How to Teach Yourself to Write Like Your Favorite Author

Developing a writing style is difficult. One of the best ways to hone writing skills is writing what you love. To do this, it is beneficial to teach yourself to write your favorite authors. Emulating successful authors allows you to get a feel for pacing and style while developing your own writing voice.

Things You'll Need

• Book by favorite author
• Notecards
• Highlighters

Instructions

1. Read a book by your favorite author. Reading is a necessary part of writing. The author's style must be fresh in your mind to successfully integrate their style into your own.

2. Pay attention to the way your favorite author uses language to pull the reader into the story. It is the language the author uses that transforms those words into a story. Maybe the story full of metaphors, or humorously written. Figuring out exactly why your favorite author's use of words appeals to you will go a long way in teaching you how to use words in your own writing.

3. Keep notecards and highlighters nearby as you read the book. Write down how the author introduces plot. Use different colored highlighters to distinguish the separate plots and subplots. Take note of the way the author transitions in and out of scenes. Understanding how the writer uses transitions will give you the tools to make your story to flow seamlessly.

4. Study the way that the author uses characterization. Highlight passages that help you visualize characters, be they dialogue or description. In this way, your favorite author can teach you how to write flesh onto your own character's bones.

5. Write your own story. Imitating style will get you started, but eventually your own voice will shine through. Your work can remind a reader stylistically of your favorite author, but focusing your own voice will allow you to become someone else's favorite author.