Vonnegut’s “How to Write with Style” put the concept of style into perspective for me. I’ve always felt that my own “style” was non-existent because, when it comes to writing, I don’t always feel confident with my ability to incorporate my personality. I tend to find myself trying to sound like a better writer than I am a lot of the time. Then I lose connection with the paper, and thereafter I give up and take a nap. My understanding of what writing is is growing though. Vonnegut’s comments on sounding like yourself opened my mind a little more. He said that he trusts his writing most when it sounds like where he is from, or when it sounds the way he does when he talks. Granted it would be a little inappropriate probably for anyone to write a research paper with the exact dialect they use when they talk, it helps my thoughts flow smoother when I allow myself to write down my ideas the way I would say them. As long as I have confidence in my knowledge of the topic, my style is pretty straight forward and relaxed. Humor is still a tough thing for me to express. Unless people can see my facial expressions or hear the tone of my voice, I tend to back away from being “playful” as Vonnegut said, and come off as humorless apparently.
My style doesn’t really change for all audiences, other than when I need to be more formal or persuasive in an essay. And I haven’t found myself in the situation of writing to kindergarten students, but I would assume that I’d make my writing simpler. Overall, I guess my style is just overshadowed sometimes when I try to sound more intelligent. So I need to keep reminding myself that readers care more about content than whether I’m smart or not.
2 comments:
While reading your post, I came across your statement in which you said that humor is a hard thing to include in your writing. While I agree that the reader cannot see your facial expressions, I try to include as much "playful" tones as I can to keep the reader interested in my paper and not getting too bored. I do this because it is how I like to read articles, if there are just words on a page I get too bored and cannot read it anymore. But on the other hand, if the topic is something that I am interested in, then I will read on but other than that, I simply cannot do it.
I totally agree with you that when I am writing a paper I try to sound like a better writer than I actually am! I always try and use longer words but it does not usually make my paper any better than if I had just written what I wanted the readers to know! I also love taking naps while writing my paper! All the time I spend starring at a blank screen gets me sleepy! I don’t think you should have to see a writer’s facial expression to understand their humor, I believe it is in the way you word yourself and even use exclamation points.
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