: Re: What are the advantages and disadvantages of copying writing styles? I come from a non-native English speaking country and, from my own analysis, I will say I have an intermediate level English

Something nobody has yet mentioned: you might want to write your story as a tribute to another work.

For example, Neil Gaiman's A Study in Emerald is a tribute to Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories. It is in the language, the style, the way the story is told. At the same time, it is unmistakably Gaiman: Conan Doyle could hardly have been a fan of Lovecraft.

Or, a different example: Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, with its language, style, snark, even the illustrations, working hard to imitate Jane Austen or something else of that period.

It has been remarked (by a lady infinitely cleverer than the present author) how kindly disposed the world in general feels to young people who either die or marry. Imagine then the interest that surrounded Miss Wintertowne! No young lady ever had such advantages before: for she died upon the Tuesday, was raised to life in the early hours of Wednesday morning, and was married upon the Thursday; which some people thought too much excitement for one week.

If you can write a tribute that is recognisably in the style of the author you wish to write a tribute to, think of it as a gift from an admirer. What are the advantages of writing such tribute? the intertextual connection enriches your work, it is your way to say something new while at the same time remembering and respecting the old. It allows you to explore the existing work, find the things that make it unique, and employ them. You get to intimately know that particular voice, while at the same time saying something that is uniquely yours. You get to hold a conversation with an existing work.

As for finding your own voice, don't worry about it too much. Eventually, you will. Or rather, you find the right voice for the story you are currently writing, and then the next one, and the next, until it turns out that you have a voice that is your own, a sort of commonality between the stories you tell.

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: In a written medium, your readers can only identify your characters by what you give them. We cannot "see" your characters. So, if at any point in the story there's a John, and then again

: Re: What are the advantages and disadvantages of copying writing styles? I come from a non-native English speaking country and, from my own analysis, I will say I have an intermediate level English

More posts by @Deb2945533

: How to describe POV characters? I want to describe my first person perspective character who's narrating without doing the Wattpad "mirror scene." How would I go about this?

: This tag is for questions about death in writing. Portraying character deaths and discussions on the concept of death should all use this tag.

: If your editor says something might look unprofessional, you should listen to your editor. Your editor is a professional, whose task is precisely to make your work appear at its best. We,

: In a written medium, your readers can only identify your characters by what you give them. We cannot "see" your characters. So, if at any point in the story there's a John, and then again

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