‘Read widely and without prejudice and have fun with it’

How do you develop your writing style?

There’s no short cut, I’m afraid. A writer’s style develops through two (lifelong!) habits: reading and writing. The more you read, the more scope you see for experimenting, and therefore finding the best voice with which to tell your story. It doesn’t have to be prescribed ‘literature’, either; read widely and without prejudice and have fun with it. Then the more you write, the more you’ll see what kind of language excites you, what feels right. No writer develops a defined style without having written reams upon reams upon reams.