Writing and style.

[foxmonkey]

I've wondered about this one a lot over the years. Today's question:

Style. Are there writers you can pick out by style alone? If so, what is it that you recognize? If you're a writer, is having a recognizable style important to you? Why or why not?

Comments

[jewelianna.livejournal.com]

I'm stretching back to the Golden Age of Popslash, but there were some authors who I always felt were very distinctive. callmesandy's fics were always easy for me to identify by style. Her writing is very direct, I'd say. There was a clear tone to her writing, and it carried from her more humorous fics to the more serious ones. rhyssj had a very identifiable style as well. The balance between thought, dialogue, and description in her stories remained fairly constant. synchronik had a fairly uniform style. Not as much character thought in those, more action and reaction.

I feel like I have a style, though it's not important to me that it be recognizable. Hell, I'm just happy if someone else reads something that I've written, I'm not worried about them instantaneously knowing it's me. Although if it's a bad thing, I'd want to know about it. If someone shudders when they see me name, it'd be good to know why.

Your questions make me babble.

[foxmonkey.livejournal.com]

Your questions make me babble.

I *love* hearing that. :-) I want to hear any- and everything that's in your brain, and what you've said is exactly what I've been curious about.

There are definitely writers I'd recognize in a blind taste test, and I'd say Scotty's one of those. She's got one of the most distinctive styles around.

I've thought about it lately because, while reading a few pieces of fic one after another, they started to...not really sound alike, but the demarcation between one author and another wasn't as clear as you'd think it would (should) be.

Thanks for responding! If you have more to share, I'd love to hear it.
:-)

[jewelianna.livejournal.com]

There are certainly writers who have a style I don't enjoy, and looking at it from that perspective, it's fairly easy to find. I want there to be a moving plot, some dialogue. Stories that take place all in someone's head drive me absolutely crazy, and there are some authors who will write pages of description or memories of a character without any action or conversation. I don't want to name names when I'm saying I don't like a style, but I feel there are people who flow with that that more 'arty' style of writing which is definitely not my preferred style as a reader.

[foxmonkey.livejournal.com]

There are certainly writers who have a style I don't enjoy, and looking at it from that perspective, it's fairly easy to find.

And it's funny, you're right. I was reading a story yesterday and a couple of paragraphs in I thought, Yeeks! It's that girl who...; I scrolled up to find the author's name and I was right. ;-)