The Indie Novella Writing Course
Lesson 5 - Style & Sensitivity
This week we discuss two key subjects in writing which often go unconsidered; what we mean by style and what our style is as a writer; and how we handle the writing of certain characters or the telling of stories which may not be our own to tell. For those who are not familiar with the topic of sensitivity, consider the term 'sensitivity reader'. A sensitivity reader works alongside the publishing house to conduct a very specific read of the manuscript, and offer notes on characters from marginalised groups, or elements which may cause offence. We pair these topics together because a lot of the time they can be entwined especially as style often goes hand-in-hand with voice and whose voice you choose to represent in your novel.
Style
In our earlier lesson we discussed at length narrative and the types and forms of narrator we might adopt to write our novel. These narrative choices are hence closely connected to what is known as style – the unique ways writers use language, syntax and structure to build a scene or world. To put this into context let’s go straight into an example. Ernest Hemingway is one of the most famous authors in literary history – a winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature – and the reason is due to his unique style: simple grammar; no verbose descriptions, few adjectives and adverbs. This has sometimes been termed as hardboiled style.
Consider what we discussed in Lesson 1, “Openings”, regarding “gilding the lily” and “overwriting”. Over the years many writers have tried to mimic Hemingway’s hardboiled style to differing degrees of success. However there are no hard or fast rules when it comes to style. Yes, verbose descriptions tend to distract from the action or conflict of a novel – it can be jarring when a protagonist is in the midst of activity, or characters are being introduced, and the scene is broken up by a long description of the lake they are standing by – but some form of description is needed to set the scene. The question is how much, and how to keep this consistent with your choice of narrative and your plot.
What is Style?
In its essence, style is a writer’s unique way of telling their story. It can be the kind of words you use or how your sentences flow. At school you may have had a teacher who could tell which student’s essay they were marking just from the way they phrased their opening paragraph. The same can be said about many authors. While above we have discussed hardboiled style, the first rule of writing still very much applies to style – there are no rules.
It is sometimes said that artists must go away to find their voice. The same can be said of style. As writers all of us possess a certain individuality when it comes to prose and how we use language. Further, writing Fiction involves us writing from the point of view of someone who is not ourselves. Whether writing a first person or third person narrative, the writer has to make a conscious effort to decide how that narrative will be written and what style the writing should take – should the narrator be opinionated, should they be a neutral observer, should they be detached and matter of fact or should they embroil themselves into the story. An omniscient narrator might adapt the novel’s style for different characters, altering the style and language to match different attitudes, viewpoints or personalities. An impersonal narrator might use an unadorned style to indicate a detachment from events, but it would be plausible then to adapt the language for other characters’ speech.
As discussed in Lesson 3, we can have multiple narrators, even in first person narrative. Talking it Over by Julian Barnes tells its story through the words of three different characters each talking to an unknown person i.e. the reader. Sections are narrated in different ways by three different characters, their versions overlapping and conflicting with each other. In another of his books The Only Story, each of the three parts is written from a completely different point of view. The first is written in the first person, the second is written in the second person, and the third is written in the third person. So there are plenty of options to play with and make use of when working on a distinctive style and developing distinctive characters.
The most important thing to remember when considering style is to be consistent. In the examples above, where different narrators alternate throughout the story, each narrator is consistent to certain approaches and structures to their scenes and word us, and so the reader can be quickly immersed and easily follow each one.
Narrators
You can of course have multiple narrators, as in Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury, in which each of three sections is narrated in different ways by three different characters, their versions overlapping and conflicting with each other, while the fourth section is told in the third person.
If you have a single narrator who is an actual participant in the story, then his or her style will prevail, except when other characters show their individuality in their way of speaking.
And then there is the use of other writing devices such as the reporter or stenographer narratives where the narrator aligns themselves to a specific character as though the character was speaking into a Dictaphone or voice recorder. Such a technique allows the narrator to purely be the medium and the style shifts from telling the reader what is in their characters’ heads to directly reciting what the character has said or done. It is a deliberate stylized technique and again Hemingway’s early short stories are a prime example – the narrator becomes invisible and the story is told first-hand without dropping into the first person.
Free Indirect Style / Free Indirect Discourse
Richard Skinner, in his book Writing a Novel, describes this technique as one of fiction’s best-kept secrets. It describes how, in the third person, a narrator can enter their character’s heads without using long internal monologues. It is where the third person narrator stops using the viewpoint of a specific character i.e. stating what the character is thinking – “Jenny thought her hair was too long” – and, instead presents the world view as if it was the narrators – “Jenny glanced at her reflection. Her hair was too long.” The narrator become swallowed up by the perspective of their character.
Jane Austin is one of the most prominent examples. The effect of such a technique is to promote responses from readers – we are drawn to the characters, feeling what they feel because we see the world the way they are seeing it. It also enables us to add somewhat of the unreliable narrator into the third person. Reading a point of view so close to one character can be completely contradictory to the point of view of others, or what is actually going on in the story. In summary, free indirect style fuses the third person with the first-person consciousness.
Free indirect style allows the reader to hear what the character is thinking. The key is being as natural as possible. The writing should sound like something someone would naturally say to themselves, asking the questions in the characters head as if they are the character. For example, “She stood opposite him. Why was he standing like that? He never normally bowed his head or stood so formally. He was usually so relaxed and jovial. Nothing of the situation made sense.” As you can see, if you remove the first sentence it is difficult to tell if we are in the first or the third person.
Stream of Consciousness
One of the best writing exercises that can be done is letting yourself slip into a stream of consciousness. This is essentially taking your writing and effectively letting go of the breaks. Putting away all your meticulous notes on structuring your novel and just writing as your narrator, letting their and your characters’ thoughts and actions run wild. By doing this, by delving into the minds of your narrator and characters, and transcribing the running monologue of what is in their heads, we are stream of consciousness writing.
This time to paraphrase Richard Skinner, grammatical and syntactical conventions go out the window. Simply put, it is the opposite style to Hemingway’s hardboiled. It is associated with the modernist generation of Joyce, Woolf, Faulkner and at times utilises torrents of imagery rather than giving a clear idea of a sensibility. Other exponents include Proust, Karouac, Rusdie and Stephen King to name a few. The narrator is so deeply embedded within the character that they are almost lost from the story entirely – the thoughts and emotions of a narrator or character are played out so the reader is one with the conscious and subconscious of the characters.
The stream of consciousness style offers far greater intimacy than simply describing a character’s actions and limiting the interactions to just dialogue. It provides insight beyond what a character does, rather into why they do it.
Other Types of Styles
Though only one of the below is likely to be applicable in storytelling, as a writer it is worth also noting the different styles writing usually take.
As always, we start at Hemingway and Narrative writing. Narrative style has plot, characters and setting and is used in creative writing. It tells an entire story with a beginning, middle and end and is the style most writers use to craft a novel, novella, or screenplay. A good example of narrative writing style is Hemingway’s short story The Old Man and the Sea – essentially the majority of storytelling fiction is narrative writing. However, this is often sited as a quick to read gold standard to anyone looking to hone one’s craft.
Next, Descriptive writing creates a vivid image of characters, events and settings, immersing the reader into a story. The style is associated with figurative language and sensory details to paint a picture. Writers who use a descriptive style often use similes and metaphors to convey these images with the overall goal of making the reader feel like they are experiencing the events for themselves. Most descriptive writing isn’t very long. Poets use this type of writing style in their work.
Expository writing answers the questions of what, why and how. It delivers facts and information and is most common in nonfiction, journalism and technical writing rather than fiction. Hence, it is worth noting why exposition is seen as such a dirty word in creative writing circles.
Lastly, Persuasive writing tries to influence readers to adopt the writer’s point of view. This is seen in advertising and cover letters.
Voice and Tone
Style can also be described as a writer’s voice and tone. For example, David Nicholls has a narrative voice which is completely distinguishable to Hemingway’s. It is the syntax, vocabulary, perspective and tone that perhaps not only distinguishes one writer from another, but also one character from another. Sentences and phrases flow in a particular manner so each character has a unique vocal syntax and personality that is brought to life via their written dialogue, so that no two characters sound the same or read the same as the narrator.
Mini Exercise:
Third person narration: Consider stories through an omniscient third person narration. These can be prominent examples where the unique voice of the author truly comes out. Consider which authors immediately come to mind, who’s tone, chapter pacing, vocabulary, paragraph structure come through as a unique voice in third person narration novels.
Point of view expressed in the novel: Voice also refers to the overall point of view conveyed through the novel. Less upon specific descriptions or dialogue, and more about the disposition and world view of the novel. Consider novels where you notice themes, or character types, or a style of writing which reveals an author’s voice that can be seen through their back catalogue.
Concluding Notes on Style… and tips
The biggest conclusion we can draw from this conversation on style is that style can be difficult to discuss in the abstract. Therefore, consider the below tips when it comes to your own writing:
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Consistency – As with our previous lesson, by being consistent in your choice of narrator – i.e. refraining from “head-hopping” as a third person narrator, not switching from stream of consciousness to hardboiled, or being true to your character in your first person narrative, you are already on the way to branding your own style
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Be natural – Write like you converse. Use your comfort zone whenever you can and think about why you became a writer in the first place. Utilise your original thoughts and voice, and avoid the temptation to overwrite and copy your literary heroes. Let your writing reflect your personality, then you will have found your style.
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Opt for clarity at first – there is nothing wrong with long sentences in themselves. However, the point of a sentence is to convey a piece of information and an unwieldy sentence is often a sign that author is trying to convey too many ideas at the same time. While we do not want all writers to write hardboiled like Hemingway, familiar words can be more applicable than lofty phrases, and short sentences can be more powerful than long ones. In fact, varying your sentence length is what makes your writing sing. It is also worth noting the paraphrased Blaise Pascal quote, ‘I'm sorry I wrote you such a long letter; I didn't have time to write a short one.’
Sensitivity
Regarding the topic of sensitivity, those interested in understanding why this is such a key subject in publishing may want to Google the author and poet, Kate Clanchey MBE, and her memoir from her work in schools. We won't go any further or form opinions, but this was a situation where very few winners emerged. However, situations like these do highlight the importance of self-education, and therefore Indie Novella hands over to someone significantly more experienced than ourselves to lead us through the importance of how sensitivity is handled.
Vaseem Kahn and The Diversity Project
Cultural appropriation. Authenticity of voice. Stereotyping. Diversity. All issues that the publishing industry is currently grappling with.
In a series of short free-to-watch videos, author Vaseem Kahn, presents practical guidance in tackling the above topics, based on research funded by the UK Arts Council, and featuring advice from writers, readers, and a host of industry professionals. The project is called “Turning the Page: A Guide to Writing Cultural Diversity in Fiction”. In it, Vaseem looks at the debate over who has the right to write which stories and how to write across cultural boundaries. Vaseem also offers thoughts from key industry stakeholders, and examine lessons and recommendations for best practise.
Vaeem Kahn's Diversity Project comes in 5 parts and the companion document , “Turning the Page: A Guide to Writing Cultural Diversity in Fiction”, can be found on his website vaseemkhan.com/diversity-project
Vaseem's research and videos delves into the challenging question of what we can or can't write as authors. As you can imagine, this topic has led to strong opinions on both sides. One thing we would note on this debate, is that in an age of self-publishing, censorship rarely comes into play in the United Kingdom. There are legal ramifications for works that incite hate or gross offense or are potentially libellous, but when it comes to telling you who you can or can't write as a writer, no one will stop you taking your book to Amazon KDP and having copies up for sale within days. The issue more lies in that we as authors want people to read, and buy, our books. And UK Publishing's big 5 publishers and our array of independent publishers are experts in that field. So, the question is more like, who do the book buying public now believe we can and can't write?
Like we have said, we believe Vaseem Kahn's research forms a solid framework regarding what to consider when writing characters from a different culture to yourself. One example we would provide when a white writer has been critically applauded for their writing of Black and Asian characters is the TV series Top Boy. Top Boy deals with serious issues in low-income communities in London and features an array of incredibly powerful Black characters, yet the writer is white. Star of the series Ashley Walters said on interview that he did not know writer Ronan Bennett was white, but goes on to state the following: "One brilliant thing about him that you have to respect is that he lives right in the centre of [Hackney] where this whole show is set, so he knows the community, he knows what’s happening there, he knows how people feel." It has been said that Top Boy's meticulous research and the bringing in of community members to tell their stories and create characters has led to the realism which has won so many plaudits, particularly within Hackney. But as novelists, how many of us spend the appropriate time asking members of the communities we want to write about for an interview, sitting them down, asking key questions, and creating a full, accurate character sketch? It is hard work. So when writing characters different to your own community, don't be afraid to try, but treat then with the respect they deserve, do your research, or leave their story for someone who is able to tell it better.
Ask An Agent
This week, we have two videos from Laetitia Rutherford, both discussing Style and the concept of Voice. At Indie Novella we believe these conversations and discussions really aid us open up writing and generate empathy for those we are writing about. We say at the start of the course that there are no mistakes as a writer, because we are all still learning and this is never more true than when it comes to who we choose to write about or the voice we take on.
Style and Sensitivity P1
When it comes to authentic and unique voices, are there any examples of authors who have wowed you? Is there anything you find appealing about a style or voice?
It’s difficult to define the word authenticity, but Bernardine Evaristo uses so many voices in Girl, Woman, Other and they all feel from one place and of using a really creative style to write it, and it is captivating throughout. And she doesn’t use any quote marks and you feel enlivened by all the voices and never confused. I represent a writer called Richard Owen Roberts who uses quote marks for the internal thoughts of the character and no quote marks for the dialogue, and it is not confusing at all and it can be very funny as it really objectifies some of the passing thoughts we have in our mind, and is full of witty social observation. It puts the spotlights on what people say to one another. We have conversations about taking the dog for a walk but there are all these subterranean emotions running through it and that’s what’s driving the reader’s interest. It’s great seeing a writer shake it up a bit.
You mention a few times where a writer has done something untraditional. Would you recommend this to new authors?
Read widely and find your way. Challenge yourself. Listen to the voices, and bringing out the different voices of your characters is definitely crucial. Do not have monotone, which doesn’t give the reader a sense of the realism of characters coming into play. The novel brings characters together in a dramatic situation, and in storytelling you want to find that lively way of evoking character conflict
And is there anything you think publishing is missing in terms of voice and stories?
Publishing has opened up a lot and this has been spoken about so much in the last couple of years, and that is brilliant and long may that develop and I’m sure it will. In the commercial genres it’s tougher to break down conventional expectations, for example Crime is typically a more mass-market genre and that still needs to be shaken up a bit in terms of the kind of voices the characters profiles that are driving a story. I would welcome more, different voices in that arena. Literary fiction is by definition idiosyncratic so has probably been more open to different voices for longer. But we live in an ableist world and it will be great to hear from more writers with disabilities and have the overwhelming majority of ableist folks, who are driving the industry, understand that better. I think that it is not just to do with what we are commissioning, but who is doing the commissioning and within the infrastructure and the business itself and continue to populate all the companies in a more diverse way. We are moving in that direction but that will really help open up our society and change the kinds of decisions being made.
How do you feel about writers appropriating voices that are not necessarily their own?
Yes, so that comes under a lot of scrutiny and for good reason. In general, people used to say ‘write what you know’ but that has acquired a more pointed meaning in recent times. I would generally recommend a writer to write from the community to which they belong, but at the same time I would totally counsel the writer’s role to jump into any character and to create that as convincing a character as possible. But character exists in any society across the world so the writer’s role is to get into the character irrespective of identity politics. A writer’s role is to be as creative as they can and convincingly portray character, but when it comes to particular ethnicities and specific communities, we are in a period of redress. I say this with real caution because I am resistant to advocating any form of policing of a writer’s imagination or imposing styles of censorship on what a writer is allowed or not allowed to do, but we are in that period of redress, and that redress needs to urgently be made. Writers who have not been represented enough are now coming into representation. So a writer who is not from a community, I would advise not writing from that community but writing from another community and let the person who is from that community write it themselves.
How do you feel about writers adopting particular vernaculars, dialects, colloquialisms in their writing in terms of their voice?
I love vernacular and maybe the word idiomatic is useful. Whether you’ve got patois or a habit of speech that comes from a particular community, an individual also has an idiomatic way of speaking. I think the writer has to try to create a voice unique to that character, in a sense translating the typical way of speaking into something unique, living and breathing and brilliant. I think a little goes a long way, so if you’re using any form of dialect, patois, or vernacular you don’t need so much that it’s going to impede the reader’s ability to read it quickly. Some novels have done that better than others and have been absolutely brilliant and riveting, and it's down to the power of the writer.
I work on all kinds of styles and ways of conveying where a character is from and who they are individually, but I say avoid the phonetic. Conveying speech in a phonetic way can be quite patronising to the reader and is not really necessary. It’s the language and the words that do the work.
Style and Sensitivity P2
‘Vaseem Khan discusses a very useful technical definition of authenticity, picking up on the way authenticity is currently understood through publishers’ eyes as matter of whether the writing comes from a writer with perspectives and cultural credentials that align with their characters’ experience. This is a very real consideration now as publishers consider how to reflect and how to widen contemporary audiences. I have talked about authenticity from a literary standpoint. This is territory that is both more subjective and potentially more universal – ie: is this a really convincing piece of writing, that feels true and illuminating and humane?
Because of these different nuances, it can sometimes be very useful to work together with a sensitivity reader.’
Weekly Writing Exercise
As we have already said, Style is difficult to discuss in the abstract. We ask you to consider the following questions:
Can you identify any of these or other 'styles' in relation to any specific authors? Could you describe your own style of writing?
A lot of participants have found it challenging to pin down different styles, but in reality it's a lot easier than you think. Go into a bookshop and on their main table is a display of contemporary fiction titles all with a unique stylistic quality. Compare the writing style of Lessons in Chemistry to Natasha Brown's Assembly. They are clearly not the same. This is what we mean.
What you can then try, if you are feelin brave, is to take a small passage of your own writing and rewrite it in a style different to your own.
Consider how you found the experience and what you learned. In previous courses when people have tried this exercise, participants have found it a way 'to take the brakes of' regards creativity. Some tried to be as mininal as possible and recreate Hemingway's hardboiled style. Others have gone the other way and given Stream of Consciousness a try where they forget about structure and write whatever pops into their heads. And others have uncovered a style used by a famous author, such as Lucy Ellmann's 100,000 words in 10 sentences approach. Give it a go, and enjoy the experience.