School-age children like to copy their peers in what they wear, the slang they use, actions and more. It makes them one of the crowd. Or so their young minds tell them. Even as adults, we often try to copy a celebrity or someone we admire. It might not be as often or as strong an urge to do this as when we were kids, but we still do it. Little boys and grown men are copying the hairstyle of winning Super Bowl Quarterback, Patrick Mahomes.
When it comes to writing, we shouldn't attempt to copy the same style of writing as an author we admire. Nothing wrong in liking the way someone else writes. We just shouldn't want to be a carbon copy. We need to be ourselves.
All the books on the craft of writing mention something called a writer's voice. It's your style of writing, the way you write, and it should be different from every other writer. It's the tone, the word choice, even the subject matter. Hemingway developed his voice just as Charles Dickens and Louisa Mae Alcott did. The important thing is that you, as a writer, develop your own voice. Not a copy of theirs or some other writer you revere.
The choice of subject matter when you write should also be yours (unless you're a freelancer who writes on assignment). Maybe you are an expert in some particular thing so you can write with authority. The genre you choose to write in should be your choice, not because it is wildly popular at the moment but because you feel comfortable with it. I could never write sci-fi or horror stories. That's just not me. It wouldn't be right for me, and I'd probably do a terrible job. I write in niches where I am comfortable and bring satisfaction to me. It's what is right for me.
When it comes to writing, don't be only one of a crowd. Be yourself. Write from your point of view, from your experiences, not from that of some other author. Be an individual.
No comments:
Post a Comment