All writers have a particular style — a way of doing things that is unique to them. You do too, even though you may never have thought about it. You have a sense of timing and place, a preferred medium, and a way to get into “flow.” Here are seven ways to identify your right way to write.  
   
1.  What, how, where, when
What is your preferred way to write: on a legal pad or at a computer? In total silence or with music or the radio in the background? At a coffee shop or curled up in bed? At the crack of dawn or in the middle of the night? Whatever your personal style, if it has been working for you, don’t abandon it because you think there is “right way to write.”

2.  Short spurts or blocks of time?
Some people write in spurts, then have to move around or do something else. Others sit down and write and write and write until they all but fall off their chairs. All that matters is whether the time you spend writing is productive or wasted. If the writing you do in fifteen minutes gets your point across and satisfies your inner critic, stick with sprinting. If you need lots of time to contemplate and create, reserve it.

3.  Rock slide or waterfall
Does writing feel like a rockslide or a mountain stream? If it’s a rockslide, you are one who struggles with the craft. If, on the other hand, it’s serene and trancelike, you’re in the zone or a state of “flow.” Obviously, suffering is not what writing should be about; but, for many authors, it is. To them the agony is in doing; the ecstasy is in having done it. Which describes you?

4.  Personal, conversational, narrative
If you are writing as yourself, using the pronoun I, you are writing in first person (might be formal or informal). When you speak to your reader, using the pronoun you, it is called second person (informal). If you are writing about your subject as an observer or a narrator, using pronouns like he, she, his, hers, they, and their, it’s called third person (a bit removed from the action). Whatever you decide, don’t switch unless you have a very good reason.

5. Past or present
Does your book take place in the present, past, or future? When you quote someone, do you attribute the quote with the word say or said? This may seem a bit simplistic, but the point here is consistency. Person and tense cannot roam all over the place. You may have to experiment a bit before you decide which way to go, but, once you do decide, stick with it. You will probably slip from time to time (we all do), but that’s why you hire (or the publisher hires) a copy editor.

6.  The sound of your writing
This refers to the familiar, recognizable feel of your writing. Just as you speak a certain way, you write a certain way. Sometimes, these communication styles are very similar, but not always. You may not discover your voice immediately. The key to voice is allowing yourself to be natural and unforced. That takes self-confidence and what Buddhists call non-doing. If you don’t try too hard, your genuine voice will emerge.

7.  Do it yourself or seek support
If you were writing your master’s or Ph.D. thesis, you would have an advisor who would push, prod, and hold you accountable for the finished product. If you have an agent or a publisher, that person will urge you on when you hit a low point. But what if you don’t have either? Who will bolster you when you slump, remind you of your mini-deadlines along the way, and pat you on the back when you make them? If you’re a solitary, self-motivated writer, it might be you. If you need outside validation, you may turn to other writers or what Napoleon Hill called a “mastermind group” in his classic, Think and Grow Rich.

Your pat on the back
Once you know how you write, you can settle into a comfortable routine. But let’s face it, writing a book is hard work; and, if you are wise, you will make it part of your personal style to reward yourself for every achievement, no matter how small. That can be with a mocha latte or a massage, a day off, or dinner at your favorite restaurant. Like the answers to all of the above questions, the choice is yours. Just be sure to choose something worthy of your efforts.

Life is a Marketing Call • Mind Like a Macintosh • Mind Like a Sponge • Professionalism in Writing: You Know it When You See it • The Art of Interviewing • The Right Way to Write • Think Like a Winner: Why a Writer Needs Courage • Trust the (Creative) Process • Two Sides of a Coin: Attention Span & Focus • Why a Writer Has to Stay in Shape • Why a Writer Needs People Skills • Why Every Writer Needs and Editor

About Bobbi Linkemer

Bobbi Linkemer is a ghostwriter, editor, and the author of 12 books under her own name. She has been a professional writer for 40 years, a magazine editor and journalist, and a book-writing teacher. Her clients range from Fortune 100 companies to entrepreneurs who want to write books in order to enhance their credibility and build their businesses. Visit her Website at: http://www.WriteANonfictionBook.com.