Are You in Style?

When I was at the London Book Fair last week, I spoke to someone from an independent US publishing house. He said that in terms of the success of a book, if an author doesn’t already have a platform, then the quality of the writing has to carry it.

Whilst there are many factors that make up a good book such as passion for and knowledge of your subject, authenticity and originality, what ultimately takes all of these to a new level is a good writing style.

The French author, naturalist and mathematician, Buffon said in his ‘Discourse on Style’ that “Writing well consists of thinking, feeling and expressing well, of clarity of mind, soul and taste”. He also made his now famous comment “Le style c’est l’homme même” or as we would now add (or substitute!) “la femme”. In fact, he concluded that only a well-written work would attain immortality.

Your writing style reflects your personality and the essence that is you, but how do you find and develop it?

Well, to begin with pay attention to how you use words. Whilst you may write differently from how you speak, the two are related.

Are you fond of long words or do you prefer short phrases? Are you formal in your speech or more laid-back? How important is humour to you?

It is alleged that someone once approached the famous pianist Arthur Rubinstein in the street near New York’s Carnegie Hall and asked “Pardon me sir, but how do I get to Carnegie Hall?” To which Rubinstein replied “Practise, practise, practise!”

This advice also applies to writing, which is a craft, and the more you do it the better you will get.
Rewriting (perhaps many times) is also an essential part of the process. Read the words out loud to see if they flow and to ensure clarity. Check for variety in the sentence structure and choice of words and allow the tone to convey your personality.

It is said that Philip Pullman rewrote the first chapter of ‘Northern Lights’ no less than 19 times and the end result was clearly worth it.

Finally, you should read alot. Now I’m not suggesting that you imitate other authors, but it is helpful to be exposed to different styles in order to develop your own. Look at the books you enjoy and ask yourself why this is. Think about how the author uses language to convey their ideas and to inspire, inform or even entertain you.

Here is a brief selection of some of the authors I admire and their different styles.

Daniel Dolphin was a dreamer. He was convinced that there was more to life than fishing and sleeping, so he had decided to devote all his energies to discovering the true purpose of his life through his surfing and the wisdom of the sea. That was his dream.

In The Dolphin, Sergio Bambaren, uses simple language and has a gentle narrative style evoking the motion of the waves.

Ralph Lauren generates a huge portion of its sales from seconds and job lots sold at the many Polo factory stores around the country. There are so many of these stores (and the demand is so high) that many of the items sold aren’t seconds at all. They’re designed and produced for the factory stores. People tell themselves a story about finding a bargain, they build up the expectation by driving thirty miles out of their way (while on vacation, no less) and then are delighted to spend $40 for a $400 jacket that was never intended to be sold for $400 and probably cost $4 to make.

Whoever said business books are dry? In All Marketers are Liars, Seth Godin’s irreverent style is highly entertaining and informative.

I certainly remember my mother saying to me, “Struggle enobles the soul”. But who says this is true? Look at nature. It expends a certain effort in sustaining itself, but does not struggle. Does the tiger in the forest get up in the morning and say “I’ll struggle like crazy today and hopefully by suppertime I’ll get something to eat?” No way. It just rises, has a little sniff under its tiger armpits or does whatever tigers do at breakfast time, and heads out. At noon, there on the path is lunch, provided courtesy of the Great Spirit. Okay, the last 30 yards involves the tiger in a bit of rushing about. But that can hardly be construed as struggle.

Stuart Wilde’s personality really comes across in this paragraph from Life was Never Meant to Be a Struggle. His tone is jocular and the example of the tiger is memorable.

When your creative expressions match the needs of your fellow humans, then wealth will spontaneously flow from the unmanifest into the manifest, from the world of the spirit to the world of form. You will begin to experience your life as a miraculous expression of divinity – not just occasionally, but all the time. And you will know true joy and the true meaning of success – the ecstasy and exultation of your own spirit.

Deepak Chopra’s The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success is very eloquently written and contributes to the wisdom he imparts.

When I reached the curb, I stopped. My neck tingled: I felt that he was watching me. I glanced back. No more than fifteen seconds had passed. But there he was, standing on the roof, his arms crossed, looking up at the starry sky. I gaped at the empty chair still leaning back against the wall, then up again. It was impossible! If he had been changing a wheel on a carriage made from a giant pumpkin drawn by huge mice, the effect couldn’t have been any more startling.

Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman is a very compelling narrative. The use of very short phrases at the start of the paragraph helps to draw us in.

Callings are vehicles that help us let out our real shelves out; callings speed up the process. You can find your calling, or you can find your people, or you can find an environment that nurtures you – they all lead to the same place. Many people get there without ever finding their calling. Head in that direction. Seek, adjust. Seek, learn. We grow into our true selves, our whole selves, overcoming our fears and the limits that once trapped us. So many good things happened to me on the way to pursuing my dream. Writing a little every day taught me to pay attention and not sleepwalk through life – it made this a richer experience.

What Should I Do with My Life by Po Bronson is without doubt one of my favourite books. I find his style both intimate and inspirational.

Escape and Re-engage

I was listening to BBC Radio 4's Front Row this evening, which included an interview with the author Lloyd Jones (who had a lovely New Zealand accent). It centered around his book 'Mister Pip', which tells the story of a schoolgirl in Papua New Guinea who takes refuge in the world of Charles Dicken's 'Great Expectations' during a time of civil war.

Lloyd Jones talked about the power that literature has to take us somewhere else and provide us with extraordinary imaginative experiences - in short to change our lives. He added that it is usually self-help books which are considered life-changing! My feeling is that all books can be life-changing. In terms of literature it is sometimes more unexpected, as you pick up a novel for a different reason perhaps.

He also made the interesting comment that whilst literature allows us to escape, we do this only to re-engage. In other words the books help us to relate to what is going on in our own lives. This begs the question, do self-help books ever allow us to escape. I guess that escape isn't on your mind when you pick up that type of book, but in some ways, you escape into a different aspect of yourself, rather than into an imaginary world.

Either way, books do take us on a journey, and where would we be without them!

If you would like to hear the entire interview with Lloyd Jones, click here and enjoy!

Value your differences, stripes and all!

Now that the weather is getting better, I feel like being outdoors more. I find it very replenishing to spend time in nature and it also allows me to indulge my interest in photography. I particularly enjoy landscape and architectural photography, but I also have a taste for the mysterious and the quirky. I took the above photograph on the North Downs in Surrey.

Now they may look like big furry Liquorice Allsorts, but they are in fact belted cows and you don’t see them very often. I think they are great and a wonderful reminder that nature can surprise us in so many ways.

They also remind me of the need to value our differences. Sometimes in life it can feel easier to follow the herd (no pun intended!), but we contribute the most in life when we are true to ourselves and trust in our own uniqueness. It also makes life so much more interesting!