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Writing Styles

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MarkPhoenix
Male Author

USA
Posts: 159
#1 | Posted: 6 Apr 2011 00:18
As I mentioned on another topic, my favorite spanking writer is probably the multi-pseudonymous Will Henry. I've made a couple of attempts to write a spanking story, but I realized that they were reading like someone was copying Will Henry's writing style. (And if I can realize it, I'm pretty sure that anyone else reading it would reach the same conclusion.)

So, my question is this: How can I make it a little less obvious as to who my primary influence is? Any suggestions?

njrick
Male Author

USA
SUBSCRIBER

Posts: 2971
#2 | Posted: 6 Apr 2011 00:32
MarkPhoenix

What's wrong with copying another writer's style? I've written stories where I purposely did that. Figure out what you want to say in a story, say it, and if it happens to read similar to Will Henry then so be it. The more you write, the more you'll develop your own style.

rollin
Male Member

USA
Posts: 938
#3 | Posted: 6 Apr 2011 00:42
I actually tried to write like Henry when I started and you can see his influence, I think, in my earlier stories like Health Club. What really marks him though is the way he employed point of view. He relied heavily on the "third person account" point of view for many of his "documentary" style books. In others I think it was particular turns of phrase he frequently used. They are very stylistically his own. I have a couple of 3rd person account POV stories, namely Gwen's Sorority Days, but I don't think it sounds like Henry (well, maybe a little).

One of the big decisions an author makes is to settle on POV. Telling a story in the 1st person is very different from 3rd person. And there are different types of 3rd person POV. All this drives the "voice" of the story, and from there, the style. So try different POV's and see if your style doesn't evolve into its own.
For example look at the difference it makes to shift from 1st person, like in my "Farm of the Delphian Sisterhood" to 3rd person in "LaForge" and "Thermopolis Springs", even though they are all parts of the same story.

Also, who the characters are determines to a large degree the voice of the story. Are they young or old, country folk or city slickers? is 2001 or 1901? All of this makes a huge difference.

SNM
Male Author

USA
Posts: 695
#4 | Posted: 6 Apr 2011 01:14
Borrow turns of phrase, and eventually you'll be able to start turning your own. But that takes time. Personally, I very often have a writing style I'm going for when I work (whether its for a spanking story or anything else), and I see nothing wrong with it. Your own voice emerges from the bits and pieces that you borrow.

On a slightly relevant topic, who exactly is this Will Henry guy I've been hearing about for months?

rollin
Male Member

USA
Posts: 938
#5 | Posted: 6 Apr 2011 01:28
Will Henry was one of the two American authors who wrote a ton of spanking novels in thr 60's and 70's. Along with a guy named Paul Little who wrote as A de Granamour, Jack Warren, and many others they penned nearly every spanking novel printed and sold in American porn stores in those days. Remember at one time they were called "adult bookstores". Henry wrote "Spanking Stewardesses", "Suburban Spanking" "Modern Spanking", "Spanking and the Single Girl" just to name a few. cfpub will weigh in on this and he knows a lot more than I do. They are now almost public domain and can be bought in ebook form from olympiapress.com for $1 each.

cfpub
Male Author

USA
Posts: 124
#6 | Posted: 6 Apr 2011 06:04
You rang, Sir? I would mention that my favorite two are Modern Spanking and Spankmanship.
Just to pick nits, I am not sure that I agree with Rollin that he relied predominately on 3rd person account, while true in many of his novels like Spanking Stewardesses, Modern Spanking and Spankmanship rely mostly on a series of first person accounts. What he did do in most of his books was not truly write novels, rather they were a series of short episodes, thus resembling the Mr. and Your Romance letters than such true spanking novels as The Tutor.

billboard
Male Author

USA
Posts: 93
#7 | Posted: 6 Apr 2011 14:53
I agree with those who say styles evolve. Write one or two stories of your own, let them sit for a week or two and then rewrite them. It's amazing how different those two versions can be. And, before you post those first one or two - get someone to preview your work as well as the story or stories/author that inspired it and get that objective third party to give you some honest feedback. If they say it's very recognizable, change it; if it's not, then post it.

Honest feedback is as valuable as gold and both are valuable because they are rare. After my first post here, I got the usual warm welcome that newcomers get. I exchanged a further popup message with Jools, which led to a few more and she gently explained that the way I wrote the dialogue made it difficult to read. I asked if she'd like to preview my next one and she did. She showed me what she meant, and she was spot on, so I improved. I told her and I'll say again that the friend I always want is one who will tell me when I've got spinach stuck in my front teeth.

-bb

rollin
Male Member

USA
Posts: 938
#8 | Posted: 6 Apr 2011 17:23
cfpub:
I am not sure that I agree with Rollin that he relied predominately on 3rd person account,

I misspoke. I did mean to say that they were accounts that were "told" to the author by some third person, who says "here's what happened to me". Yes, they were a lot like the Mr. letters. This POV focuses the reader on the person telling the tale and was a hallmark of Will Henry's style. There were some third person POV novels, however, that did not rely on the 1st person account, like Suburban Spanking.

MarkPhoenix
Male Author

USA
Posts: 159
#9 | Posted: 7 Apr 2011 00:08
njrick:
What's wrong with copying another writer's style?

In my case, it feels like they're coming off as too much of a copy of Will Henry, if you know what I mean. I don't mind acknowledging that he's an inspiration; I just don't want it to read like I lifted a chapter from one of his books, changed the names (and a few other details), and submitted it to the Library.

Of course, now having said this, if I ever do submit a story, I suspect that I am going to have several of you comparing it to Mr. Henry's works.

MarkPhoenix
Male Author

USA
Posts: 159
#10 | Posted: 7 Apr 2011 00:14
cfpub:
What he did do in most of his books was not truly write novels, rather they were a series of short episodes, thus resembling the Mr. and Your Romance letters than such true spanking novels as The Tutor.

That could be said of just about any adult novel, whether it involved spanking or not. I think the words I have used to describe them are, "they have just enough plot to make a more or less smooth transition from one sex scene to the next."

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