On finding my writing style
Oh to have a distinct artistic style!
I've been doing more research into what an artistic voice consists by reading The Style of Loish: Finding an Artistic Voice, a book written by the famous illustrator Loish. Her semi-realistic portraits are enchanting and dynamic. She inspires me.
I have a small art business on Etsy. I sell stickers and I take a lot of care that my stickers are unique compared to what's available in my niche. I'm not a great artist or a prolific one, but I do have a style: feminist, bold, and colorful. Loish says:
"If there's anything that I'd like to show you, it's that artistic style is not just about surface-level things, like how your art looks. It's actually the opposite: it's something that flows forth from your personality to your experience and vision of the world. Many things that define an artists' style come into existence before they ever even realize they have a style of their own."
I finished Sally Rooney's Intermezzo today and I can see how some things particular to Rooney's style probably came into existence before she even could say she had a style. For example, she explores topics like marxism, gender-equality, and the housing crisis through dialogues between her characters. They become a mouthpiece for the questions she raises in the deepest parts of herself. This then creates an emotional tone in the novel which contributes to Rooney's understated yet deep style.
I haven't found my writing style yet obviously. I'm just a baby-writer.
I have been writing creatively my whole life but I haven't written anything just for myself. It's so much easier to write when it's for a creative writing course or if I am writing poetry for fun with a friend at a coffee shop.
My writing has so far been collaborative in the sense that it has an audience: friends and classmates. In such situations I have never asked myself what I wanted to read. I wrote as was expected of me or what I felt the class wanted. No real writing experiments ensued. What true artistic style can come from that?
Now as I beginning the journey of writing creatively for myself, I keep myself as the audience:
What is the story that I have wanted to hear my entire life?
What story do I need to hear to heal myself?
In asking these questions, I am marching characters on the page in a way that is becoming real to who I am. I hope that this will create an artistic voice that is distinct to me.
Trust Meter (how much i trust myself as a writer today)
This 100 day challenge is to start trusting myself as a writer and to document this process on Substack.
I feel really excited about finding my voice as I write fiction. Being honest here on Substack is really helping me think about the creative process and stay dedicated to my pursuits.
TLDR; The trust is higher today. The meter gets a higher rating!
