Style, like DNA or fingerprints, is what identifies a writer.
Here are some techniques you can use to create the appropriate style for your written work:
1. Sensory Appeal. Engage your reader by sharing the look, taste, smell, sound or feel of your subject. Consider these examples:
-When I lifted the lid of the crockpot and breathed in the aroma of cumin-spiced chili, my stomach growled.
-The branch snapped back stinging her face. She could feel her burning skin split as a welt swelled on her cheek.
2. Simile, Metaphor and Contrast. What familiar things can you show readers to see unfamiliar characters or settings in a familiar way? What images can you use to highlight differences?
* A simile uses like or as to compare two images: For example:
-Harry’s face turned red as a ripe pepper when Jane kissed him.
-Bob laughed like a hyena watching the kitten chase her tail.
* A metaphor combines two dissimilar images without using like or as. Note these familiar phrases:
-You can’t control Mother Nature.
-Knowledge is power.
* Contrast highlight the differences between two images, often using the word than. Examples:
-The frightened child’s grip was stronger than a wrestler’s arm lock.
-Woodchucks hibernate in winter, unlike chipmunks.
3. Use personification. Another way to engage readers is by applying human qualities to inanimate objects, animals or plants. Here are two examples:
-The snowflake kissed my eyelashes and cheeks.
-The moon hid behind an angry storm cloud.
4. Create allusions. Allusion is a way to compare people, places, events or objects using few words.
-The journalist followed the news tip with the tenacity of a pit bull.
-The bus driver has nerves of steel and the patience of Job.
5. Pay attention to pacing, organization and repetition. Notice how you feel after reading each of the following:
-Janet had no real love for sitting in the sun and pulling her beloved wild plants out of the earth, but her determination to keep her neighbor from putting poison weed-killer in his garden, resulted in her agreement to remove the plantains, dandelions, and burdock.
-Abe sat by the campfire. An owl called from a distant cliff. He shivered. The mountain air was cold, even though it was July.
-”You are going to get dirty. You are going to feel hot. You are going to feel sore in places you didn’t know you could feel sore. You are going to have to push yourself to learn.”
Read and re-read the work of your favorite authors. This will provide insight into the style or styles that inspire you to write.