Ask six different people for their definition of style and you will get six different answers. It is almost impossible to define. Some of the examples below should help.
What is Style?
All that can be said is that style is the manner in which a writer expresses his or her individuality. There are no rules, like those of grammar which, if faithfully followed, will give you an individual style. Your style will evolve out of the words you choose and the manner in which they are arranged.
Style is Like Music
Like music, where a particular arrangement of notes can produce a beautiful melody, the way a writer arranges words can produce a fine style. Take the same notes, arrange them in a different way, and the result may be be discord. Similarly, rearrange the words of a fine sentence or passage and style will vanish.
For example, Robert Louis Stevenson wrote: "To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." This is a simple sentence, composed of ten easy words, yet it is still often quoted more than a century after it was written. Why is this? The answer is that it has style. Compare the following variations.
– To be hopeful when you travel is better than arriving.
– Arriving is not as good as travelling hopefully.
– To travel hopefully makes arriving better.
Stevenson's words may not have survived written them in any of these forms. Why not? There is nothing wrong with them yet they are wooden and forgettable.
Style is a mystery.
Style is something that distinguishes a writer's work, but what is it? You might say it is HOW you say what you want to say.
Try re-writing a familiar sentence and see what happens. For example: Thomas Paine (l8th century political writer - advocate of the abolition of slavery and the emancipation of women). wrote:
"These are the times that try men's souls."
Try a few variations
- Times like these try men's souls.
- How trying it is to live in these times.
- These are trying times for men's souls.
- Soulwise, these are trying times.
Each version is grammatically correct and, for some reason, marked for oblivion.
Write Freely
Have the courage to WRITE FREELY, using words and phrases that come naturally to you. Sometimes too many facts and too much information can cover over individual style.
In the beginning, don’t worry too much about style. As you become more confident in your own observations and your ability to put them down on paper, and as you learn to write freely and openly, your own style will gradually emerge. Become aware of style by reading with an analytical eye those authors whom you admire. Ask yourself what it is about their writing that you like. Do they use short, terse sentences that give their writing an intense quality? Or perhaps they use a more lyrical, descriptive style, better suited to a more relaxed, languorous approach.
Style and Subject are Linked
If you like to write articles on controversial subjects you may find a tight style captures the excitement and tension you are trying to convey. Or perhaps your favourite writers use a more lyrical, descriptive style, better suited to a more relaxed subject.
The use of language begins with imitation. We learned to talk by imitating our parents, so don't be afraid to learn about style by imitating those writers you admire. In time you will learn to write naturally, in your own way
Then REVISE and RE-WRITE! Eventually your own voice will come through.
How to Be a Freelance Journalist
