Writing a Book – How to Develop Your Personal Writing Style

A professional artist has a clear and specific style. A way of drawing or painting that is as personal as a fingerprint. On the other hand, an amateur may not have a style. Or It may be borrowed or not consistent.

Writing is no different.

A clear and personal writing style brands the writer as a professional. They have a style that marks all their writing as their own. A style that is consistent and unique. Perhaps borrowed in part. Normally from a number of different master authors. In fact, ghostwriters illustrate this situation perfectly. You see, one of the skills that a ghostwriter has to develop is the ability to imitate their clients’ style. The ability to hide one’s own style. And the ability to do so without damaging one’s ability to write. And of course, without losing one’s own style when writing under one’s own name.

So how do you develop your personal style?

In this blog entry, I’m going to discuss three methods to help you develop you own style. Or perhaps I should be saying tips. In any case, these actions will help you to develop your own personal style. And one that you can be proud of.

The first tip is to write. If you want to have a style of your own, you need to practice. You need to isolate it and create a habit around it. Long. Short. Fast. Slow. Whatever your style is, you need to turn it into a habit of writing. And the only way to do that, is to practice writing with that style.

The second method or tip is to read. Yes, I said read. Read as much as you can. Read as widely as you can. Read and then read some more. Read good books. Read bad books. Read classics. Read modern pulp. Hey, read breakfast cereal boxes. You see, you can’t write well if you don’t know what well is. (Sorry about the grammar there!) And you can’t create your own style until you’ve read the writings of other masters. And sad to say, you also need to read those who shouldn’t write at all. After all, without something to compare to you won’t be able to identify what makes the master writer a master at his or her craft.

The third tip is to forget what you’ve been taught. In fact, you need to learn to write the same way you talk. Okay, I know that sounds very negative. It may even go against the grain. However, the truth is that schools teach you to write in a specific style. It’s a formal, error free style. It has a base in the universities of the 1800s. It’s a false, unnatural style. In fact, it even goes so far as to outlaw grammatical forms that are actually quite acceptable.

The result is a non-style which is complex and difficult to read. However, the language of the street, the language you actually use to talk with, is much easier to understand. It’s also personal and unique. It’s yours. And frankly, writing a book using your speaking voice would result in a much better written book than trying to imitate what your teachers taught. So try writing the way you talk. You’ll find your style and be much happier with the result.