I heard a story many years ago about Picasso having lunch with a friend at some tapas bar. When the bill came, Pablo picked it up, scrawled a quick sketch on his napkin and signed it, and handed it to the delighted waiter. The friend looked at the great artist in envy and said, “Amazing that you can make so much money for just scratching an image in 20 seconds.” Picasso shook his head. “It took 20 seconds to make the image, but 20 years to learn how.”

I don’t know if the story is, but the point it makes is still valid. The thing that makes an artist, or a writer, unique is their style. And to put it in a thimble-sized nugget, style cannot be rushed.

Style is indefinable, at least while we are trying to develop it. We can look at some of our favourite writers now and talk about the sparse prose of Hemingway, or the musicality of Steinbeck, but when it comes to determining our own style, well, that’s not quite so easy. Hard as it is, though, it’s nothing to trying to consciously develop your own style when you are just starting out. As style cannot be rushed, neither can it be faked.

Some writers may disagree with me — it wouldn’t be the first time — but style comes from the subconscious. It develops over the years from the lessons we’ve learned, the things we’ve read, and the feedback we have received from people we respect. That said, there are things that we can consciously learn that will guide the way our style develops. Here are a few:

Read. Read a lot. Read widely. Read as many different types of things as you can get your hands on: plays, biographies, light fiction, classical fiction, nonfiction, poetry. You may not love all of it, but some things will seep into your soul and bear fruit.

Write as widely as you read. You may not be a natural poet, but how do you know you can’t do it if you never try? Try writing a play or a movie. Work on articles and novels and anything else that comes to mind. Many writers credit their experience in journalism with their success as novelists. Every type of writing will help you develop new skills and will help you tap in to unexpected talents. You won’t know until you try.

Story first. You may be tempted to apply some flashy style as you write; use long words that you have to look up, play with symbolism or other literary devices, but hold off on that, my friend. The story must always come first. Just get the details down and worry about refining your language later. Indeed, you may find that simple, ‘just the facts’ approach works perfectly well and is, in fact, your style.

Be yourself. I’ve had my Steinbeck period, and my Raymond Carver era, but eventually I learned that the best writer I can be is me. With all my flaws, weird structure, and humourous oddities, I need to sound like me. And you need to sound like you. Perhaps one day other writers will be citing you as the style others should emulate. Remember:

Be the voice, not the echo.

Albert Einstein

Experiment with different methods of writing. Use pen and paper, pencil and paper, laptop, typewriter, dictations. You’re not looking for a method that suits you best (though if you find one, that’s good), but you’re seeing how your style changes based on which method you use. Why? Because each one enables you to write at a different speed. You may find that your writing flows best if you work slowly — as you will with pen and paper — then again, perhaps the speed of dictation suits you best.

Learn from the best. Whether you attend classes on writing, read how-to books, or watch podcasts, see what lessons work best for you. Study the techniques of your favourite writers, but don’t restrict yourself to them. Some of the best teachers of writing are unknown as authors, but are outstanding communicators on the craft. Also, don’t be surprised if your favourite writers disagree with one another. We all have our own way of working. You don’t have to slavishly follow one person’s advice even if you love their books. Develop an approach that works for you.

Engage your subconscious. Keep a dream diary. Write first thing in the morning when you are still half-asleep and before your brain has fully wakened. Try meditation and see if that might help.

Vary your technique. Start your story in different places, for instance, some time before the main event occurs. Yes, it flies in the face of standard wisdom, but this is merely to get you used to trying different things. Start in media res — in the middle of the crisis. Or a long time afterward the climax and tell the story in flashback. Write in short, clipped sentences or in long ones. Change points of view. Keep notes of what feels most like ‘you’ and what feels fake.

Consider your market. I add this with some caution. For the most part, style is not planned or predetermined. However, if you are writing for a specific market, you improve your chances of publication if you match certain elements to their tastes. I’m not just talking about word length, although that is important, but things like point of view, the tense in which your story is written, if humour is welcomed or not. I realise that a lot of these things would be considered extraneous to style, but some writers tend to get into a habit (rut) of applying the same approach to everything. Mix it up from time to time. Remember, style is ever-evolving. The more variants you explore, the richer your style will be.

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