In the style of…

I was set a writing task last week, to write a piece in the style of a famous writer. It was not something I’d ever thought of doing, and have no where near finished it, but found it surprising, how difficult it was, firstly, to decide on a style, and secondly, to actually focus on writing in that style.

I circled through several different options, ranging from Sylvia Plath, to Sue Mayfield, to John Marsden, to Emily Bronte, before finally deciding on Jane Austen. I chose her style, because it is a completely different style to my normal style of writing. It is a classical style, which shows major preoccupation with decorum, etiquette, and behaving in a proper way. Austen uses these conventions, and then presents challenges to them, generally through the voice of her main character. Austen is very socially conscious, and her characters, although central, are almost secondary to the plot. She is not a hysterical writer, and does not focus on the innermost workings of her character’s minds. The idea of experimenting with this style appealed to me for just this reason. I always focus on the internal worlds of my characters, and tend to neglect the external. It will be interesting for me to develop this story, and see if I can change my style or not. Watch this space…