WRITING with STYLE!

Has anybody ever felt bad on receiving compliments? Say, when somebody compliments you on your clothing style saying-“You got some really good sense of style, man!” Who will not like to get one’s dressing style appreciated? Apparently, no one in his/her right mind.

Now, how will you, as a writer, feel when somebody compliments you – Hey! I really like your writing style? Wouldn’t it be great to bask in the cozy warmth of true appreciation of your work? It will be, undoubtedly. But, I, genuinely never actually could understand what I am actually been complimented about, until lately. Okay, style it is. Well, what is style?

“Style is to forget all styles.”
—Jules Renard

Style in clothing is nothing but the kind of clothes, either loose with baggy jeans, or body-fitted with jeggings, or comfy like trousers, one prefers to wear. Writing style is also more or less similar to it.

The way you dress up your words defines your writing style.

Let me give you a few distinctive examples here.

Ernest Hemingway, a name if not read but definitely heard. He is the one famous for writing not-so-complicated sentences. Yes, simple, short sentences yet elegant in the rawest form. His work does contain long sentences, but the length is nothing more than four-five lines, and most of the times lesser.
Then we have his extreme opposite, William Faulkner. With my mention of extreme opposite I pretty much made it clear that what kind of style Faulkner has–the one which believes in long sentences. His long sentences are not to be taken lightly. They can run for a long paragraph.
And yet we have another stylist, F. Scott Fitzgerald, who has poetic style of writing the prose. His words, his sentences, they hold the rhythm of a poem, the melody of a poem. All is poetic yet prose used to be weaved not poems.

Here we noticed three disparate stylists. What makes them stand apart from each other’s work? The length of sentences they prefer, the kind of words they use, how those words are placed in a sentence-all these factors constitute towards developing one’s style.

If you heard somewhere that you need to be unique for being a good or not-bad writer, you heard it wrong. There are certain ingredients, and it’s the result of their permutation and combination that yields one to his/her style.

No, no style is good or bad. All that needs to be done is to identify one’s style and improvise it. There is no one who will question you over why you prefer writing sentences that can easily qualify for being a one composite word; or that why your sentences start at the start line but, for some reasons, forget to stop at the finish line of the race; or that why do you use such simple words with its numerous synonyms scattered around; or why can’t you be just plain when you say things, satire is not the answer everywhere, after all.
If they do, you may answer with–this is what my style is. As simple as that. Style is what you are comfortable with. It shouldn’t be something you feel suffocated in. Whole point of style is lost if it cannot be enjoyed by its stylist. Right?

A style, never, is composed of simply one element but of multiple elements. Above, I mentioned only a few of many. Some styles are preferred over short sentence style for a particular piece of description, while some over poetic style. But once you become a pro, or quite a good holder of your style, you can adapt your style according to the requirements of the piece to be written.

Style is not what a writer is born with, but is something that is developed. And how does anything develop? By getting nourished. So the theory is clear-write for developing a style. A few days, or maybe even a few months won’t be enough to realize one’s style.  Perseverance will help you here like nothing else.

But again, is style something that stays constant once formed? A tricky question. As per theory that I have gone through, we do formulate a style, which can be altered the way it was developed. Basic mathematics can be applied over one’s style. One can add a few things, subtract a few, and so can multiply and divide as well. But as per my personal experience, I am yet to realize the real calling of my style. So the answer to the question asked in the start of this passage is surely something I will refrain from answering as the answer might baffle you, and do further wonders of making you think over your visitation to my blog, again.

Now seems to be the right time to leave you all with an idea of style, writing style and let you scrutinize your own style. Just one concluding thought,

No matter what your style is, write what can be understood implicitly, not what needs to be taught.

How do you feel about owning a writing style? What is style in writing for you?

Hasta Pronto!

IF YOU ARE A FIRST- TIME VISITOR OF MY BLOG, DO REFER ‘First-Timers‘. IT WOULD HELP YOU IN EXPLORING THE PLACE.

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