Now that you are a writer it is time to develop your writing style. Also called your personal touch, your writing style is the way in which you express yourself and it naturally evolves over time. It changes as you age as you go through different stages of life, develop your own personality, change the activities you are involved in, and change what you are reading, along with many other factors. So, what can you do to develop your own writing style?
Well, the truth is that a writing style depends upon life experience as well as the situation you are writing in. You may start off at college writing formally.
Yet as you age, you become more informal in your style. What matters most is that you are consistent in your style. If you like to use emotive words, don’t all of a sudden switch to being very clinical and cold.
There are many ways to develop your style and discover new ways to write.
Read regularly and broadly. Aim to read a few full books a year. Articles are much quicker to read so skim through a few each week. Avoid anything that is not written in formal language. The aim here is to develop your writing style, not to pick up bad habits.
Don’t avoid writing. I know that it might seem that presenting your great idea is quicker and more efficient. However, there is something incredibly powerful about a well written proposal. Take the time to write as much as you can. Also, focus on writing whatever you do write correctly. Don’t allow yourself to continue bad habits just because it is a quick email or SMS. What about writing creatively as well? Not everything you write has to be for work or college. You might discover you have a talent for writing emotionally, something which suits poetry and short stories. This will help to develop your overall writing style and might make that next proposal a little less dry.
Use words that come naturally to you rather than trying to stuff your work with complicated terminology. Nobody likes a show-off, not to mention it risks the reader not being able to understand you. Instead focus on acquiring a variety of well known words. When you are writing, don’t use the same
word or phrase repeatedly. Try to learn synonyms for your regular words to broaden your vocabulary range.
Be as clear as you can. Remember that your main goal is communication. I have said it a million times but it does need repeating: make sure each sentence is as direct and simple as possible. At the same time, don’t be overly clinical. If you are trying to convey emotions, you may need to pack your sentences with a few more adjectives and adverbs. Make your writing easy for your readers, so it is a pleasure to read. Awkward writing can make it painful and provoke your readers into putting down your work.
It is tough to do, but you really have to steer clear of clichés as much as possible. They can make your writing sound unoriginal. Sometimes you can use them for effect, especially if you are trying to evoke an emotion that only that cliché will deliver. Instead think of crafting your own descriptions, use metaphors and expressions. This will make what you write look original and stand out from the crowd.
When you are using different sentence structures, make sure that you are concise. Change the word order in your sentences to see if they can be rephrased using fewer words. Focus on being as concise as possible. At all costs, avoid long sentences with unrelated information contained within them. Don’t comma-splice your way to drab, unreadable work.
Clear, detailed writing makes your work come to life. If you are struggling to find the right words for your descriptions, do a little research. It is easy to access a thesaurus online. The English language has over 250,000 words, so you have no excuse for not being able to find the perfect word for the situation you are trying to describe.
Finally, develop your style by using certain literary devices that come to define your work. If you like using metaphors or similes, this will provide a certain style to your writing. If you prefer technical writing, this will also define how you write.
In this essay, I will demonstrate exactly why copper is an excellent insulator. To arrive at this conclusion, I undertook extensive research. My main research was conducted in the laboratory. I
wanted to test my hypothesis that copper can be used in wires as an insulator. What is more, I wanted to prove that copper is the most suitable choice for this purpose over other metals. Overall, my hypothesis was proven correct.
As an example of a writing style, this represents a concise and well written introduction for a technical essay. It is clear that the writer prefers short clear sentences that deliver the meaning quickly.
It is clear to me that the best course of action is to abandon this job contract. Though it distresses me to say so, we will not gain anything further from this partnership. I am truly grateful for the hard work of all our colleagues. Their dedication shines through in everything they undertake.
This second example demonstrates that you can use more emotional language even when writing a professional piece of work. The message being delivered is clear but what is stronger still is the emotion of disappointment. This style of writing is an excellent way to convey emotion.
We are excited to announce the launch of our new product. Built by a team of world class engineers, this product will revolutionize the way that you wash your clothes. You no longer have to deal with holes in your favorite jumper or rips in your faded jeans. Get in touch with us today to find out how to get yours!
In this final example, you can see a mix of formal sentence structures with a more informal tone. This writing style is an excellent method for selling products. It demonstrates how you can write engaging content without having to compromise on your grammatical structures.
Overall, the thing about writing styles is that it is down to you. The best writing styles are developed naturally and reflect your personality. Keep in mind that just because something should be written formally, it doesn’t mean it has to be bland. Write clearly but add flavor to what you write by using a mix of words and devices such as metaphors. Over time you will become comfortable with your style, being able to easily adapt it based on the situation.