There are many aspects of style – perspective, use of language, structure, and tense. No one style is inherently better than another.

Ideally, the style of a novel reflects the author’s voice and is the most effective way to tell that particular story.

Instead of dictating that you, the writer, do this or that, I will consider the ways different styles affect readers. An author’s greatest asset is their uniqueness. While you can consider how these styles might improve your work – imitate and learn – you should tell your stories in a style that feels authentic to the characters and yourself.

Fashions change, and while you should not be a slave to fashion, being aware of fashions and trends can be useful because they alter the expectations of contemporary readers.

During my degree, my tutor criticised the first piece of work I submitted, saying it was too purple. I swallowed my pride, dried my tears, overcame the desire to defend myself, and looked again – at what I was writing and what I was reading at the time. I realised that most of the books I loved were from the 18th and 19th centuries when florid descriptions were more fashionable. You are what you eat, so I changed my diet. Reading Iain Banks saved my writing, or at least my grades.

This article will cover perspective or point of view (who is telling the story); language use (including description and dialect); tenses (past and present tense), and lengths of chapters and sentences.

Perspective

(also known as point of view or viewpoint)

1.     First-person single viewpoint, where the narrator is also the main character and refers to his or herself as I. First person is a relatively modern way of writing and there are still some literary critics who dislike seeing a page littered with I’s. However, it is a perfectly valid form of telling a story. It can feel more immediate and intense than he/she/they(singular). First person narratives tend to have a single viewpoint which means we really get to know and understand the narrator but not always in an objective way. The entire story is subject to the bias and knowledge (or lack thereof) of the single narrator. Using first person adds to the authenticity of the character. Readers will, while they read the story at least, see the character as a real person. Writing in the first person lends itself to a conversational, even colloquial, style and the use of slang and dialect can be very effective.

“I had been making the rounds of the Sacrifice Poles the day we heard my brother had escaped. I already knew something was going to happen; the Factory told me.” The Wasp Factory, Iain Banks.

2.     Second-person single viewpoint is rarely used. It looks like an instruction guide and uses the pronoun you. It is still considered an experimental way of writing.

 3.     Third-person single viewpoint, the story is told from the point of view of a single character, but that character is referred to as he or she (or they). It can be the most effective way to ensure reader engagement, and it works well across genres.

A quick note on “the child narrator” – when your single viewpoint is a child, should they use childish language? Henry James answered this question:

“Small children have many more perceptions than they have terms to translate them: their vision is at any moment richer, their apprehension even constantly stronger, than their prompt, their at all producible, vocabulary.”

In short, a naive viewpoint can be written in a mature style. Alternatively, the style can be intentionally less articulate to underline the relative inelegance of the narrator – as in "The Catcher in the Rye”.

 4.     Third-person multiple allows the writer to switch between the points of view of more than one character, so the reader can see things from more than one angle.

“He had become so completely absorbed in himself and isolated from his fellows that he dreaded meeting not only his landlady but anyone at all.” Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevsky.

However, it requires skill and care to get right. Imagine a scene where Robert is walking away from an argument with his mother. Up to this point, we are only aware of his thoughts, motivations, and feelings – his mother only exists through his perception of her. How comfortable would it feel to switch (for one or two sentences) to the thoughts inside his mother’s head only to swing back to Robert again?

We call this head-hopping. If you need the perspectives of more than one character to tell your story there are clear ways of signposting this to the reader, using scene breaks or new chapters. Without carefully handling, shifts in perspective or point of view can be confusing, disruptive and seem lazy.

Detached viewpoint. One way to avoid head-hopping with multiple characters is to describe only outwardly visible behaviour. In this way the author/narrator acts as an impartial reporter of events, never entering the mind of any of the characters. Behaviour and dialogue are the only clues the reader has to the inner thoughts of every character.

Point of view (in storytelling) is the point from which we focus the lens outwards. Even in stories with an omniscient (all-knowing) narrator, the story focuses on a few characters and how events affect and are interpreted by them.

First and third person both have their strengths and their challenges. If you are writing a story, and you feel something is not working, it can be useful to rewrite it from an alternative point of view.

Active versus Passive Voice

Active – John carries the suitcase.

Passive – The suitcase is carried by John.

The active voice is simpler and less jarring, which keeps the reader inside the action of your story. A passive voice in fiction distances the reader from the action. When a writer uses the active voice they focus on the subject of the sentence, in this case John. When passive voice is used, the object of the sentence – in this case the suitcase – is foregrounded. There may be times when you want to focus on the object and passive voice may be the best choice. As with every other subject I am covering on this course, awareness is key. Know what you want to achieve and find the best style for you.

Language

Do you want to tell your story in a modern, plain English, which won’t have readers reaching for the dictionary every few minutes?

Do you want to create a sense of place by using dialect or a mix of English with other languages?

Do you want to use repetition to underline an important point or build a rhythm in the prose?

Alliteration, sibilance, and rhyme can all add poetry to your prose if that is the effect you want to achieve.

Do you want dense descriptive scenes or spare language, where a few well-chosen words can replace a page full of adjectives?

Figurative language – metaphors and similes – when used to describe an object, person, or action, can add additional layers of meaning to the text. Any common, cultural associations the metaphor carries will appear in the reader’s mind.

Always keep in mind what you want to achieve. Cleverness for cleverness’s sake is likely to frustrate a reader, but when it enriches the story and develops the setting or characters, it can turn a good story into a great piece of literature.

Tenses

Is the action happening now, or did it happen in the past?

How can you signpost to the reader the chronology of your story?

1.     Present tense – using present tense places the reader at the centre of the action. It can make a story feel more urgent and can increase the anxiety of the reader.

·       Present simple – Helen grows her own vegetables.

·       Present continuous – Helen is growing her own vegetables.

·       Present perfect – Helen has grown her own vegetables.

·       Present perfect continuous – Helen has been growing her own vegetables.

2.     Past tense – past tense is believed to be a more literary way of writing.

·       Past simple – Helen grew her own vegetables.

·       Past continuous – Helen was growing her own vegetables.

·       Past perfect – Helen had grown her own vegetables.

·       Past perfect continuous – Helen had been growing her own vegetables.

Structure

Stories have a beginning, middle and end – or do they? Experimental novels can flout the rules. However, great artists learn the rules before they break them.

Chapter lengths

There are no hard and fast rules as to the ideal chapter length. I have heard some people say that chapter lengths should be standardised within a novel, while others say a chapter should be the length it needs to be, independent of the length of other chapters.

Rather than focus on the length of a chapter it might be more useful to think about what a chapter contains. Does it progress the story? Does it develop the characters? Is there a beginning, middle and end?

Not all novels have them but, as a bed-time reader, I appreciate an author who uses chapters. A chapter break provides a logical place to pause. Each chapter might contain its own arc, with a peak in tension (a climax) near or at the end. Alternatively, each chapter represents a scene, or a lesson learned.

A short chapter, like a short punchy sentence, can speed up time and add tension. A long chapter, like a long meandering sentence, can slow down the story and relieve tension. My advice is that you allow the story to dictate the length of your chapters rather than a misplaced anxiety about how things should be.

Sentence lengths

An effective way to keep a reader’s interest is by varying the lengths of your sentences. Breaking the rhythm, psychologically wakes a reader up. Short, snappy sentences speed up the action, while longer ones slow it down. Especially in longer stories, a varied rhythm can be very welcome.

Conclusion

By necessity this is the most technical article in the series so far. I welcome your questions and comments. If you are confused and need help, would like further clarification on any the points I have covered, or would like to discuss other aspects of style, please do add a comment below.

I hope this section of the course wasn’t too dry and that you managed to gain some insight into your own writing and how you can improve it.

Each of these styles have their own strengths and weaknesses. It is up to you to decide which ones best fit your novel. The key is consistency and awareness.

Know who is telling your story and be consistent with your use of past or present tense.

Describe scenes as vividly as you can, using multi-sensory information – sights, sounds, tastes, and smells etc, but don’t let heavy description take you away from the story.

Keep in mind what you want to say. What is the best way to express it, so that the reader understands your message and enjoys the experience?

Next Week

We will be looking at writer’s block and tips on how to keep writing.

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Carmilla Voiez is a horror and fantasy author. Her novels have been published by indie publishing companies including Vamptasy Publishing, CHBB and Stone Circle Publishing and her short stories have been included in anthologies by Crystal Lake Publishing, Clash Books, Weird Punk Books, Stitched Smile, Siren Magazine, and Dragones Mecanicos. She has a first-class degree in creative writing and English language, a diploma in proofreading and editing, and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Editors and Proofreaders.