Your Own Writing Style

 

Today's quote says "I think new writers are too worried that it has all been said before. Sure it has, but not by you."  I agree, but I also feel that experienced writers can have the same kind of feeling. 

You come up with a story idea, and before long realize that someone else has already used that idea. According to many experts, there are only seven plots for stories, so, considering that, you are bound to be writing something similar to someone else. Use a search engine to find more about story plots. There are numerous articles addressing this topic and are well worth reading.

Even with a limited number of story plots, no one else will write it exactly as you do. Each one of those plots has variations. If you put each story plot in the middle of a circle, then started drawing lines from it showing where the idea can go, you'd have a great many lines to draw. 

Consider a grandmother in a story. Many times a writer will create a character based on a person they actually know. If you were fortunate enough to grow up with access to two grandmothers, you might take the best traits of each to form the one you are writing about. In the same manner, you could use the things you disliked about either or both and develop your character. Not all grandmothers are the stereotypical soft, kind, and loving person we want them to be. The point is that no one but you will create a character like yours because those other writers didn't have your grandmothers. 

Moving to nonfiction--personal essays allow you a great deal of room to be an individual in what you write. You're writing an essay based on something that happened to you, but your aim is to let readers know what you learned or to illustrate some universal truth. It's all yours.

The way you use words, or your style, is most likely going to be all yours, as well. Your writer's voice belongs to you alone. It shouldn't sound like mine or six other writers. The longer you write, the sooner your voice will be apparent. Don't ever try to write like someone else. Be yourself.

Many writing contests are divided into categories. Quite often, there will be a theme category. It might be the theme of a convention or of a certain year in a conference. If the theme category gets hundreds of entries, they are all going to be like in that the writers are all starting out with the same idea, but each one will veer onto different paths. If the theme is Wilderness Trails, what you write and what others write will be all yours. No two will be exactly alike. 

The worst thing you can do is to copy another writer's style, even if you admire that person a great deal. Be an individual with your own way of writing. Lots of people write on the same topic but they do it in their own way. Even if a topic has been written about over and over, don't shy away from it. Give the readers a different viewpoint--yours.