The Perfect Equation: Reading + Reading = Developing Your Own Style

You may be questioning the title of my latest post. Well, I got inspired to write about it because I am reading Ernesto Sabato’s The Tunnel, whose controlled and factual style, I find fascinating.

One of my mentors once said that writing cannot be taught, only learned. He further explained that a writer can only learn by reading and writing. Lecturing about style was not enough, he told us. Each writer develops his/her own writing style by reading a lot of books, he then added. You can learn from the Masters but you cannot duplicate their style.

Well, it turns out he was right. I’ve noticed (and my mentors, too) that my style has evolved since I started writing and continues to do so. I owe it all to the many books I’ve read and my mentors, of course. When I write, I fuse different styles and make them my own, always keeping in mind what works better for the story.

Do you think your writing style has changed over time? Whose style do you emulate?