What Kind Of Writer Are You?
Writing Styles At A Glance
Writing styles. They are as varied as the choices of undergarments from a certain mall lingerie store. We are all different and unique creatures so it would only make sense that we all have our own voice and way that we project it, yet I often catch myself ruminating on just how other Steemians put together their blog posts.
I am most definitely a"seat-of-the-pants" type of writer. An idea will pop into my cranium and I can sit down and verbally vomit thousands of words onto a paper or screen.
Merriam Webster defines the adjective "seat-of-the-pants" as:
employing or based on personal experience, judgment, and effort rather than technological aids or formal theory.
Ooh, just shivered a bit there, personal experience? Judgment? Heh. I guess that does rather describe how I write, for I just turn my fingers over to what's flowing in the ol' thoughts a pouring vault. I find this whole bit about myself amusing as I am most definitely a plotter in many other areas of my life.
As I pondered my authorial makeup, I began to wonder about other people's method O'scribbling. Which brings me to other writing styles that I have glimpsed in my every day experiences:
The Autocorrect As You Go
I have a co worker that has to have each sentence precisely composed, formatted perfectly, and grammatically correct before she can move on to the next sentence in whatever bit of written work that she is creating. Her method of writing is incredibly fascinating to me, as I would die if I had to write that way. Seriously, if there is a comma in the wrong place or a line of text is one inch out of margin she will stop her train of thought and realign those cars. AAHHHH! THE PAIN!
Outline, Design, Post Online
This style of writer organizes their entire idea before proceeding with the creating. They are the architects of the written world, the kids who had perfect notes in any class that they took and pretty little doodles in the margins of said notes. Their posts and written work are so pretty to look at and organized in such a pleasing way. Is it detest, envy, or admiration that my description of this style-ee is dripping in? Hmmm...
Summary McDonery
The get to the point of it all writing style. No flowery over use of adjectives and adverbs with this person. Efficient and to the point with their composition, if someone is getting stabbed in their writing it is with a knife. Forget about a blood dripping cutlass that was tarnished with a patina forged in countless battles and whose metal delivers screams in the name of truth and justice. That would be overdoing it a touch.
So these are just a few of the writing styles that I have come across in my travels through life. I would love to hear from any of you about how you compose your blog posts or writings in general. Please do share!
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My son has the problem of needing the sentence to be perfect before going on to write the next. To me it is simply maddening to watch!!!!!! I tell him to let the words flow, just get the black on the white and clean it up later before you forget the thought.
I have found it is better that I don't try to help him when he is writing...its much too bad for my blood pressure LOL.
Ha ha! I'm like you, the thoughts have to get out then it's clean up time!
I do so hope that you are practicing your just look away technique when your son writes, no one needs help with elevated blood pressure, lol!
Definitely "seat-of-the-pants" for me!!
Ha ha! Your admission does not surprise me at all! I can imagine it's like Mt Vesuvius' lava flow when you sit down to write, let the descriptors flow!
I sometimes have to make a conscious effort to liven up my writing. I usually spew forth a paragraph and then edit it afterward. This leads to cut-and-paste errors, some of which I invariably miss until after I click "post." Then I have to edit again, sometimes more than once.
I LOVE your engineered prose. You write like you talk, so I can hear your voice as I read your compositions. The world needs perfectionist prose-istas that lose their flashlights in the nether-regions of couches! Yay!
Great discussion topic, thanks for posting. It seems that I tend to take pictures first, and write about them later. I get inspired by nature, and I try to expand the basic hiking journal to express creating more care in the world. So I try to use Metta (love, kindness, peace, and joy) as a scaffold. For example, my latest is about the joy of finding wild walnuts that could bring nourishment to my family and hopefully the reader's. Cheers!
Wow! I am so sorry that I threw out a conversation starter and passed out from life exhaustion. The way that you use visuals to get inspired and expound on a principle is awesome! As a kid I grew up surrounded by lots of environmental destruction and was always a bit of an ecologist, so the idea of caring for our surroundings, being inspired by them, and creating expository blog posts from that inspiration is super cool! Do you ever get overwhelmed when you look at your pictures? One of my problems is that I can't quite describe or put forth with pen or keystroke exactly what I am pondering, and then I feel like I do the topic injustice. Uh oh, I rambled on a bit. Thank you so much for sharing!
I like the rambling :)
Hmm, I think I have started to take the photos with an eye to the "angle" I want to write. It's like, cocreative??? I used to be so overwhelmed with my memory card being cram jammed full of photos of bushes, and no way to appreciate the meditations I experiences shooting them. Steemit has seriously opened the floodgates. This is so interesting to metacognitate on the writing process! I tend to say too much, and prune it back. Sometimes I prewrite on my memo pad, but mostly I hit that compose pencil and dive in,
Appreciate your convo so much!
Ooh, I like that, cocreative! I do that a lot, I will see something, think that would be an awesome post, snap a few pics, and then the words come flowing out.
lol, I like rambling too, and thank you so much for ruminating with me about the writing process. It just seemed like a fun and introspective thing to talk about among us all!
Indeed! Xoxo
I want to write more like McDonery, seems efficient. You write beautifully, like that post on Neptune's harvest. Does second guessing yourself over errors never stop you from word spewing?
You know, I actually really admire those that employ the efficiency of Summary McDonery. Truth be told, I kinda long to be a little more to the point a lot of the time, there is just a lot that hits me upstairs when I start thinking about any one topic. It can be a little overwhelming. As I have lived with a get to the pointser for quite a few years now I feel as if I have learned to tighten up my explanations, but on the inside it's always a 1960's paisley blanket looking thought explosion.
When I am in writing mode I never, ever think about errors. However, when I am done spewing I go back and edit hard. Probably don't get them all, but I have this almost mania when I am constructing and have to "get it all out" before refining can begin. I suppose I morph a bit into McDonery and Autocorrect at that point, lol!
Thank you so much for saying that I write beautifully. The second guessing in my life happens on that front, the "is it good enough or crap" thoughts tend to sidetrack this one. And for now I think I have babbled enough, thank you so much for the comment!!!
Hi Generikat,
I would like to think i'm a Shakespearean writer.
I love to use alliteration, simile, metaphor, rhyme;
and all the other Rhetorical devices!
That's awesome! I am so looking forward to reading some of your iambic pentameteriffic posts!