One of the things that really puts a crimp in the style of would-be writers is feedback saying a story is, “Too derivative.” Say the story is hackneyed, that the grammar is abysmal, or that the ending is flat, and we can understand what those things mean. We can work on fixing them. But what does too derivative mean?

It means what it says on the lid: it’s too heavily influenced by one easily-recognisable writer, or a specific style. It other words, sorry, Charlie, but it’s not original.

We all want our work to be original, don’t we? I mean, there are already well-known writers called Cormac McCarthy or JRR Tolkien, or Margaret Atwood. Why should we need another?

We don’t. We want writers who are clearly, unmistakably, themselves.

Young writers who are new to the craft do sometimes emulate their favourite writer. For me, it was Steinbeck. It took years for me to stop writing paragraphs of adjectives in the hope of sounding ‘arty’. In a way, clinging to a favourite author is a bit like a novice swimmer relying on water wings.

Most writers who produce stories that smack strongly of another, successful writer, do so purely subconsciously. If you have devoured every word that Roddy Doyle, for instance, ever wrote, then it’s not surprising that Roddy creeps into the things you write. Is that really such a bad thing?

Yes.

You don’t want someone to read your story and immediately think, “Oh, this is a knock-off.” You want readers to look for your books and stories because they stand out, because they are like nothing else on the bookshelf. So how do you find and develop your own unique voice?

Developing your own authentic style is one of the hardest things you will ever do as a writer, and to be honest I don’t know how any of us do it. Some people seem to be graced with the gift of a individuality right from the moment they start writing. Most of us, though, have to develop that voice over a period of years. Yes, I said years. But there are some things that can help.

Read widely. Try not to become enamoured of just one writer. It’s hard to avoid sounding like an echo of that person if you immerse yourself in their work alone. Better to read as widely as possible. Read as many different genres as you can. Read contemporary fiction. Read the classics. Read plays, short stories, novels and essays. Yes, I’ve said this before, but it’s important. The more broadly you read, the greater the likelihood that you will be able to develop a voice of your own. There may be whispers of this or that writer, but you will still sound like you.

Keep a journal. Get used to writing about the events of the day expressed in your own voice. Not only is this good practice, but you’re writing for yourself alone, not to impress anyone else.

Experiment. Write in a variety of different styles. Write in the first person, and in the third person. Write in the present tense and in the past tense. Try different things and decide what you like best. Keep in mind, though, that different stories may require different approaches.

Steal from actors. Have you ever seen different actors play the same role? I’m a Hamlet fan and I’ve seen the play and film versions about a dozen times. It’s fascinating how each actor who plays that part manages to make the role his (or her) own. Try to understand your characters as well as a great actor understands their role. Get under the skin, into the bone and marrow of the character and let them dictate how their story should be told. If your character is individual enough, your style will be too.

Talk it out. Try dictating the story. MS Word, for instance, has a dictation option built in. It’s not perfect, but it will help you to sound more like ‘you’ when you write. You can record on your phone or any other device that’s handy if you prefer.

Edit ruthlessly. “Kill your darlings,” as Arthur Quiller-Couch famously said. In my editing of this piece, I have cut about eight paragraphs and each one contained a phrase I liked. I didn’t cut them because I liked my writing so well, but because the phrasing was too showy, too ‘look at me!’ I want you, the reader, to take note of the content, not my spiffy sentences. So, yes. murder those little darlings, especially if they smack too much of someone else.

Don’t give up. Style creeps up on you. One day you will happen upon something you wrote months or years earlier and be amazed at how good and how you it is.

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