By Natalia Tomczak
Opinions Editor
Obsession with style suffocates creativity. In a world of algorithms, we’re constantly fed the message that consistency and style are everything. But when writing is endlessly polished, at what point does the message fade away?
By all means, polish your writing until it is dull! Box yourself into one style! Readers will marvel at how meaningless it is! Inspire them with your singularity!
A point can be made for the necessity of style and consistency in writing. But in a world of artificial intelligence, creativity is a unique gift, and using it wisely is a protest against the idea that writing is strictly formulaic. Style can be replicated, but unpredictability cannot be automated.
Writing is an act of freedom. From the moment the thoughts form, to the second the paragraphs construct themselves, writing is liberation.
It would be a paradoxical argument to say that style constrains it, because is not the act of writing still an act of freedom? Therefore, it would be weak to compare writing style to a kind of prison, because it is by no means punishment nor is it torturous, until, of course, it is. Rather, style is more like an imaginary box. Imagination cannot constrain you, can it?
But the concept of a signature style is a trap — one that has replaced fluidity. For example, I may feel confident in knowing who I am today, but when I look back with hindsight, I see how much more I’ve learned about my identity as the years passed, and I foresee more learning is to come.
Identity is not always static. If I stick to one style, I might find I’ve outgrown it; to cling to it is to allow it to hold me back.
Many writers have seen their styles change over the years. Ernest Hemingway, known for his journalistic style, was a staple in many classic American novels, was known for writing with short sentences and punchy descriptions. He later wrote in a style more lyrical and symbolic, like in “The Old Man and The Sea.”
Had Hemingway stuck to only one type of style, we would not have known the beauty of what other kinds of writing he was capable of. The duality is impressive.
An icon of the American novel, Hemingway’s “style” still shifted. Does that make him a traitor to his own self? Or does that make him the hero? If the human experience is dynamic, it makes sense that someone’s writing journey will be too.
You don't need to have a “style” to be memorable. To argue that a distinct, static, curated style is of utmost importance is to argue that this, too, is how humans ought to be. We are not machines. Free yourself from the invisible chains of style and pursue creation.
