Every writer has their own style. It’s like a fingerprint. You can tell who the author of a story was by the way the tail starts and grows. By how the characters interact with each other and the world they are in. Stephen King and James Herbert are two of the horror greats but the way they right is very different. Their use of language and scenery differs greatly. Yet both of them manage to keep us hooked on every word. Where does this come from?

Well I’m going to let you into a secret. These styles and ways of writing didn’t happen overnight. The individual style can take years. When you first begin to write, you find yourself imitating your favourite writer. When I first started in what seems like a lifetime ago now, I was very much trying to emulate James Herbert. He was my favourite horror writer and I had been consuming his work like my Shih Tzu, Mabel, eats sausages. Voraciously for those who have never seen a Shih Tzu eating a sausage.

Over time I started to add in bits of other authors, most noticeably H P Lovecraft, the father of modern horror. But things still didn’t feel right. It took me a bit of time before I realised that while my writing was evolving, I was still imitating. I was writing with someone else’s voice and ignoring my own. That was a real eureka moment for me. It was the start of a new chapter. Letting go of the comfy cosiness of other peoples styles and finding my own was scary, I’m not going to lie. But at the same time it was liberating.

Once I let go of the restrictions of other writers I found myself free to truly grow. I was able to create my own worlds and give life to my own characters. For the first time, they truly were mine. That was when I knew that I had become a writer. Not only that but I had come to realise it is not just something we do but something we live. A thing we love and feel. Yes we do become emotionally invested but now it was different. Once you make that leap you find that a part of yourself is in every single aspect of your story. Yes I still have characters that I hate from the second I give them life and I pretty much have a plan for their horrible demise. And sometimes I worry about the state of my own mind when I create them. But then sanity is overrated anyway.

So don’t be afraid to let go and move out of your comfort zone. You have the story inside of you. It is your unique tale and only you can tell it. But it will never be told until you can do so in your own voice.