Writing style meme

[owlmoose]

Ganked from lassarina and hinikuish.

What do you think are the "trademarks" of the fiction that I write? What type of themes or characterization notes or quirks keep on manifesting in my writing? Essentially, what do you think is a stereotypically "KJ" way of writing fic?

I have my own ideas, of course. But I'll hold them for now, since I wonder how they compare to what other people see.

Comments

I

[kunstarniki.livejournal.com]

I would not presume to attempt a comprehensive analysis of your style, however I will set down a few of the things I most notice.

First of all, in your plots you seek out the compassionate ending, the one which offers the most satisfaction to the most characters. You try to find the humane and decent factors in those you write about. I wonder if you could write a thorough-going villain or if your inner censor would forbid you.

Stylistically, you are the master of the telling detail. You set the scene precisely and carefully and never forget to see the whole person. You are particularly good at describing what hands are doing. I think you imagine them as reflections of the minds of your characters.

Your dialogue is excellently composed and appropriate for the speaker. I never hear you echoing yourself in your creatures.

And most of all, you keep the story going at a good pace. I think I could recognize your work without your name attached because damned few writers around here combine those characteristics as you do.

Re: I

[owlmoose.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for this thoughtful (and kind!) comment. I think you're right about the hands -- I think body language is as important to dialogue as what the people are saying, and I like to be able to "see" a conversation set in a particular time and place. So I spend some time with that. Sometimes I wonder if the pace suffers for that, so your statement to the contrary is particularly gratifying. ;)

re. writing a pure villain: Good question. I don't really know; as you noted, I haven't really tried. The thing is, no one thinks that they're a villain. No one sane wakes up in the morning and says "Hmm, I think I'll do evil today"; everyone thinks they have good intentions. Everyone is the hero of their own story, and I tend to write characters with that in mind. Interesting observation; I'll have to think on it some more.

I

[kunstarniki.livejournal.com]

I agree with you that it is the rare person who decides to do evil, however I suspect there are those who do not continually weigh the consequences of actions as you and I do. I fear much evil is done thoughtlessly and out of purely selfish motives. So many people, both real and invented, consider only their own convenience and needs when choosing a path. Many of them do become villains. Take Donald Trump or Dick Cheney for a couple of examples. They may not think of themselves as villains; I doubt they think in those terms at all.

Anyway, I would greatly enjoy seeing you deal with a villain. It would be as odd as my dealing with slash. ;)