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Authorial Voice: How to Develop your Own Style in Fiction

January 3, 2018

author, creativity, fiction, literature, writing

I am an author of fiction (I’m also an academic writer, but let’s leave that aside for now). I have been writing fiction for decades, and examining my own evolution as a writer is a very educational process. If I had to pick the single most important improvement in my writing, that would be the emergence of my authorial voice.

Trust me when I say this: No other element in your writing is as crucial as to develop your own authorial style. The reason is, naturally, that having your own narrative voice allows you to stand out from the crowd. Selling books might not interest you (yay!) but if you’re an artist, rising above mediocrity is likely something that does interest you.

But what is authorial voice (or authorial style) and how does one develop it?

developing your own authorial voice — Developing your own authorial voice is crucial for your work to stand out.

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The Boiling Frog Problem

January 2, 2018

Society

action, change, economy, responsibility, science fiction, society

It is said that if you drop a frog into a pot with boiling water, it will naturally jump out, trying to escape. Conversely, if you place it in one with lukewarm water which you are heating gradually, the frog will remain there until it boils to death, oblivious of the situation. I don’t know if this is actually the case, but the boiling frog problem is a stunningly accurate metaphor for the state of affairs in the world today.

boiling frog — The Boiling Frog Problem: not Reacting to Subtle Changes

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Despair or Apognosis (excerpts from To Cross an Ocean)

January 1, 2018

Fiction

action, book, despair, experience, fiction, Greece, knowledge, trauma

“Apognosis” – besides forming part of the title of To Cross an Ocean: Apognosis – means something very unique. As you might guess, it is a Greek work (Απόγνωσις), fairly common in Greek. It basically means “despair”, but its etymology is revealing. Apognosis literally means to willingly abandon knowledge. Although I didn’t coin the original word, I would claim its first usage in the English language.

But what does the phrase “to willingly abandon knowledge” could possibly refer to? How can you pretend not to know something? Instead of offering a long philosophical diatribe on the matter, I’ll have two of the characters of the novel do the hard work. That’s one of the roles of fiction, anyway: to make complex issues accessible and relatable.

Despair, apognosis — Come home, all is forgiven…

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