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Author Ruchira Khanna
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Twice upon a time, there was a young lady in distress. She was not happy with the way of life around her. Corruption, dishonesty, back biting, fake smiles, dual personalities, deceiving within the family. Gosh! All this was making her swirl as she was overwhelmed with her surroundings and with a heavy heart she wanted to shout out to the world...why? For what? How much?
Alas! No one to hear her tale, since all were busy in the grind of life. She wanted an ear or two, but nah! Finally, she took a pen and paper.
And she wrote...
She wrote each day until her heart would get lighter. That led to her mind and body to make a connection, and it allowed her to breathe and continue to live and strive for what she was passionate about. Her messages were simple and from her heart. She wrote what bothered her, what inspired her and what her intentions were, and soon she was known as a writer with a 'preachy' style of writing. At first, she was alarmed, since 'preaching'; was not in her blood. She only knew to take orders, laugh at minuscule things, and rarely command anyone! In fact, her laughter is still so infectious that when she would start to laugh, people in her company would giggle along courtesy the 'style' of her laughter that would be like a train chugging along the tracks.
So what's your style of writing that sets you apart or makes you unique?
Literary pundits define a style of writing to fit a purpose or an audience. The kind of choices a writer makes in words, the sentence fluency, they all contribute towards the author's voice.
When Thomas Paine wrote “These are the times that try men’s souls,” he arranged his words to convey a sense of urgency and desperation. Had he written “These are bad times,” it’s likely he wouldn’t have made such an impact!
Many elements can contribute to the writing style of a writer, but three of the most important are: Choice of words, Fluency of sentences and Voice.
Choice of words
Some authors use short words, deleting out the unnecessary wordings, while conveying the exact meaning. It's like keeping the readers on the path, without any distraction lead them to their destination of the topic discussed above. They rarely use adverbs; use adjectives sparingly while allowing the verbs to convey the message.
Fluency
When a sentence has the flow and rhythm by using parallel structures within sentences to reflect identical ideas, the author is aware of how to delete vague words, make the topic of discussion tighter by using the right phrases and ideas to keep the reader on target.
Voice
Voice is an essential element of style that reveals the writer’s personality. A writer’s voice can be indifferent or friendly, authoritative or reflective, objective or passionate, severe or funny.
Your choices?
What are your word choices, sentence structures, and language that you usually use while penning down your thoughts? What is the impact on the reader after your thoughts have been read by them? Are you bothered, anxious or curious on the kind of literary style they have tagged you under?
Thus, started her journey of writing even though her personality was a contrast to her style. For her, the journey did not matter since the destination was yielding results.
She enrolled in the NaNoWriMo program in the year 2013 and penned down her thoughts, all in the form of fiction where diverse characters came to life, as the writer in her brought out the emotions, the despair, and the zeal towards life and the many choices she made. It was a novel straight from the heart, and all it tried to portray was 'Does fate make a man, or do his desires? Do ambitions and desires actually lead a person to true happiness and fulfillment, or do providence and life changing
events actually show a person the actual path to follow?'
She had entertainment and a message enclosed in the book titled, "Choices: A Novel". The book attracted a few, the cover of the book enchanted some, and handful loved the diverse characters in the storyline. But in the end, whoever read it had to nod in a positive way agreeing that the choices we make do shape our destiny thus, concluding that being aware, mindful along the journey of life is not only essential, but also as vital as oxygen is to life.
The writer turned author was satisfied and overjoyed by those gestures of the head, and she looked around once again. Peeped into the hearts of people trying to find the cause of their pain since all yearned for happiness. Humanity is breathing with the intention to smile, laugh and have a happily ever after. Alas! There are obstructions at each junction thus, leading to a diversion, which ends up as a detour to the ambition, thus making the man suffer either in silence or cry out in public.
That lead her to another fictional tale on the quest for happiness where she took a bunch of travelers around the globe and brought them under the roof of a tourist company that guarantees to bring joy towards the end of their tour. How? Magic? Mind and Body connection is made, and after shedding tears over many gloomy situations, they went home with a smile. As the saying goes, 'Life throws lemons, make lemonade.' She could churn her fiction in a savory delight that was liked by a handful.
Entertainment goes hand in hand with a message because, without pleasure, a fictional novel would be dull. There goes the book in the recycle since the reader would resist picking it up again. The message is also important, since after spending three to four hours of their precious time, the reader
needs to get a comprehensible conclusion.
As her journey is unfolding with one book at a time, this writer is happy that she could stir the pot with the essential herbs, that could help mold the society that we all live in, with one individual at a time. No doubt, she still gets those pangs of anxiety and discomfort, but now that her 'preachy' sense of writing has been adapted by some readers, she knows the destination will not be far!
So follow your heart, and let your style be carved naturally rather than being intimidated by what others have to say.
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