This has most definitely happened to me as well. Since I started writing at a young age my style has most definitely matured and as I read back over previous stories I find that the way in which i'd deal with certain concepts now isn't the same as the way I would have done. I also found that my general tone and the way in which I write has altered (i'm yet to decide whether or not that's for the better), which isn't good considering that i'm halfway through a novel. Still, all it'll take is a little time to adapt to the style and use it. You might find you eventually like it.
Looking at things positively, you might find that your analysis is off the mark. By that I mean, because you have improved and expanded your knowledge, which is something that happens naturally the more you do stuff, the things which always had room for improvement in your writing have now become more apparent to you. So what appears to be a change for the worse, is actually an improvement, and merely something you have to incorporate into your writing, to make use of your improved knowledge, ability and expectations. Just a thought. Al
When you are writing, do you consciously try to write with all your influences in mind? Or do they just come out, and you notice it when you look at the whole thing from a wide shot?
Interesting questions... to the first, no and I doubt anyone could. The second sounds reasonable, but I've never really thought about it.
No, I just let things flow without regards to any influences. I only think about those influences during revisions. The influences are still there, however, even if they are noticed or not.
This is what I was just going to ask you about, before I read that sentence. So you don't exactly disregard purposely any influences. That would be impossible, anyway, I think.
Disregarding influences would guarantee their inclusion. Only by consciously being aware of them and taking steps to not let them into your work can you filter your influences.
I think about my influences before I begin the work, but from there It just sort of flows. here and there I might get an idea from one of my influences.
Good call, poor wording on my part. I did mean filtering influences by not letting them in. I guess that would be the conscious effort.
I don't ever consciously try to write from the influence. It usually ends up me notice it after writing everything in my head. When I write, I just write. Its like the words create themselves onto the paper. I have a scene in my head and I only see that scene. That may be the reason why I have such horrible G part of SPAG.
"Influences"...? The only things that consciously influence my writing are my personal interests, like mythology and psychology. If I set out to write like somebody else whose work I admire I'd write a bunch of junk. I can say that there's a Jungian influence on my work, BUT that's in terms of theme and not style. (I have to admit I would not want to write in Jung's style.) I definitely intend it to happen but I never knew it would become so pervasive. In that case it's both conscious and unconscious. I think it can be dangerous if a writer consciously tries to incorporate their stylistic influences into their work. One could end up producing a pale copy.
I think writing influences in your first draft is very difficult whilst say you have been given an assessment, you can write the influences first time round but you have to plan your rough storyline with a couple of influences and maybe more will pop up mid-writing.
I'm going to say the big picture and the smaller events are one and the same. Whenever parts comes together to make a whole, it’s impossible to separate the two.
I'm going to say the big picture and the smaller events are one and the same. Whenever parts comes together to make a whole, it’s impossible to separate the two.
I've tried both to a certain extent. The problem is, I think, that writing is an extremely hard thing to teach. It is, after all, an art - which means that we often have to make up our own rules. Established rules or models are simply proven methods - we may consider - to be built upon. Maybe, a different way to ask your question is, "should we be proactive/analytical or creative/spontanious in writing?"
I do take lessons from other authors & consciously set out to apply them. But I never stay within the boundries of their style. For example, HP Lovecraft had a talent for making people believe the reality of certain objects or places by creating very detailed histories & very realistic sounding newspaper articles. Many readers believed the book Necronomicon actually existed & went looking for a copy. Many believed his towns of Dunwich, Arkham, & Innmouth really existed & went searching maps for them. (I for one.) So many of my works include very detailed histories of locations, by studying the real history of the area then inserting my invented details. However, I never discard any of my work on the basis "No, Lovecraft wouldn't write it that way" because Lovecraft isn't writing the story -- I am. So I balance what I learn from others with my own inspiration.
when i write its like i have to write, something is telling me to write, its a drive in which must be followed according to, or ill freak out, and get angry, because i messed out on that ideal. I believe when i write there are other forces working with me in my head to be able to picture certain demensional events, and abstract ideals, or it can just be the evolution of my creativity trying to expand above reality itself, because i believe what we write is what we percieve in our own minds reality. I've had dreams of fantasy worlds. Because ive been writing and reading so much ever sense i was a kid, i was able to imagine and transform the words into ideals of light, in my head. When i do write sometimes i can jut think of it at the top of my head and keep on writing, but i try not to do that, because really its never what you really want, without planing it out first much, you need some kind of reference, but i like thinking of it as i go because its like reality, ones actions are made without coincidence, but were planed because as you write you think of what the character is about to do there fore you have already manifested it in your head making that event about to take place therefore it was already planed in there realm of existence, almost realistic, but for me i don't do much because when im accasionally dealing with various characters and there in different places and your focused on one event at that time, it can be confusing for me.
I would never try to write with my influences in mind. It would ruin my whole creative process to stop and conciously try to incorporate my influences into my own writing, because when I write, I cannot be bothered to use proper spelling or grammar; I cant stop to look back until my words are all out on the canvas in front of me. My perspective on it is that the first instinct is exactly what I need to get the emotion across. In the revision process, however, it's a totally different ballpark. I go back, use proper SPAG, and try to figure out ways I could more artfully express myself. The writing process is for the emotion, the revision is where the magic really is. And at that point, yes, I often will look back on one of my favourite pieces to admire (I often keep my favourites logged on my laptop for this very purpose, actually) and select the one that best fits at the time. However, when I do look back after finishing a piece, my goal is to not be reminded of any author. I want to be totally unique. That said, I can usually spot my influences immediately.
I just kind of let things flow and my influences just kind of show up in the writing. Most of the people that have read some of my influences as well as some of the stuff I've written said you can tell who's influenced me.
I don't have any authors that I strive to sound like or try to express myself in a similar way. My "influences" would mostly be my personality and the topics I write about.
Hey guys, I was just curious... I have posted a couple of stories in the general fiction section for review, and I tend to use a lot of adjectives and words that may not commonly be used (i.e. in one of my stories I say shadows are dancing on the walls in "hypnotic promenades") and people complain about it saying "less is more" and saying it is "prose" and what not. Is there something wrong with this? When I read the work of an author like Poe, my writing style seems quite simple. Maybe I should be posting in a different section, or maybe I really do need to tone it down a bit. I would just like to know what some of your opinions are on this matter. Thanks!
Well, using such unusual words isn't always the best writing wise. I have no idea what "promendes" means and it would hurt the story for me if I was often coming across the words that I don't understand. I might be able to deduce a meaning out of it, but honestly, I can't really ever see a justification for such wording. The normal reader loses the magic with complex words, and those who will know what the word means won't necessarily gain anything from it. It breaks the immersion and I cant think to many folks would actually consider such a word in real life. There are times though were obscure or unknown words are useful, like characterization or to set a mood of some sort I suppose. V from V for Vendetta comes to mind, and his opening speech is imo brilliant characterization. Use complex or lesser known words sparingly I say and ask yourself if there isn't a better or clearer way to say what you mean.
I don't really understand the part about 'prose'. If it is a story, not a poem, then it's prose. The distinction is whether or not it's verse, as in poetry. Maybe someone meant flowery descriptions known as purple prose. This style really breaks the flow of your story imo. Matter of fact, I believe I started to read one of your stories for review and took a pass for that very reason. I've learned not to try to dissuade someone from that course because I never get anywhere. As evidenced by this thread, I can see I made the right decision. To be blunt, if I was reading anything other than a poem and saw the words 'hypnotic promenades' used to describe shadows, I would put it down. You can't control your reviewers responses. Everyone has different ideas and suggestions. I suggest you take what you want from your reviews and scrap what you don't like to hear. If you want to write stuff hardly no one wants to read, that's your right. But if you want to be publishable one day, then I would get that style of writing out of your system. To the best of my knowledge, purple prose went out of vogue quite a while back. Edit: I just realized that I did review one of your pieces and I'm probably one of the people you're referring to.
