Style Effect

A writing style can affect the way a reader absorbs a story.  Actually, any writer worth his or her salt will ensure that their writing style affects the way the story is read.  I’ve written stories from the perspective of an observer and from the perspective of the main character, and that choice is intertwined with the mood of the book.  Do I want the reader to be disinterested, absorbing the world from the point of view of an outsider, or do I want them to be exhausted by the end of the story, as if they went through it themselves?

Of course we all want readers to be invested in the characters and plot, but specifically how can be manipulated(I almost didn’t write the word “manipulated,” but isn’t that what writers try to do to a reader’s emotions?).  Therefore, choosing a writing style has to be made before writing the story, and it has to be a conscious decision.  Further, changing styles must also be a conscious decision.  I have a novel that requires rewriting but which plays with two different styles – one from a first person present point of view, and one from a third person limited point of view.  Moving between them has proven harder than I thought because each style has a different effect, and changing too often or randomly can be jarring to the reader.  That jarring must serve a purpose beyond just screwing with someone.

So decide your style.  Figure out how and when it changes.  And do so prior to writing, because it’s way too hard to change in midstream.