Style Defined
What is writing style? There is no
easy way to define style, but simply put it is the way you put words together.
If is not necessarily how big your vocabulary is, but what you do with
the words you do know. Dr. Seuss has a distinct style, but look how simple
the words are. Style is something that comes with practice and reading.
The following tips, however, are ways to get you started on developing
your style right now.
- Denotation: A word's exact meaning. Just look up it's definition in the dictionary.
- Connotation: A word's emotional overtones. "Home," for example, suggest warmth and acceptance; "house" carries no such overtones. Compare other words like "skinny" and "slender" or "thrifty" and "miserly."
"Grey" means a mixture of black and white. That would be its denotation. When you think of the connotation of "grey", what emotions come to mind? Gloomy? Sadness? Ambivalence?
Nouns
& Verbs
Use specific nouns and strong verbs.
Nouns and verbs are the two parts of speech you should focus on in your
writing. Minimize adjectives and just forget those nasty adverbs. Your
writing will pack more of a punch if you concentrate on using just the
right nouns and verbs.
Replace adjective-noun combinations with a specific noun. Here is an example of using too many adjectives:
She laid the baby in the tiny, infant-sized bed with rockers.
Now what is a specific noun that can be used in that sentence?
She laid the baby in the cradle.
The second sentence is more concise; it creates more of a word-picture, too.
Say you are going on a blind date and you are getting ready in your room. Your sister is helping you. You hear a car pull into the driveway. You are too nervous to look out the window, so you ask your sister to look out the window and describe what your date is driving. She says, "A car." That doesn't tell you much does it? But if she says, "A sports car," you get a more specific image. If she says, "A Mustang convertible," the picture becomes even clearer. You may even form some opinions about the date just from the description of the car.
Now, what if she said, "A Volkswagon," or "A sedan" or "A Brady Bunch station wagon," or "A tractor." You form an image and maybe even an emotional reaction for each of these descriptions-more than just from "A car."
Let's talk verbs. A skillful use of verbs can make your writing memorable. Forget the adverb. He is a nasty creature. An adverb is a part of speech that ends in -ly and modifies a verb. Sloppily is an adverb. Forget adverb-verb combinations like
He wrote sloppily on the page.
Instead, say
He scrawled on the page or He scribbled on the page.
Scrawled and scribbled are much more exciting than wrote sloppily.
Active
and Passive Voice
Let your subject act rather than be acted upon. Instead of saying
The sweater was knitted by her.
say
She knitted the sweater.
One way to filter out the passive voice is to look for to be verbs when you are rewriting. To be verbs are verbs like am, are, is, was, were, or will be.
Vary
sentence length
Smooth reading is achieved when the
writer arranges short sentences with longer sentences. This minimizes
monotony. When a writer attempts to create variety with sentence length,
he can emphasis an idea or create contrast between two ideas.
Here is an example of little variation:
But the mouse did not answer. He only twitched his whiskers. He thumped his tiny tail. He skittered away. The cat could not see him anymore.
Here is variation:
But the mouse did not answer. He only twitched his whiskers, thumped his tiny tail, and skittered away until the cat could not see him anymore.
Figures of speech are ways of saying things when ordinary words just won't do. They aren't to be taken literally. They are used in poetry a lot, but can't also be used in your prose.
- Simile: A simile compares two unlike things using "like" or "as." His hands were wrinkled and weathered like an old leather glove. Here's an example from Curious George: Up, up he sailed, higher and higher; the houses looked like toy houses and the people like dolls.
- Metaphor: A metaphor compares two unlike things and says something is something else. The meeting was a circus. This is from Shakespeare: Juliet is the sun. Here's another example: forest of windmills.
- Personification: Personification gives the inanimate, the non-living, the abstract or the "unhuman" the qualities of being alive or human. The screen door flew open. The floors creaked. The wind blew through the trees. The idea would not leave her alone. From Dr. Seuss: This is your day, your mountain is waiting so get on your way.
- Hyperbole: Hyperbole is exaggeration. A writer uses hyperbole to create emphasis or even humor. She changed her mind as often as she inhaled. In this following passage from The Polar Express, the narrator is describing a train ride to the North Pole: We climbed mountains so high it seemed as if we would scrape the moon.
- Onomatopoeia: Onomatopoeia is the use of words that imitate the sounds they describe--for example, words like snap and crackle.
Use figures of speech sparingly. Too many metaphors in a paragraph may wear out a reader. Here's a simile to remember when it comes to using figures of speech: figures of speech are like spice-too much ruins the soup, but just the right amount enhances the flavor.
Symbolism
In literature, a symbol is something concrete that represents something
abstract. For example, a withered plant may represent a failed relationship.
Many times that abstract thing is an emotional state. "Symbols offer
a route into deeper meanings in a narrative, beyond surface events."
Symbolism in writing can give a story deeper meaning than the events happening
on the surface.
Examples of symbols
darkness = evil
light = good
a man's guilty conscience = constant washing of hands
Symbolism in writing can't be forced. It emerges as you write and rewrite.
Sometimes if symbolism is forced into your story, it kills it. Sometimes
it is best to concentrate on describing a person or object with honesty
and not scream out "Look at me! I'm using symbolism!"
From Wikipedia: Writing Style