<p>Does anyone feel like they don't have a conscious style? Like when it comes to writing or fashion. And for those of you who do :) can you please mind sharing your tips on how to develop it?</p>
<p>I feel like whenever I write, it's insanely stiff and academic. I've read amazing unpublished and published work and OMG, it's just incredible. The way they can illustrate ideas and just make things beautiful is outstanding. Similarly, with clothing- I have things I like and outfits I can put together but I don't know what really works, you know? I can't afford couture (at least not now lol) and even all the clothes I like but there are people who can make things really * work *. </p>
<p>Anyway, maybe it's kind of a "you have to figure yourself out" before you can express yourself type of thing but that's a weighty task.</p>
<p>I think the primary thing that would characterize my writing is an intense focus on concrete events even when describing the abstract.
I also tend to take events from my life and fictionalize them. This is how I get ideas.</p>
<p>I read read read read. By reading a lot, you get a good feel for the different styles and can then develop your own style in writing. I also write a lot, so I develop my writing that way too.</p>
<p>I don’t know about clothes. I just like something and wear it.</p>
<p>@Halcyon, my writing used to be kind of like yours except I kind of focus on more abstract things. Details bore me I mostly write in a really, stiff, dry academic manner with absolutely no personality that I don’t like. </p>
<p>@CE527M, I think that’s a good idea. I usually read for content, even when reading famous books so I miss out on the style stuff. Maybe I’ll pay more attention to it and try to write regularly. </p>
<p>Hmm…I’ve never tried to characterize my style before looking at this topic. But now that I think about it, I tend to use my personal experiences as background to create abstract pictures, and I use things I’ve read or heard to develop my ideas. As in, I’d kind of create an amalgam of all the things that I’ve read and liked, and use those to develop my own specific writing style.</p>
<p>I tend to be extremely philosophical and deep, and I write in a way that is very personal (opposite of you, lol) and specific to me. I also try to write prose like poetry; as in, I imply a lot that I don’t say, I don’t always use specific transitions, and I can be “jumpy” in my style at times. I can be dry and academic, but I save that for research papers because I find that style very boring. </p>
<p>I usually have many shifts in style within a certain piece (which I guess a part of my larger style) in order to emphasize something, or to give a more complete picture. I usually write as a way of social and mental rebellion, and foolish as that sounds, so my writing tends to reflect and mirror my personality. I think I kind of show that in my fashion too, but less so.</p>
<p>Try writing how you talk (or how you would like to talk), at least initially. It’ll probably end up being too informal for most purposes, but anyone who’s spoken any language for a significant length of time should have some sort of unique voice - it just needs to be developed.</p>
<p>Well that depends on how you talk, doesn’t it? </p>
<p>But anyway, write not necessarily how you talk, but how you think while you talk. Try to show your passions in your writing just as you can show them as you speak. If you change your tone as you speak, use tonal shifts. If you tend to change diction as you speak, change that throughout your writing. If you tend to explore something very deeply in thought or speak, do that as you write. Use the devices you use in thinking and speaking and put them into your writing. That is how you develop a voice.</p>
<p>That is the entire purpose of “literary analysis:” to use clues from an author’s writing to gain insight into his/her mindset, thought process, and views. Try doing that in your writing, but in reverse.</p>
I mostly write in a really, stiff, dry academic manner with absolutely no personality that I don’t like. </p>
Maybe I’ll pay more attention to it and try to write regularly. </p>