My Site:  Mary Hagen Author Western Historical and Contemporary Romance Novels
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Style and Voice

7/11/2014

5 Comments

 
Style and voice are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same.   What are the differences? 

1.  Style is the way you use words in your writing and applies to the entire book.  We recognize the difference between the style of Stephen King from Mark Twain.  Stephen King sets up tension.  Mark Twain uses humor.   Some writers are flowery, others brief.  Ernest Hemingway used short sentences.  Jane Austen writes in long sentences that are more detailed and different from the way we speak today.  Mystery writers set up a sequence of sentences that build suspense.  The styles of adventure stories are different from romances.




2.  Voice is the way you narrate your book through your characters -their behavior, mannerisms, thoughts, dialog, reactions, dreamy, embellished.  Every writer is different.  No one can teach voice.  Voice comes out as your writing.  Voice is from you and your subconscious.  It does affect the tone of the story. 




3.  How you look at the world, your soul, your heart, your loves and likes, and how it comes through your characters may be optimistic, gloomy, depressing, defiant, willful, romantic, etc. and is voice..   Your style may be archaic, rich, experimental, minimalist, scary, etc. 

4.  Reading any book and we soon pick up on style and voice and how they differ.   


5 Comments
Carmen Peone link
7/15/2014 01:48:49 pm

Great thoughts on voice. Thank you for sharing. Carmen

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Alice Trego
7/15/2014 03:37:35 pm

Mary, you've stated two important facets of writing -- voice and style -- in a fresh and succinct way! Really liked what you wrote here on your latest blog post...

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Brigid Amos link
7/15/2014 11:18:02 pm

Thanks Mary! This explanation is really clear.

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Sydell Voeller
7/16/2014 01:09:53 am

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Mary E. Trimble link
10/21/2014 11:32:08 pm

Mary, you have a lovely blog. The pictures are extraordinary. I believe we first met at the 1998 WWW conference in Seattle. You and another woman (both from Alaska at that time, I believe) put on a Klondike show. I wish our paths had crossed this past weekend--I would have loved to talk to you.

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