Your Writing Style Is Important

Writing style is unique, but there are things we can consider in making our style the best it can be. As Lucy always says on this site, good writing craft is the least we can do. Style is part of that.

Of course, there are no rules. Experienced writers can get away with anything. However, below are some things to be aware of, especially if you are writing a book or short story for the first time.

“Writing fiction is a delicate balance.” Sol Stein from Stein On Writing

1)  Avoid The Passive Voice

The passive voice can weaken fiction. It should be used sparingly to improve your writing style. Compare the passive “I was hit by the boy” to the active voice of “The boy hit me.”

MORE: 1 Weird Trick To Avoid The Passive Voice In Your Writing

2) Use Variety In Your Sentences 

Readers get bored if there isn’t enough sentence variety. To fix this, alternate long sentences with short sentences. Use various sentence structures, not just subject-verb-object sentences too.

• Subject-verb-object sentence             Cara ran down the hill.
• Subject-verb-modifier sentence         Down the hill, laughing, came Cara.
• Subject-verb-object sentence             The girl hurried to the shop.
• Subject-verb-modifier sentence         The young girl, staring into her phone, hurried to the shop.

3) Consider Rhythm

No, I don’t mean literal rhythm like drumming, though if that helps you then go for it. The rhythm of a sentence should help set the pace and tension in the scene.

• A) “Stop,” he shouted.
• B) He saw them in the distance nearing the house and called out, “Stop.”

Sentence A) is much tenser than B) due to its short length.

Word order and rhythm can also help show regional accents and social status. Read your writing aloud to hear its sound. Did it sound dull or choppy? With a full stop, the pitch of the voice falls on the last three syllables due to breathing.

“Varied sentence length makes for varied gaps between the full stops, which makes for varied cadences. This lets the writing breathe and move and sing.” Joe Moran, First You Write A Sentence.

Think about combining words in a surprising way and the sound of the words that you have written.

4) Look For ‘Psychic Distance’

This is a term from John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction.  Gardner refers to psychic distance as the distance the reader is from the action in the story. When writing fiction, psychic distance should be consistent throughout the story.

• A) Cara didn’t particularly like her curly hair.
• B) Cara hated her curly hair.
• C) Why’d she have to have curly hair?
• D) Those stupid curls. No matter what brush or shampoo she used.

Sentence A is the most formal and distant from the reader and the story. Sentence D is the closest to the character.

5) Use Infinite Verbs Sparingly

Infinite verb phrases can slow the action and heighten tension, but these should be used intentionally and sparingly. Too many such infinite verb phrases weaken the writing style. Examples of infinite verb phrases include:

• “Getting up from the chair, Josh said ..”
• “Turning away, Josh said …”
• “Driving away, she checked her wing mirror …”

6) Be Careful With Adverbs & Adjectives

To improve your writing style, remove adverbs and leave only a few for maximum impact. Use strong verbs instead.

Adverbs ‘rather’, ‘’just’, ‘sort of’, ‘kind of’, ‘often’, ‘a little’ weaken the prose around them.

Be careful with the overuse of adjectives, too. Flowery language is out of fashion.

7) Just Use ‘Said’ Already! 

Try to avoid using too many dialogue attributes other than ‘Said’ as it takes the reader out of the story and is distracting.

E.g. He griped, she moaned, he simpered. MORE: Elmore Leonard’s Top 10 Writing Rules

8) Be Careful With Description & Narrative Summary

Don’t stop the story with too much description. The description should come naturally from the scene, based on the characters’ actions and words.

Also, make sure the description is individualised and not generic. Use details that differentiate one person or place from another without clichés or generalisations. Choose the most effective detail.

A narrative summary is where the reader does not see the action. ‘Fred went to the shop’ is an example of a narrative summary.

This is useful when transporting the reader straight to the next scene. However, too much narrative summary removes the reader from the story and can be tedious.

9) Don’t Forget Your SIX Senses

In Sol Stein’s book, Stein On Writing, he suggests using six senses in writing: sight, sound, taste, touch, smell, and our sixth sense (our extrasensory perception aka ESP).

To hone your own ESP, Stein suggests closing your eyes. Now imagine who is in the room with you, and think why today differs from other days. What does this mean? Well, that’s the point … it’s up to you!

10) Differentiate Your Dialogue

When writing dialogue, make sure the characters sound different from one another. Use markers like …

• grammar
• sarcasm
• whether they talk in long or short sentences
• vocabulary
• idealism
• cynicism
• jargon
• word order and
• skipping words.

Read your favourite authors, mark passages you love. Study what the author has done to improve your own writing style.

“As you perfect your craft through practice, remember the joy of finally getting on a bicycle and riding to your destination without giving a second thought to the technique that now comes naturally.” Sol Stein from Stein on Writing.

MORE: 8 Tips On Improving Your Writing From Kurt Vonnegut

Good Luck!

BIO: Eimear Kilcullen loves stories of all kinds, whether written or visual. Based in Dublin,  she is working on a horror short story anthology, a trio of short stories and a YA book from the same dystopian world. Connect with her on Linkedin, HERE.