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Preffered Writing Style?

Wanting to write in a style close to what you read is pretty much the same thing as writing a fanfic. The style of what you just read was interesting, you put some thought into a similar story then decided to write what you were thinking.

Then technically every story in existence is a fanfic, because nothing of what anyone comes up with is original in the sense that it all came from their own mind. You can draw inspiration about styles/plots/archetypes/settings/etc from anyone, anything and anywhere.
 
True, but his comment wasn't about that. It was about feeling inspired to write a certain way, in this instance Gothic, based on what he recently read. Though, I agree that its impossible to be original because whatever you want to say has most likely already been said and one of your readers may point it out despite you having no prior knowledge of the source before you.

Originality died when cavemen started painting patterns in similar ways. lol
 
I don't write stories very much, but I usually prefer using third person. I like reading from a first-person perspective the most, preferably keeping it not omniscient. If done right, it can really help give me a feel for whichever character's telling the story, since things like their train of thought and little quirks can often sneak their way into the narrative.
 
Usually, I tend to write in third person.
I, however, have no clue whatsoever if that is a good thing, even to the slightest.

Well, time to go try out first person now...
*sigh*
 
I generally tend to write in 1st person- i just find it easier to write and think it gives you some insight into the character who is narrating. I do occasionally write in 3rd person although I do tend not to.
 
Second and Third person in script format. I'm just a little one of those odd balls who writes better in script then paragraphs as you can tell. Can't form paragraphs well but can write really nice stories in script TV format
 
It seems people are focused on POV in writing styles, but I'm not much of a storyteller...though I can say I have lots of fun writing both first person and third person with no particular preference.

I prefer article writing and poetry. I've never been huge on storywriting, due to my own laziness, but when it comes to writing styles I do get a thrill from trying out as many new styles as I can. Because of that, at least with poetry in particular, it's led me to trying all sorts of formats and rhyme schemes. Sonnets, limericks, haiku, rap, prose, acrostic, couplets, quatrains, etc.

I like to experiment with as many styles as I can :)
 
I write in third person limited, often with a "lens" of a particular character. Meaning the language I use is flavoured based on the character's personality even if the part is third person.
 
Present tense is generally only used in RPGs and other games because the player is experiencing events as they happen in universe.

I actually once wrote a short story ff about D&D and opened with a present tense intro as an homage.
 
First person present tense. It's definitely not the standard, but I like the immediacy of it, and the fact that the story is being told from an individual's biased perspective allowed me to use judgmental language without necessarily saying that I as the author am judging these characters. Also allows me a lot of leeway for my very favorite literary device: the unreliable narrator. I habitually write stories with a lot of mystery, so first person allows a lot of secret-keeping because we don't get in the head of anyone else, and the POV character's biased perspective even allows them to be blind to obvious things, making those things secret to the readers.
God, I don't know why I like writing this way. I need to be LESS mysterious if I'm going to write fiction for public consumption, which is my goal as secondary career (primary career: counselor or therapist, hence I am a Psychology Major). As a Psychology Major, first person is also way more interesting, because it allows for more psychological exploration with the POV character, as well as explorations of perception, social judgment, and cognitive dissonance.

And present tense is probably something that irritates some readers, who are used to past tense, but it suggests events that haven't happened yet, that are unfolding before the readers' eyes. It suggests the future is not written in stone, that the characters have free wills and are not bound by destiny. If I ever write and finish the current story I'm interested in doing, though, the next would be an exploration of a pivotal series of events in the main character of the first story's teenage years. So it would be written in past tense, and perhaps even in 3rd person limited omniscient, to suggest that these events are firmly in the past, and are being recalled from a God's Eye view.

In terms of the form, I like long stories, which is a problem because I'm super-ADHD. Long time commitments for writing are problematic for me. I always bite off more than I can chew, but I guess that's because I'm not good at being succinct. Usually I like brevity in the writing of others, but I don't live up to that ideal well myself. I like genre, with all my ideas having significant sci-fi, fantasy, crime, or mystery elements.

The interesting challenge of the story I have in mind is that I'm going to have to do significant poetry-type writing in addition to prose work, because I'm writing a story about a rock band, and so of course the readers would like to see at least some song lyrics in the story. I could wholesale rip off real world songs, if I get lazy though (note: if/when I do this, I will credit the original song at the end of the chapter). It might help that the band is not at what you'd call the pinnacle of artistry in terms of lyrical work, so many of the songs would be early Beatles-level braindead (see Love Me Do or She Loves You for examples). But there's a rival, socially conscious band, and for their lyrics I'd have to go all out in terms of poetry writing.
 
I think third-person omniscient, in past tense, is the best. There's a reason that's the most popular form, you guys!

Joking aside, my problem with first-person perspective is the same problem I have with present tense: it seems cheesy to me. Whenever I read something in first person, and go through entire conversations of really well-written dialog and detailed descriptions of the narrator's surroundings, I find it really unbelievable that they would remember all of these details. Third-person omniscient makes it clear that what I'm reading is a story and isn't pretending to be anything else, and the past tense adds to that, because whenever I read present tense, my only thought is "Why is this in writing? Who's writing this down?"

Now, that being said, my favorite novels are Life of Pi and World War Z, both of which are in weird formats, and mostly first-person, so obviously there have to be circumstances where first-person can be done right (still I have nothing to say in defense of present tense, sorry ;P). Life of Pi is constructed as a series of journal entries, and World War Z as a series of interviews. However, I think the key to the success of these attempts is that there's very little dialog in either of these books (except for the fact that World War Z is actually all dialog, but these are recorded interviews that can be transcribed verbatim), meaning less of an opportunity for me to question the seemingly phonographic memory of the narrator. It also helps that neither of these books are in present tense. I can't help myself!
 
I tend to go for the classic third-person omnipresent past tense, but I like to try and add a bit of character and snark in there from said omnipresent narrator. Kinda like Ash's Pokedex in the first episode.
 
I prefer third person or first person. I typically write in third person, but first person is more fun since you get to dive into a single character's thoughts and whatnot, and it's kind of interesting. Mainly write in past tense too; I haven't really done much present tense stuff, tbh. I'd like to try second person (the "you" deal), but that's an endeavor for the future.
 
In general I am a strong advocate for using 3rd person from a single character's perspective, preferably changing only with a new chapter. Maybe after a line break. IMO it's the best of both worlds. The readers aren't crammed into "being" the characters, but still get to see he world through their eyes and hear their inner thoughts. Also, unlike omniscient it allows for playing with the "unrealiable narrator" trope and you can set-up mysteries way better. I always use past tense as well, present tense just breaks my suspension of disbelief immediately, no matter if I am writing or reading it.

While I admit 1st person has its uses (it's a stample of the noir genre) I have always found it weird. It feels to self-insert-ish or Mary-Sue-ish for my tastes. To each his/her own, I guess, but I just can't take 1st person novels seriously.

From what I've read, 2nd person is very hard to pull off and somewhat specialiazed towards certain kinds of stories, mainly shorter ones. I've read a few really good horror stories written this way. The style wouldn't have worked for a novel but it really clicks with the reader in the aformentioned cases.
 
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