Skip to main content

Guest Post Wed: Tips For Finding Your Own Writing Style

Be Yourself: Tips For Finding Your Own Writing Style

As a writer, you have to have some sort of individuality in order to stand out from the crowd. If you look at all of the successful authors, you'll notice they all have their own distinctive writing style. Here are a few tips to help you find your own writing style.

Keep a journal and an ideas book.
Keeping a journal will allow you to write every day and give you a place to express yourself. Writing in a journal every day will help you find your own style as a result. You can use a number of techniques (stream of consciousness, question and answer, periodic reflection), in order to find the writing style that is perfect for you. In contrast, you can write down all ideas you have in your ideas book. If you take it with you wherever you go, you will soon fill it up. So whenever you need something good to write for an employer, you will have a ready bank of ideas there to tap into!

Experiment every chance you get.
Experiment with your writing style on a regular basis. Try abstract writing, short sentences, long and descriptive sentences, and anything else you may want to try. It is all good practice!

Look for ideas wherever you go.
There are ideas to be had anywhere and everywhere. Looking for ideas will help you to refine your style because every idea you have will provoke passion and interest, the two things you need in order to succeed. They will also help you to find who you are as a writer!

Talk to other writers.
Other writers have been there and done it so ask them questions about how they found their writing style, the exercises they did and what they do now to constantly improve. They will often be happy to help. Go to book signings and talks to hear what they have to say and chat to them! Get online and find message boards and online forums where writers are.

Enjoy writing.
You need passion and interest to find your writing style. As a result, you have to enjoy writing to make the most of it! The day you start disliking writing is the day to get out of the business.

Copyright © Shery Ma Belle Arrieta-Russ



Download an excerpt of The Authentic Self: Journaling Your Joys, Griefs and Everything in Between below:

authenticself-sampler.zip OR authenticself-sampler.pdf
If you want 3 writing *sparks* delivered to you every day for 31 days, check out WriteSparks!™ Daily HERE for info on how to get started -- it's free :o) Thank you for reading. Keep writing!

Popular posts from this blog

The Comeback of 2D Animation: Why We’re Craving Realness Again

There’s something happening in animation right now that’s worth paying attention to—not because it’s simply nostalgic, but because it’s deeply human. As someone who works in the mental health and creative storytelling space, I can’t help but see these conversations about art, AI, and hand-drawn storytelling as part of a bigger theme: our collective hunger for authenticity. We live in a time where AI-generated content is everywhere—convenient, efficient, and often soulless. It’s not surprising that artists and audiences alike are looking back toward something that feels more tactile, more imperfect, more human. That brings us to 2D animation, an art form that has shaped generations and now, it seems, might just be making a comeback. Here’s what Language of the Soul podcast host, Dominick Domingo, had to say on this trend: There’s been a lot of industry talk lately speculating about 2D/traditional ANIMATION making a comeback. Recent articles confirm that although Disney has not greenlit...

Interview Friday with multi-talented author, Cheryl Malandrinos

Cheryl Malandrinos is a freelance writer and editor from Western Massachusetts . A regular contributor to Writer2Writer, her articles focus on increasing productivity through time management and organization. A founding member of Musing Our Children , Ms. Malandrinos is also the Editor-in-Chief of the group's quarterly newsletter, Pages & Pens . Cheryl is a Tour Coordinator for Pump Up Your Book Promotion , a book reviewer, and blogger. Guardian Angel Publishing will release her first children’s book, The Little Shepherd Boy, in 2010. VS: Cheryl, I want to thank you for being my guest here on The Writing Mama today. I know being a parent and writer can be hard and I find myself asking if I am giving my three children enough attention throughout the day. I am sure you have been in my shoes from time to time. So to start here is the first question, how many children do you have and what are their ages? Cheryl: Thanks for having me at The Writing Mama, Virginia. I’m thril...

Five Tips for a More Marketable Children’s Picture Book Manuscript by Mayra Calvani

The world of children’s picture book publishing is extremely competitive. If you’re an aspiring children’s author, you need to make sure your manuscript is in excellent shape and has all the elements editors and agents look for before you begin the submission process. Here are five tips to make your picture book manuscript more marketable: Start right with the problem.  Many times beginner writers begin a picture book with back-story. It’s okay to have this back-story in the first draft, but be sure to get rid of it when you edit. Back-story is unnecessary 90% of the time and it only serves to slow down the beginning of a story, making it weaker. You want to grab the reader right from the start. So don’t be afraid to begin your story at the heart of the problem. It’s okay to set the stage with a sentence or two—but no more! Have a protagonist readers can relate to. Generally, children like to listen to stories about other children or animals with children’s characteristics. ...