've managed 23,000 words since then. Need editing? Of course. Been tough. Oh, yes. But I think if I'd planned to the finer detail I'd not have got on with the actual work.