Following a writing style

To anyone who may be aspiring to write, regardless of fiction and fan-fiction.

How do you write?

People write stories differently. Maybe they prefer specific genres. Maybe they present detail and background information. Maybe it's formatted uniquely.

Regardless of how one writes, the key pointis to continue writing in that style. Stories shouldn't just suddenly shift how it is written from chapter to chapter - this just leaves the publisher, the editor, the audience, the simple reader confused and befuddled and baffled and bewildered. Frustrated even. This is something a writer does not want, regardless of intent.

Unless there is a specific reason to do change the style, but I won't travel into that, since the writer themselves would know the specific reasons to change their style.

Consistency is king. Or so it is said.

And so the writer writes in their style, pushing forward a few chapters every few days, or weeks, or months.

And then someone asks the writer, "There's something off about your style. It seems to leave me confused, and more likely than not, the audience confused."

Being naturally helpful, they would politely point out their issues with the writer's style, and leave the advice be for the writer to consider. The question that is now rearing at the writer's head is:

"Should I change my style?"

Of course, it's never as drastic as this - or maybe it is, I wouldn't know for certain - but the concept still remains. Should a writer listen to criticism and change his method of writing?

The answer seems obvious; of course if the writer actually produces trash and people complain, said writer should then use a different garbage can to pump out their trash.

But, what if it's not trash, but just personal tastes? Or perhaps it's a critique on something the writer personally enjoyed writing?

There is a grey area in following the audience's expectations, and just writing how they see fit. On one side, it leads to, well, uninspiring work, which while still may be good from a technical standpoint, is just another person's idea of writing. That's boring.

On the other side of the spectrum, the writer will gather followers - no doubt for that if they continue writing the way they want to for a while - but it might then become a cult gathering. I don't know about the average writer, but I believe I can safely assume that they don't want to wake up in the middle of the night to listen to a discordant chorus of It's be Ok lyrics.

♫ It's not, creepy! ♫

The problem now lies in why a writer may write. If it's for the numbers - and honestly, I'll admit it feels gratifying to see that viewer count slowly tick upwards - then the writer will continue what gets him the largest audience. And subsequently the largest amount of cash, if we're talking real life nonsense now.

Usually this means that most stories go full on comedy/random or grimdark/tragic. Paying attention to plot holes and pacing and whatnot takes a lesser role, as long as the story in itself entertains the reader. In fact, leaving a few threads open may even bring more readers - if only to question what is going on there.

But, for writers who simply want to, well, write, then they face the difficult decision of maintaining a balance between uniqueness and an audience. Because while they do want to improve their writing skills, why fix when it ain't broke?

I faced this issue with APGW. Namely, a lot of people like it, and comments were largely positive. And I thought:

For my first story, I think I've already hit the nail on the head for perfect writing!

But then someone PM'ed me - no need to reveal who - on a few issues. Being curious, I listened, and became a better writer as we discussed on the use of humour and how to achieve it. But there was a line which resonated with me,

"I don't suggest you implement them, however. Take the opportunity to learn and do better next time instead of trying to fix what people already seem to like."

So I took that advice with me to the second story, and currently still in work. The first chapter for that was planned well in advance of anything - a few months of writing on-and-off. For the most part, it paid off. But there were mistakes. Most of which, I'll say is reasonable.

In terms of an unusual writing style?

Not so much a mistake as it is intentional. But the reader doesn't know that from merely the first chapter, and so they are immediately turned off. Should the writer change it then, increasing audience ratings, but diminishing their own plans with that style?

That's something for you, aspiring writer regardless of fiction or fan-fiction, to figure out.

- Broken Rose, signing off.