: Re: How much does style contribute to the overall value of a novel? I've recently got a crushing critique. The critic pointed out I was obviously unfamiliar with the basic tools of the trade and

@Pope4766717

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I am also just a reader, not a writer, but I consider style a very important part of the experience indeed. I cannot say how well-founded your critic was, as I don't know your work, but style is very important to the value, in my opinion.

For me personally, reading a book, especially a long one (not so much for short stories, where the idea is the most important part), style is probably the most important attribute. If I am constantly disappointed in the style department, I'm likely to drop the book sooner than later.

For example, Tolkien. I read his books (Hobbit, LOTR, Silmarillion) first when I was an adolescent - with English being a secondary language. Aside from improving my english score a lot, I to this day remember the feeling of reading those arcane words. Most adults I know find the original works very boring indeed - pages upon pages upon pages of description of irrelevant stuff, chapters upon chapters of people hunting around for something, nothing really happening. Still; to this day, when I open his books on any page, the words themselves are enchanting. The sheer amount of melancholy he puts into everything, not only through story/plot/character...

Same for others like Ursula Le Guin, Ian Banks, Peter Hamilton, Umberto Eco and more - yes, the list may be a bit incongruent, but all those people have their individual style that is wildly attractive to me. Back when I had lots of time to read, I bought every single of their works as they appeared without question, and was never disappointed. None of those are perfect, but whatever they miss in other area, they more than make up with their style to me. Letting their words flow through the mind was more than sufficient to keep me going (though most of them had interesting content/story/characters on top, of course).

In contrast, I'd usually rather do nothing than read the more throw-away mass-production books/leaflets, maybe written by ghost writers, especially surrounding certain big movie franchises...

And needless to say, there may be authors whom I cannot stand because of their particular style.

So, all in all, I cannot help you with your quest of finding your own style, but I'd assure you that style is an essential part in making a book valuable to me.

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