Writing Styles

There are many types of writing, and it's amazing how each style of writing is so different from other styles of writing. For example, technical writing tends to be more cut-and-dry and explanatory, whereas creative writing is all about good descriptions and telling a story via a character's actions instead of explaining what is going on. And then there is legal writing, which has to be extremely precise versus business writing, which is more succinct.

If you are a freelance writer, then you will need to know how to write a variety of styles to please a variety of publications. All publications have their own style and their own rules for writing, and it is up to you to figure out how to write to their liking. The easiest way to do this is to read previous articles they have published and look for similarities in the writing style. How do they attribute quotes? Do they have a lot of description or do they focus more on facts and analysis? Look for common characteristics, and then mimic the style. Publications tend to want their writing to be similar.

For more information on specific writing styles, read my articles Writing for a Newspaper and Writing for Magazines.

If you are more of a creative writer, then your style and technique will be completely different from any other type of writer. Creative writers adhere more to the "show not tell" idea of writing, so detailed descriptions are always good.

For me, I try to freewrite at least 10-15 minutes each day to get some ideas for stories. The nice thing about freewriting is you don't hold back, and oftentimes something good comes out of all those words.

I also take a lot of notes about my surroundings. I always carry a notebook around with me, because sometimes my observations of people can make for a great story. Every once in a while I look through my notebook for ideas I may have forgotten, and I can laugh when I read my notes and think back to a particular funny scene I witnessed.

Another great creative writing exercise is to study photos. Look at a photo and describe the picture in words. What's going on in this scene? Who's involved? What happened before or after the picture was taken?

These are just some techniques that work for me, although they may not work for everyone. That's the great thing about writing, and creative writing in particular. Everyone has a unique process, and everyone's results are different.