Wednesday's Writer's Tip - More on Style #MFWRauthor #Writing

A writer's style is something developed over time and there are many components to how this develops. Have you ever read a story by an author who has switched from one genre to another yet you know that particular writer is the author. That is style. So let's look at some of the elements that make up the style. There will be more than one Wednesday looking at this. Another thing about style is the editor and sometimes their style or the style of the puclishing house seems to be the style not the authors. I once judged a contest where three of the books were from the same publishing house and had the same editor. Frankly I was unable to find the writer's style in these books. They all sounded the same. Yes, the stories were different and the characters well developed but the flow of the stories remained the same.

Style is individuality. Each writer has a particular way of using language. Much depends on where they were born, where they learned the language and even their choice of careers.

Write in the way that's natural to you. This can be how you choose to do your stories as in point of view of the characters. Some people are comfortable writing in first person. Others want to use a selective third person. There are writers who like to dip into each characters head. Finding the way that's natural to you may take some work. For me third person is the most ocmfortable. Though I've done a book or more in first person those books were a struggle.

When writing what I call the rough draft, let the words flow as they will. A rhythm will develop but of course the choice of words will change when revising the story. Don't stop the flow but push forward. When you stop to find a different word you have slipped from writing into revision. I know there are writers who polish each passage before moving on to the next. Simce this works for them they have probably amstered their style. When you're starting out it's all right to write the draft only the author can love.

Style is using wrords to convey meaning. Being clear as to what you mean to let the reader know needs to be clear and concise. The effectiveness of the writing goes back to the writer's commitment to the project. So once you've mastered that rough draft and want to throw up your hands and scream, remember in revising you can get rid of all those repeated words, the passive sentences, the bitsof dialogue that any of the characters could have said. As you keep writing and working you will learn your style.

16 July = Week ahead and behind

Tomorrow, I'll be a day older than yesterday but also a year older than that. Tomorrow is number 76. While the body ages, the mind remains rather sharp. At least I hope so. Enough about that but it's interesting to think about what one has done and not done. Do I have a bucket list, NO. I just follow life day by day.

Last week I went over the halfway mark in the rough draft of Lines of Fire and the story lines for the next two are falling into place. It's wonderful when that happens. The villains are being exposed but there seems to be one somewhere in the background who hasn't appeared yet. Who is responsible for sullying the lines of fire? I'm sure I'll learn in time. Last week was hot and humid and this week promises to be the same. My critique group had an impromptu early birthday. I now have a new dragon on my shelf. This one is a clock and that's so cool. Even keeps accurate time.

What's on the agenda for this week. Of course the blog posts as usual. Tomorrow Inspiration, Wednesday Elements of the Novel, Thursday Who I'm reading and I'll decide what and who then. Friday and Saturday an new guest on my blog and Sunday finding interesting blogs to visit. Might look at the tribe members for that. Will see. As far as the story, I'll at least rough out three more chapters and that will mean only 2 or 3 to reach the end and then the fun begins. For me revision and re-writing are among my favorite parts of writing.

So here's to another year to find what adventures are on the horizon.

Monday - July 2 - Behind and Ahead

I will admit that I usually have to persuade myself that the rough draft is fun but this time it really is. I often rough draft a book that in the end will be sixty to eighty thousand worda at about 10 to 20 thousand. Why? Many of the scenes I plan to write end up with just a few words., suck as "They make love." Fight scene goes here." Not happening this time. I'm aiming for a 60 thousand story and am prologue plus two chapters in and have 8 thousand words. Hope this doesn't mean the book will be a real epic adventure. Guess I'll have to wait and see what happens.

Sent off The Micro-manager Murder to the publisher and am waiting to hear. Have a tendency to become a bit impatient but I''ll wait for several weeks before jogging publisher's mind. The one thing I will not do is wait nearly a year to discover nothing was going on. I'm sure that's because this time I chose the wrong house to put the book out. But that's another story.

This week I will continue with the rough draft. Won't finish it until perhaps next week but so far I'm having fun. Called Lines of Fire and is part of a trilogy. If I manage to complete this there will be a 12 book cycle featuring the Guilds of a Guild House. Working on the Defender's Guild and there are problems within and possibly without. Complications are what makes a story and handing problems to the characters drive a story forward.

So how about you? Do rough drafts go smoothly or with ruts in the road? Do you have trouble waiting to hear from a publisher?