Writing fiction: Listen to your instincts and write in your own voice

By Dennis Mellersh

When taking the first steps towards writing fiction, one of the common mistakes of new writers is in not following their instincts and not writing what they really want to write in their books.

This tendency can manifest itself in a new writer’s novel, short stories, or poems (although poetry is strictly not necessarily part of the fiction category).

This can be the result from at least two factors:
(1) Trying to write fiction in an idealized “literary” style
(2) Being afraid to show your true self in your fiction writing

The effects of this show up in both fiction dialogue and in fictionalized description or expository passages.

With dialogue, trying to write in a supposed “literary” style will result in the characters in your novel not talking like normal people. Simply put, neither the dialogue, nor the character speaking the dialogue is believable.

In description, trying to write in what you might perceive as a “literary” style produces “flowery’, exaggerated overblown writing passages in which it appears you, as a writer, are trying to “show-off” your literary capabilities.

Both tendencies however are a sign of amateurism and will be a turn-off for your readers. Although it is important to follow general rules of grammar and style, it is equally vital to write naturally and instinctively, rather than trying to imitate some sort of writing style that you think you “should” be using.

To some extent, writing fiction has an autobiographical element which the reader associates with you as the writer. If you don't write in your own, true voice, your writing will not seem genuine to the reader. It will ring false.