Distributed by curators in Writing |Creativity
6 Writing Styles of Bestselling Authors Explained in Simple Words
A successful uncontroversial style is hard to find
After her marriage ended in November 1993, J.K. Rowling returned to England from Spain. She said, ‘I was set free because my greatest fear had been realized, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became a solid foundation on which I could rebuild my life.’
But when she finished writing her big idea, her manuscript was rejected by all of the 12 publishers. They did not like her writing style.
It was so simple and full of flaws that only a child could like it, the publishers said. And they were right; the kids, young and old, loved it.
When one publisher gave the manuscript to his daughter to read, she kept asking for more. Over the years, she has sold over 450 million copies of Harry Potter to children all over the world.
J. K. Rowling’s writing style is controversial. Reviews on the Internet show great admiration from fans and putdowns from literary critics.
What is writing style
Writing style means choosing the right words to express your idea. It is an entirely subjective thing.
Everyone has preferences and tastes. Your writing style has a signature that distinguishes you from the rest of the writers.
Let’s examine what some of the best selling authors have to say on their understanding of writing style:
Ernest Hemingway
“What a writer has to do is write what hasn’t been written before or beat dead men at what they have done.”
When you start, you seem to have an inexhaustible supply of ideas. As time passes, you realize many writers have already written on those ideas. When you read their work, you are mesmerized by the beauty of it.
It is difficult to find a new idea, and it is even harder to beat dead men at their craft.
How to use this advice?
- To find new topics to write on, you have to read other contemporary writers. Reading different blogs, magazines, and best-selling books inspires you to come up with new ideas.
- If no new ideas come to your mind, read the work of past writers. Find ways to write better than them. The latest researches and other material on the internet can help you to see their ideas from your unique modern perspective.
David Morrell
“You have to follow your own voice. You have to be yourself when you write. In effect, you have to announce, ‘This is me, this is what I stand for, this is what you get when you read me. I’m doing the best I can — buy me or not — but this is who I am as a writer.”
His style advice is, to be honest. He thinks you do not have the option to emulate anyone. You should not copy some other writer’s style.
You do not have to change your style to sell more books. Your writing is an effort to portray your true self.
How to use this advice
- Gently inhale and then very slowly exhale. I mean it — do it now. Tell yourself you are happy the way you are. Feel gratitude for being who you are. Only by accepting yourself, you can convince yourself to quit pretentious writing.
- If you ever feel your writing is not giving you the money you want, go deeper into your self. If your writing style is less than honest, it is fake. It is not you. But when you are there, and you are sure, then stick to your style and don’t worry about money — it will come eventually.
Kurt Vonnegut
“I think I succeeded as a writer because I did not come out of an English department. I used to write in the chemistry department. And I wrote some good stuff. If I had been in the English department, the prof would have looked at my short stories, congratulated me on my talent, and then showed me how Joyce or Hemingway handled the same elements of the short story. The prof would have placed me in competition with the greatest writers of all time, and that would have ended my writing career.”
Kurt Vonnegut says the uniqueness of a writer’s style is undermined when a professor advises her to follow a great master’s style.
No great writer tries to copy anybody’s style. When we read other writers, we learn some of their techniques, and the influence might be visible to a literary connoisseur. Yet as soon as we are bold enough to express ideas through our writing, the traces of influence start fading.
How to use this advice
- Sometimes you have to write a story without the intention to publish. When you write these stories, think purely in your usual style. These stories will give you an idea of your untarnished style.
- Work on your style to make it smooth around the edges. But if you are not writing the way you think, your writing voice will never be your signature style.
- Your continuous practice — writing more on various topics — is the most effective way to develop your unique style.
Jude Deveraux
“You should really stay true to your own style. When I first started writing, everybody said to me, ‘Your style just isn’t right because you don’t use the really flowery language that romances have.’ My romances — compared to what’s out there — are very strange, very odd, very different. And I think that’s one of the reasons they’re selling.”
If you are a clear thinker, you should be able to narrate your stories in simple words. Flowery language is gone because expressing emotions requires you to use simple words.
When people tell you your work is too different from everybody else, think of it as a compliment. Your uniqueness will someday ensure your success.
How to use this advice
- Use simple language. Avoid using unnecessary words.
- Express your ideas using the smallest number of words. Most of your readers will thank you by reading your work.
Garrison Keillor
“I guess I believe that writing consists of very small parts put together into a whole, and if the parts are defective, the whole won’t work.”
It is a precise piece of advice. It instructs you to focus on every sentence and every paragraph as if it is complete in itself.
If you can convey every part of the idea in a comprehensive way to the reader — and connect the ideas intelligently — your story will most probably make sense too.
How to use it
- Use small paragraphs to convey only a bit of logic, thought, or part of the story.
- Use two sentences in place of one, if possible.
- Keep every part free of the fuzziness that creeps in slowly if you are not paying attention.
- After writing your story, modify the start or the end of the paragraphs, to connect them logically.
Madeleine L’Engle
“We, and I think I’m speaking for many writers, don’t know what it is that sometimes comes to make our books alive. All we can do is to write dutifully and day after day, every day, giving our work the very best of what we are capable of. I don’t think that we can consciously put the magic in; it doesn’t work that way. When the magic comes, it’s a gift.”
Madeleine is sharing what she has learned after years of work. Writing a book is not an easy task. Like Picasso, she believes inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.
In simple words, she is showing the writer to practice her craft. The writer must keep on writing to find intuition and inspiration that will make her work come alive in the minds of the readers.
How to use it
- Write every day. Keep expressing your ideas in your words.
- Give your work your best by learning to write well.
- Don’t try to do anything special — wait for it to happen naturally.
Conclusion
I read a critical essay that exposed the flaws of Harry Potter and talked of 13 big plot holes. “As obsessive fans will tell you, I do slip up!” Rowling admitted on her fan-site. “Several classrooms move floors mysteriously between books, and these are the least serious continuity errors! Most of the fan sites will point you in the direction of my mistakes.”
But the beauty of style is hidden in your originality. Despite the imperfect characters, plot holes, and errors, writing Harry Potter is an accomplishment no other writer has paralleled.
If your style is readable and you can use it to convey your ideas to your reader, it is your writing style — no matter what anybody else says.
