EXPLORING DIFFERENT WRITING STYLES - A Guest Post By Nadine Brandes

Nadine Brandes learned to write her alphabet with a fountain pen. In Kindergarten. Cool, huh? Maybe that's what started her love for writing. She started journaling at age nine and thus began her habit of communicating via pen and paper more than spoken words. She never decided to become a writer. Her brain simply classified it as a necessity to life.

Nadine is a stay-at-home author and writes stories about authentic faith, bold living, and worlds soaked in imagination. She lives in Idaho with her husband and works as a freelance editor. When she's not writing, editing, or taste-testing a new chai, she is out pursuing adventures. A Time to Die was her first novel, A Time to Speak, her second. Visit Nadine at www.nadinebrandes.com.

It’s easy to get in a writing rut.

I’m not talking about voice or plot or writer’s block, or getting stuck in flat characters. I’m talking about how you write your manuscript. I’m guessing that 99% of us write it on our computers. We type our stories. Why? Because it’s faster, because it’s harder to misplace a computer than it is to lose a notebook, and because … word counts, duh! That beautiful little word count button is our best friend (or sometimes worst enemy … like during NaNo.) ;-)

But have you ever thought about the different formats in which we could write a book? And how that might change how we write it? I’ve given this a lot of thought and, coming January 1^st, I’ll be writing my next book … by hand.

I know. I’m crazy. But let me explain.

Writing by hand causes me to:

·         Write slower and really think through a scene. Every sentence is more intentional.

·         Sit in a different posture. Instead of looking straight at the story on my computer screen, I’m looking down at the paper. Even that change in posture can affect the way you think. Just think about where you direct your gaze during the every-day. When I’m thinking hard, I look up. When I’m brainstorming, I’ll look sideways. Etc. The very posture of your body can stimulate a different way of thinking.

·         Experience writing in a new way. We all find the stories of Josephine March poring over her stacks of paper in Little Women or Beatrix Potter from the movie Miss Potter or Anne writing her first book for Gilbert in Anne of Avonlea (movie) ROMANTIC. (Don’t deny it. And, if you don’t know any of these stories, go watch ALL THOSE MOVIES RIGHT NOW. This blog post will wait for you. ;) ) Why do we find it so romantic or nostalgic or appealing? Write a book by hand and see for yourself.

Complaint: But…but…hand cramps!

Answer: Take breaks! Or use a fountain pen. ;-)

Complaint: But…but…word counts!

Answer: Count up the number of words on about 3 pages, then add and divide by 3 to get an average. Voila, you can now get a good estimate of your word count. Besides, you’ll be typing up the completed draft on the computer at some point anyway.

What prompted me to go insane and commit to writing a book by hand? I started studying “the greats.” You know – the old people who wrote old books and got fantasy and sci fi onto the shelves (I’m talking C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien.) I loved exploring their writing habits and I started to wonder what we might have lost when computers came into the picture.

Then this thought struck me: I hate reading books on my computer screen. It feels impersonal. I use my Kindle only when I have to. So, if I don’t like reading books in an electronic format, why would I want to write one in an electronic format? It’s a huge difference. The same difference between holding a paperback versus holding a Nook in your hands.

We all have a preference. Why is that? I mean, the story’s the same, but the way we perceive the story is different. How can we capture and explore that beauty in our writing? It’s an adventure – one that’s sitting there and waiting for anyone who wants to write.

Let’s step forward and journey together. J

I’ve started a list of all the different ways I want to write a book. And I will be committing to this:

1. By hand – I’ll be doing this with a fountain pen since that’s what I learned to write with.

2. On a typewriter (my husband bought me one from 1936 – isn’t he the best?! – but you can probably borrow one or maybe even rent one from somewhere, or even find a cheapy in an old antique or thrift store.)

3. Outside (yes, even in winter.) – I want to write the entire story in the outdoors, surrounded by living sounds, scents, seasons…etc.

4. While traveling. Seriously – on a train, in a car, on a plane, on a boat. The whole book must be written in movement.

The world is your toolbox, writer. Just think of all the tools you haven’t tested yet—posture, location, writing tool (pen vs. pencil vs typewriter vs. wax tablet vs. quill.) Don’t you want to explore this world of writing?

I know I do.

So here’s my challenge to you: Try a different style of writing for a day. Or even for an hour. If you’re brave enough, commit to a different one each week and see which one fits you the best.

Then tell me about it. We’re adventurers at heart. Let’s be adventurers in action, too. Our stories (and readers) will thank us for it.

What do you think of this idea of exploring different writing styles? Insane? Awesome? Weird?

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Jill here! What an intriguing idea, Nadine. I'm curious to hear how your writing goes. I've always brainstormed in notebooks, but I've never written a book that way.

To thank Nadine for coming on the blog, we're giving away a paperback copy of either A Time to Die (Book one) OR A Time to Speak (Book two), whichever the winner chooses. I loved both of these books and am anxiously waiting for book three! Here's a little more about book one, and you can enter on the Rafflecopter form below.

How would you live if you knew the day you'd die? 

Parvin Blackwater believes she has wasted her life. At only seventeen, she has one year left according to the Clock by her bedside. In a last-ditch effort to make a difference, she tries to rescue Radicals from the government’s crooked justice system. 

But when the authorities find out about her illegal activity, they cast her through the Wall -- her people's death sentence. What she finds on the other side about the world, about eternity, and about herself changes Parvin forever and might just save her people. But her clock is running out.

a Rafflecopter giveaway