Sunday, October 4, 2015

Writing Style

Have you ever read so many books by a writer that you recognize the style immediately. Dr. Seuss, for instance, had a specific style.

In The Cat in the Hat, the mood was fun, happy, playful. The word choice evoked lighthearted zeal.
"They are tame. Oh so tame!
They have come here to play.
They will give you some fun
On this wet, wet, wet day."
Bill Martin Jr. could not read as a child. He called his writing style “jazzy” and wrote “to a melody,” meaning that his words had a particular rhythm. Many of his books had a predictable text, such as Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.
Writing style is the way an author chooses to write to the audience. It reveals the writer’s word choice, sentence structure, and tone, all of which varies with every writer. Style is the WAY a piece is written as opposed to WHAT is written.
When you will begin writing your book, consider the style. Will the text be condensed to a few words on each page or filled with imagery and details? Will it be told in a lyrical fashion, as Bill Martin Jr. and Dr. Seuss did, straightforward text as with many nonfiction books, or maybe with a touch of humor infused into a serious piece? Will it be told in first or third person?
As you write stories, your style will emerge. The way you use written language by creating dialog and constructing sentences and paragraphs, touches of humor, playfulness in word choice all contribute to your literary individuality—your writing style.
Call for Submissions for Young Writers:
Adroit Journal. A  literary magazine run entirely by high school and college students. Adroint publishes poetry, fiction, flash fiction, art/photography, and cross-genre works with separate submissions for "adults" and those "under the age of 21."
Call for Submissions for Adult Writers:
Young Rider is a bi-monthly magazine written for children and teens who own horses or who take lessons at riding schools. Pays $150 for features of 800 to 1,000 words.

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