Describe Your Style

[Adrius Frostglare]

A writer holds a unique identity in his writing much as their voiced do when they speak. Some are descriptive, others are direct and to the point. While there are many who adhere to the educated labels of writing - that is, they follow a strict academic procedure - many find a definite individuality in themselves using free, unique styles. Don't be fooled, though, as even those that use the set academic methods are still as unique as those who do not.

Describe how you like to express your sentiments in this thread. I'll begin.

I love to sink deep into the situation. More than anything, I like to pry and analyze the philosophies behind the motives. My characters tend to think differently from one another and it's always amazing how they reach different conclusions to solve similar problems.

In terms of writing, I tend to do quite a bit of foreshadowing. I understand that random surprise has its benefits for some but it simply doesn't do it for me. I like to leave some suspense in the air.

Overall, description while maintaining eyes on the task at hand is what is important to me. I'll describe hand motion, facial expression, tone, all the attributes encompassing the situation... and condense it into easy, understandable scenes.

[Kalon Ordona II]

Great topic!

When I write, I first draw on my knowledge of English and literature. I want to know the perfect word to say what I want to say. More than that, I enjoy saying things in ways that have rarely or never been used before. English, to me, in all its complexity and diversity, is the ultimate language of literature.

I normally find that my characters think a lot like myself. I enjoy using characters to find out more about myself, and express that in the story. The other side of the coin is that evil characters also find their source in my thought patterns, and I use them to clearly define the line between the paths of right and wrong. In addition, though, I greatly enjoy finding the good in villains. Most every villain has at least one redeeming quality. By the same token, I usually look to see where the good characters may be flawed, and I play that into their philosophy. No human being can have all the truth, so it really strikes a chord when you get two good characters completely disagreeing on a subject, each feeling they have it right.

I don't think I'm as vivid in descriptions as I want to be. A trick I try to remember is to invoke more than one of the five senses at a time.

I suppose, overall, my style is character-driven, but my secondary motivation would be setting. Setting is very important to me. The sense of wonder, the way one marvels at new cultures or objects or environments, is something in literature which I never tire of experiencing when I read or striving to produce when I write.

[Kesteven]

I feel like I'm not really qualified to say what my style is, but I certainly know what I aim for and I can name a few of my influences. The main one has to be Terry Pratchett, but unfortunately I never acquired his flair for outright humour, although everything I do ends up a little tongue-in-cheek.

I often think of creative writing as a blend of two disciplines, the narrative and the technical. The technical side is the one dominant in poetry, getting the rhythm and feel just right, and I often go over and over sentences that are perfectly adequate to say what I want, just to make them sound more appealing. A lot of the time, the matter of which descriptions to use to frame a situation come under this heading, too. It's an enjoyable challenge, but it can get annoying when I feel forced into ugly constructions by what I'm trying to express, and my real passion is with the narrative side, storytelling. That's not about creating sentences, it's about creating entire worlds.
I'm not sure if I have a conscious style as such for that; like everyone else, I just think about a situation and develop and embellish it as it goes along, fleshing out the world and characters interdependently. I think though that probably more than a lot of other writers I'm driven by a need to have everything hang together and 'make sense' - In addition to setting up sophisticated ground rules of operation, (like how magic or future tech works, if it's included, and the social and political situations in place) I try to identify the main themes that comprise the soul of what I'm working on, and use them to tie the characters, the story and the setting together. Ever since my philosophy degree I also can't help but underlie my writing with philosophical ideas, especially those relating to mind and perception and the nature of reality, although you can't go wrong with a good ethical schism.

On the other hand, my writing shows a lot of tendencies towards emotional self-gratification, for instance I generally include things just because I personally find them cool or exciting, my romances tend towards the passionately awkward because I happen to get off on that, and I usually try to instil my characters with a sense of energy and passion that I myself tragically lack. I generally start with a few ideas in my head about scenes that would be enjoyable and work backwards, using the background to explain the plot and the explanations to enrich the setting. I also often end up going backward and forwards a lot to explore avenues in earlier parts of the writing that I hadn't considered until something I write later suggests it, which is why roleplaying is quite a challenge for me. I have to think ahead, but also remain flexible to what other people might write.

Also, I like the sound of that 'multiple senses' trick, I'll give that a go. Thinking about it I tend to focus quite heavily on the visual, probably too much.

[Inerio]

My writing depends on what roleplay I'm in.

I'm quite partial to making eccentric and quirky characters. I often aim to amuse people, though I sometimes wonder if I achieve this with all my characters. More often times than not the more I like the roleplay and my character the more entertaining and even(gasp) funny my posts can be.

I often find myself writing as if I'm a speaking narrator or speaking to the reader at times. As in I use a lot of words and phrases like "For you see" and "Dear readers". On occasion my use of sarcasm or the occasional stab at dark humor I fear is misinterpreted, and often hope I don't leave others wondering "What the hell is Ine thinking?"

I wish I could write more, but I can't really describe it all that well. All in all, my writing style is as oddly humorous and eccentric as I am. Though I will say it doesn't appeal to everyone.

[vitamin_kitten]

Mostly I just go for ease of understanding. I write like I talk, which I know can be a big problem for some people. Generally speaking, I want the tone that comes across in the story (or RP) to sound like me; perhaps it's a little self-centered to want to be present in my own writing, but I put alot of who I am into what I write, so ...

My style, when I write stories, tends to be heavily visual, almost to a fault. It's something I'm working on, mainly because I wish I could draw rather than write. When I write certain scenes, I tend to get obnoxiously graphic (not like, gorey, necessarily, just visually overstimulating) to the point where it sounds like I don't trust the reader, but only because I want my reader to picture something as vividly as I do, and I'm not sure how to do that in one or two sentences (like one of my friends, whose opinion on writing I trust because she really is an amazing writer herself and ridiculously smart) says I should. Most of my scenes take a few paragraphs to establish. ^^;

What are we talking about again? Oh, right, writing styles. Yeah, I think that about covers it.

[Weiss]

I'm not sure how to begin defining my style. I'm always trying to change it; to upgrade it and improve my ability to captivate the reader. I could probably point out the flaws in my writing easily enough. While I've gotten better at not excessively pouring details into my writing, I still have trouble using words in a way that allows the reader to float through the text, not stopping to comprehend what's being said because it carries through with such astounding liquidity that you can practically watch the developments in your mind, forgetting that you're reading a piece of literature at all.

In truth, I've rarely seen anyone write to those standards, but the few times I've come across that type of talent, I've attempted to harvest the secrets of that style for myself. Many people are deceived into thinking that one must expand their vocabulary to prevent repetition, but the truth is that, if you have to use synonyms, it means that you're expressing the same idea too many times in your writing. What's more important, in my opinion, and what I strive for more than anything, is to write in such a way that the reader feels that the book; the novel; the story was written entirely for them, using exactly the words they feel are appropriate for every line on every page.

How close am I to accomplishing that? I can't say. I feel it's no matter of conceit to admit that I'm a great writer, but that isn't what I'm striving for. I want to be an excellent story-teller. Knowing how to use a language to put interesting words onto a blank white page is far less an accomplishment, in my mind, than being able to captivate an audience with a few words. A style so gripping and powerful that each sentence has the capacity to put the reader on the edge of his seat.

So, I can't really describe my style of writing. That's something I'd have to ask of those who have experienced it. I can only provide a statement of my literary goals.

[Kalon Ordona II]

Well said, Weiss! That would have been fit for a soap box!
It really made me reconsider some the way I think about writing.
I've had a lot of those concepts loosely in my head, but it's great to see them written out like that.

[vitamin_kitten]

Many people are deceived into thinking that one must expand their vocabulary to prevent repetition, but the truth is that, if you have to use synonyms, it means that you're expressing the same idea too many times in your writing.

I've never thought of that before. It's so true though.

What's more important, in my opinion, and what I strive for more than anything, is to write in such a way that the reader feels that the book; the novel; the story was written entirely for them, using exactly the words they feel are appropriate for every line on every page.

How close am I to accomplishing that? I can't say. I feel it's no matter of conceit to admit that I'm a great writer, but that isn't what I'm striving for. I want to be an excellent story-teller. Knowing how to use a language to put interesting words onto a blank white page is far less an accomplishment, in my mind, than being able to captivate an audience with a few words. A style so gripping and powerful that each sentence has the capacity to put the reader on the edge of his seat.

THIS. For what it's worth, I do think you're very articulate.

[Adrius Frostglare]

[quote="vitamin_kitten"]

Many people are deceived into thinking that one must expand their vocabulary to prevent repetition, but the truth is that, if you have to use synonyms, it means that you're expressing the same idea too many times in your writing.

May I hear an applause for a Mr. Hemingway, please? Read his short story "In Another Country" and it had pretty simple vocabulary with little repetition. Was fairly interesting.

I do disagree, though, that repetition of an idea in writing is not a good thing. Admittedly, there IS a limit, but like many things it requires mastery.

Look at the poem "The Raven". Not only is the IDEA repeated, but the word, too. "Nevermore" is so oft said in the poem it becomes mesmerizing, alluring, like a spiral going around and around. Repetition can be a powerful tool for attracting readers.

Personally, though, if you're going to repeat, it had better be either a) on a tempo, meaning that it comes after, say, a certain number of sentences or words, or b) colorful, varied, and flavorful. Excess in anything can kill a character, a story, etc., because it refuses change and therefore does not, how was it Weiss said, "flows like water" and makes you forget you're reading a story.

[Weiss]

Actually, Adrius, that falls right into what I was saying, though you may not realize it because, at a glance, our points seem contradictory.

You see, it's true that Poe repeats the same idea multiple times. However, note also that he doesn't change the repeated artifact. It's the same thing, spoken in repetition, to create that mesmerizing effect. When you read it, you aren't left feeling, "I wish he'd have used a different word, because seeing that same thing over and over again felt very repetitive." Instead, you're left thinking, "Wow, that was one Hell of a poem."

In other words, he didn't repeat the idea beyond necessity. Because he didn't repeat it beyond necessity, he didn't need to rely on synonyms to avoid feeling repetitious.

So, rather than disagreeing with me, you actually agreed without realizing why or how.

@Kalon et vitamin: Thank you both, and I appreciate the compliments.

[Adrius Frostglare]

Then I concur you were right "feeling" repetitious and "being" repetitious are different.

[Fate Flyer]

I agree -- this is a good idea for a topic.



I'm trying to piece together in my mind all the major things I've written (the ones that I cared the most about and coincidently put the most time into) to explain my style. Firstly, I'd just like to say that, like most of you, I probably could more easily point out the flaws in either my writing or myself when it comes to being motivated enough to write above my own set standards for myself.

I believe that most of my written works hold an essence of humor in them, be it irony (my most preferred), satires, hyperboles, or wisecracks. Most of this humor though that I include is typically used as an aside and does not stand out amongst the rest of the writing, but is more so there as a funny afterthought, if the reader were to devote a moment to consider the humor. I like including some humor, as I feel it really helps to bring the story down to earth. I feel a lot of people try to be overly serious in their writing, and that has always distanced me from their characters or their setting, as it doesn't feel as realistic. Not all humor has to be a verbal joke either. Something small and as simple as a blunder or an accident usually comes across as hysterical in a story, as typically these sorts of things are not seen, as most writers prefer their characters to be perfect, or rather as perfect as actors as portraying characters in movies, never slipping up or doing anything unexpected in regards to this sort of comic relief.

In addition to just humor though, I feel my writing is detailed enough to help visualize the setting, as I like to point out the important details, but not so overly specified to identify and emphasize trivial things. I get lost in the words and paragraphs of stories or books where detail is given to a fault, and I absolutely hate forgetting what the writer was talking about in the first place, as they have gotten themselves lost in a tangled web of unnecessary description. I'm sure, especially in a lot of my role-plays, there are places where more description could be used though.

I like to include dialogue in my stories on a regular basis. To me, reading blocks of text and paragraphs lecturing on and on about scenery or emotions (which can get tedious after awhile too) is just not interesting enough. I try to include interactions between my characters or between my characters and the spontaneous person they may encounter. Usually, when I role-play, I prefer to play at least two characters. This way, I am not dependent on other role-players for most of my character's interactions, but instead can also have my two characters speaking and interacting together. This is especially helpful when other's characters aren't around.

I'm always trying to improve my writing and looking for sources of inspiration, be them books, stories on the internet, television, movies, video games, etc. Most commonly though, I do find my inspiration in reading things others have written. As my learning and understanding of storytelling increases and improves, so too does my style.

[Digital Muse]

How interesting! In the very short time I’ve been here, I’ve been delighted and challenged by the caliber of writers that make FOG their home. Each post I’ve read displays things I admire and want to incorporate myself.

My style is very psychological in nature. I like to explore the inner workings of my character’s mind and motivations. What makes them tick, how will they react to a given situation and why? In the end my characters are all slivers of myself. The goof ball, the intellectual, the care-giver, the angry one, etc.. I particularly like to explore the effects of environment, upbringing and social influences on those characters that make them unique. That’s why the back ground is so much fun for me when I develop a character to play.

Secondly, I’m damned good at descriptions and setting a scene. I incorporate all the senses whenever applicable to give the reader a true feeling for the atmosphere I’m trying to create. The atmosphere and surroundings are like another character within the story and should be treated as such because it too influences the pace of the story.

In the end, I want to tell a good story, I want the readers to feel that the characters could be them. If my readers can identify with my characters and actually give a damned about what happens to them, then I consider the story a unqualified success.

[Kalon Ordona II]

for Fate
for DigiMuse

I learned a while ago that having NPC's or other characters around for you to play is almost necessary for role-playing dialogue. If you rely on the other player alone, it severely limits what you can accomplish in a single post.

Digi, I really really really want to read something you've written, now. xD
*looks around*
I better go read "chapter 1" ^_^

[Lord Saladin]

Describing my literary style is not the easiest of things to do: Much like my handwriting style, it depends on my mood, what I'm writing, and for whom. As such, I am quite versatile.

When roleplaying, I find that - much like my main influence, Robert Jordan - my writing is very character focused. Though in the third person, my narrative will be laden with inflections from the character in question: Their thoughts, inclinations and ideals, opinions, motives and views.

I also realise the importance of making a world alive, so you will often see tiny details in my posts, like a random person in a bar standing to go to the toilet, that make the world I'm RPing in less static. As a part of this, I've been told I'm good at building the atmosphere and tone of a particular scene.

I can be the epitome of brevity, or I can allow my posts to be like an oil painting. There are times for each, though I always find that my posts have at least one metaphor in them.

But yeah, like I said, my style (should I put it into one word) is versatile.

[The Melancholy Spirit]

A difficult thing to do as I’ve never seen my writing style as something set in stone. I like to take things from other writers myself, rather than from education. I read as many authors as I can and take something away from each of them. This also goes for things such as poetic and lyrical pieces, though in truth they are one in the same. Well, generally speaking…I loathe saying that contemporary, popular or otherwise ‘mainstream’ lyrics are poetic. I digress, however.

I know that perfection is not obtainable by any mortal, though I believe that by chasing perfection in my own writing I can one day achieve excellence. This will probably mean that I will never become an author like I would love to do, as for outside of music it is the only career I could handle being involved in. If so, I’d probably have not but a simple occult following. Though, realistically that isn’t going to happen these days where sales and popularity rule supreme.

When it comes to the material itself, I admit that I am a selfish person. I don’t write anything for the reader; therefore I do not aim to please the reader. I write for myself and no one else, therefore I aim to please myself. If in doing so I can please the reader then all the better, I feel. I also have a strong desire to blend, not simply leap but hop-scotch genres in writing to create something that can be at least somewhat my own. The inspiration and influence for attempting such (rather idiotic, actually) things comes from numerous sources ranging from novels, films (generally older), games, history, poems, and music. Music itself plays a very important role in my writing.

I also have a strong tendency to write ‘in the moment’ if you will. When writing characters I choose to delve myself deeply into that character, which depending on the character can have temporary ill effects on my own self. Thanks to the fact I write a lot of dark characters this can be a bad thing, though in truth it is oft times a reflection of my own soul per se. Not that I do not write lighter characters, in truth I have written characters from all over the personality scales. It will seldom be seen around a role-playing forum however, for I use these as an escape from the stress I place on myself when it comes to my aspiring, serious work.

In general however, I prefer a story that is riddled with darkness and internal struggles to go with the external ones. A character that has the weight of many internal struggles is always a favorite of mine, and the more of these in a story the better. To an extent of course and each must have their own sense of struggle and why the external events are bothering them so. I try my best to turn such things in conflict among the main caste of a story, bringing forth ever more dark elements.

By no means am I great writer nor a great story-teller at current. I am, however, far better than I was a year ago. When taking into consideration the quality of my writing when I first began around the age of seven or eight then, well…I’ve defiantly come a long way. In years to come I can only aim to better myself, and hope that one day it actually pays off and I finish something. Then, perhaps I can get published. Yet, who knows. The future remains a mystery to us all. Of course, if it did not there would be no point to living.

[Guest]

I don't really have a style. I tend to write completely off the top of my head from my characters point of view. I have the character in mind, and then the beginning of the setting. From that point, everything I write is almost random feeling. What would the character be doing? How would he go about doing it? Why would he do it that way?

A good example of this is my post in Caligo: Battle of the Illuminors. Me writing about Imstad Yalvua was not pre-planned in any way. From the first to the last sentance, I had no idea where I was going with it. I just kind of followed my character. It doesn't always work out very well, but I think it worked pretty well in that particular post.

[Karali]

Reading what everyone else has said here makes me feel pretty inadequate because, to be honest, I don't use a bunch of flowing words and purple prose or fancy dialogue or anything. I don't spend a bunch of time describing things, either. I actually hate tons of description. Unless something is particularly important to the scene, I don't understand why people bother putting it in there; I always pretty much forget what they wrote and substitute my own visualization of a setting anyhow. D;

The only thing that I can really say about my personal style is that... Well, it changes. It always changes. Depending on the kind of character I'm playing, I switch how I write. If I'm playing an insane character, for example, I'll tend to write things just a bit unclearly to reflect how strange their mind is. If my character is a child, the post may go off-topic just a little bit to reflect their lack of focus on any particular thing. If I'm playing an angry character, there may be a bit more... Harsh language in the narrative. So I guess you could say that I definitely try to write my posts in a way that will completely express my character. o;

[Gadreille]

Reading what everyone else has said here makes me feel pretty inadequate because, to be honest, I don't use a bunch of flowing words and purple prose or fancy dialogue or anything. I don't spend a bunch of time describing things, either. I actually hate tons of description. Unless something is particularly important to the scene, I don't understand why people bother putting it in there; I always pretty much forget what they wrote and substitute my own visualization of a setting anyhow. D;

The only thing that I can really say about my personal style is that... Well, it changes. It always changes. Depending on the kind of character I'm playing, I switch how I write. If I'm playing an insane character, for example, I'll tend to write things just a bit unclearly to reflect how strange their mind is. If my character is a child, the post may go off-topic just a little bit to reflect their lack of focus on any particular thing. If I'm playing an angry character, there may be a bit more... Harsh language in the narrative. So I guess you could say that I definitely try to write my posts in a way that will completely express my character. o;

Wow...that is me! I write just like that. Short, to the point, and always changing.
I never posted here because I couldn't figure out what the heck my style was...lol

[Kail DeWraith]

I just saw this topic, read the posts, and I'm gonna comment on this.

I must say that first and foremost I'm surrounded by giants (when considering writing skills/prowess) while I'm something similar to a little ant. I haven't been writing long and I can honestly say I could only wish, pray, and than work my ass off to become half the writer most of you are.

My style is a mixture of things. I first want the reader to know my character, understand the character as a person, and than emotionally invest in that character. I read the works by R.A. Salvatore recently and I really love the way he shows the inner turmoil of his character Artemis. That was amazing, although a lot of his work is simple, I really do love how he shows the emotion. You can feel the characters and associate with them.

I also try to show that the things my character do are possible. I hate when in a role play a man kills 20 people without getting a scratch. That bugs the ever living fuck out of me. When I write I really do think things through. If its a fist fight, I think of it from my perspective and experience. If its a gun fight, how would a this man react? Would he keep breathing and take his time, or would he freak out, shit himself, and dump his gun at nothing.

I don't know. I'm definitely trying to perfect my craft (or lack there are) and I eventually want to become a published author of something.

[Bird of Hermes]

I wish I could find a way to describe my style. I find it hard to do. Perhaps it is because I do not know my own style yet.

Here goes: I try to imagine what my character is thinking and feeling. Why the character does what he or she does. I try to grasp that as I write and sometimes it flows, sometimes it stops short. I love foreshadowing. I love irony. I will find a way to add it to almost everything I do. I like inserting brutal honesty in a phrase or two, sometimes at what appears to be out of the blue.

I know I have done my job if I read it and it stings me.

[Blackrock]

Hmmm, a good topic, I must say!

When it comes to writing styles, I really cannot describe mine. Why so? First off, I have been writing, seriously if I can put it as such, for such a short time. Merely a few months (not to say that I haven't RP'ed before), how can one have a "style" after such a small period of time? I am constantly trying to improve, by reading both books and stories written here on FOG, hoping to gain some insight and incorporate elements in my own repertoire of skills. By learning new words, new ways to describe scenes and objects. Suffice to say, my style is ever-changing and (I hope!) ever-improving. And I can proudly say that, when looking back at what I've written about 3 years ago (when I first started "play-by-post" roleplaying), I smile and say to myself: "damn, so many novice's mistakes". Secondly, I think that it's rather hard for a writer to describe his own style. I may want to send a certain message across, but a reader might interpret it completely differently.

Right, enough bullshit from me. Let's try to actually describe it instead of arguing semantics. When writing I usually focus on three points: 1) Staying true to the setting; 2) Character reasoning & development; 3) Not "imposing" description on the reader. Let's look at these more in-depth:

1) So, when writing I try to keep as true to the "spirit" of the world/galaxy/universe as possible. This ranges from simple time-setting all the way to the feel of the work. For example, if I'm writing in medieval-like era, I'll try to avoid modern words and stick to archaic forms (but not overdo it, everything must be done with good measure and taste). To put it bluntly: my character won't say "Hi" when meeting somebody, but will instead say "Greetings" or "Well met". Now, as for the "feel", this is mostly regarding the genre. If I'm writing in a high-fantasy, Tolkien-like world, my description of people, places and events will be worded accordingly. With lighter themes and so forth. If I'm writing in a dark fantasy RP, for example, things will be much more grim.

2) As a huge fan of RPG's, character development is very important to me. I want to trace how my character changes throughout the story, for better or worse - it doesn't matter. This is also ties with the "reasoning" part. When writing, I tend to focus on the way events are perceived by the participants. And of course, different characters of mine will react quite differently. For example, take two of my characters. The first I'm using here on FOG: Barin, a strict mercenary captain and another one, William, a cheeky thief, from a different site. If they were walking along a busy market street and noticed a passerby tripping on something and falling flat on their face, they would both react quite differently. Barin would probably note how clumsy that oaf must be, while William would simply laugh. Now, this is fairly obvious, however I usually take things a step above that. I want to show the reasoning behind the actions of the two. Why did the no-good rogue laugh? Why was the mercenary so harsh on the poor fellow? These are all things I take great interest in and strive to present them as best I can. As the characters are so important to the story, I describe things from their point of view. If my character is some no-nonsense guy, things will be described quite blandly; on the other hand - if I'm developing a poetic soul - a simple door might be described in great detail.

3) I'll be brief on this one as there already is a thread on the matter ("Do You Spoonfeed, or Do You Dance?") and I'll probably end up sharing my thoughts there. However, I always try not to overburden the reader with information. If I'm describing a town, I'll mention the general theme, or feel if you like, and will reinforce it during the story. But I will not describe every little detail, that part, I believe, is best left to the reader. That is the charm of books, unlike a movie - what you read goes through your own head, your own point of view and you visualize it the way you see fit (Get it? Get it?! Visualize, see? Eh?!...). A movie on the other hand, is what the director has imagined.

Phew. That was a long way of saying the following: My writing style focuses on the characters, their motives, their goals, hopes and fears; I try not to be overly-descriptive and I strive to keep in-tune with the "spirit" of the world I'm writing in.

[Kestrel]

Well, there's a big difference between what my style is and what I'm attempting to achieve. My style is downright inconsistent, however. I like to experiment and end up with different kinds of writing. For example; in fantasy-settings I tend to use more imagery and foreshadowing, whereas my modern writing is brisk, fast and straight-forward.

My modern writing is probably easier to define. First of all, when it comes to characters, I tend to enjoy the following archetypes; asshole, diva, clown, bat-shit insane lunatic, or a combination thereof. This reflects in my story-telling. The story-telling puts everything down in the case of the diva, makes sarcastic remarks in the case of the asshole, constantly ridicules itself in case of the clown, and the lunatic... Yeah lets not go there.

This means it is often a a third-person variant of a first-person PoV. It does not describe things that the main character does not consider interesting "oh an office, wait what? You wanted to know about the colour of the walls?", "damn, thats a really short skirt *attention lingers*", etc. Likewise you'll rarely get a physical description of the main character or his familiars. Because the main character wouldn't give a fuck. Well, OK, maybe in the case of the diva shallow details about dresscodes and how it makes her eyes stand out, but rarely will you get a sufficient physical description. The same goes for streets, interiors, etc. Because the character is used to them.

I'm actually someone who mainly writes for audience. I want to make people laugh for one, sometimes with subtle humour, sometimes a little less subtle. I constantly throw every piece at friends on msn, or well, I used to, to see if they like it or not. When writing, I'm near 100% extrovert, I get energy from other people and have difficulty drawing it from inside of myself. Strange trait for a writer, I know.

[MetalEgo]

I'm with some of the other members here about mountains of description: Why?

That's not to say that it doesn't have a place—I mean, somebody's gotta describe the way the gates' ironwork curls so intricately, right?—but I do often neglect it. However! This isn't a topic about failure, this is a topic about styyyle. ;D

Style, style... hmm... I use really short paragraphs. I either must not grasp paragraph structure at all, or else I'm the only one on the planet that does, which is unlikely. You need a topic sentence, right? And then some elaboration on that topic sentence. Most of my bad habits I picked up from Animorphs, especially typing out sound effects and bolding or italicizing them. And starting sentences with the word "And." I am so grammatically naughty! >D

Oh, what else. Um. Whenever I'm writing, I usually won't change the prose to suit the character. Unusual, yes, but I try to be a really distant narrator, and I never, ever write in first person (and I try to avoid books that are written in first person, too. Not that there aren't some awesome ones out there, I mean, Sherlock Holmes was all first person, just... So was Twilight, you know?). Fortunately, I am damn good at dialogue (I like to think I am, anyway), and so save my posts and stories from total monotony with the awesome power of conversation.

In conclusion, I write like a ten-year-old with ADHD. Yes, I think that sums up my style very well.

[Acid Varrakin]

My style changes slightly every time I read a new author. Early on, I was James Ellroy. Then I read Neuromancer, and became William Ellroy. After that, I read 1984 and became William Ellroy Orwell. And so it continues...

A big part of my style is avoiding too many synonyms - that Meyer woman turned me away from those for good. Also, while I try avoiding cliches, I also like digging up the odd 1950s pulp phrase, such as the brilliant:

"It was darker than a carload of assholes."

One of my talents (so I'm told) lies in characterisation. I can't live knowing that I have a 2-dimensional character in my story. Similarly, I try writing dialogue as I hear it in my head; I've seen authors like Paul di Filippo, who script entire conversations logically. As brilliant a writer as Mr. Filippo is, it doesn't work that way; people don't just stop in the street and give a speech. Dialogue sentences should be short and sharp, unless a character is actually giving a lecture.

Ahem. In my opinion. Sorry.

Mostly, I just write for myself. I can spend hours mulling over single sentences, because unless it sits right with me, I can't bear it existing in my presence. It's a bitch, but it keeps me off the streets.

[Digital Muse]

*claps! I completely identify with how your style evolved. Mine has gone down the same path, though with different writers. I also prefer indepth, 3 dimensional characters. They're strong, weak, foolish, clever, full of quirks and odd speech patterns.

I have to understand them before I can write them, so I often delve deeply into their intermal dialog (maybe too much). But eh. It makes me happy, anyway.

[Acid Varrakin]

Lol, I'm different; I see dialogue as a chore. Description, physical characterisation and settings are the parts I love, but they're also the parts which, more often than not, let me down.

I write dialogue as though I were watching a movie in my head. Movie scripts are somewhat predictable, and follow a logical order; that's how I like to write converstaions. It doesn't make for Shakespearian art, but it's enjoyable to read, at least. And it's surprisingly close to how real people talk.

Which authors influence you, if I may ask?

[Digital Muse]

The first would have been Tolkien. Then later Agatha Christie and Louis L'Amour (I know, weird juxtaposition). Then William Gibson, Robert Aspirin, Glen Cook, Terry Brooks and even Kipling.

My tastes are all over the place and I seemed to go through phases where my interests waxed and waned. It's odd, but made for a well-rounded love of the written word.

[pythia]

I love description. That's about the only thing I could pinpoint - I'm also prone to writing rosey and flattering views of my characters, ha, but mainly it's just the kind of stuff I like to read.

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