Style and Preference

While there are many tips and editorial guidelines on writing, there is in the real world not a particular way of writing that is absolutely good or bad when it comes to style and preference.

Hired writers are often told to write in a particular style, such as formal or social, but much really depend on one’s adaptability and personality. A writer may masquerade a persona that is not one’s own character but will never derive satisfaction from such writings simply because the content does not bring out who the writer is.

So what do we do when we are paid to write what the hirers want us to? We need to find a balance between who we are, and who we are not. Yes, if we are writing for blogs or for the social media, we need to express in our writings the playful side of our personality even if we are not fun-loving. No doubt, there are blogs and social network pages that prefer serious content, but more often than not, we are still expected to bounce off new ideas to write in moods that are vibrant and constantly changing.

Adaptability is therefore about changing the way we write, and sometimes changing ourselves to see things differently and more creatively in varied moods. We may need to work ourselves into feeling good and happy most of the time, yet we must not lose ourselves in the process. Our preferred writing style is best to be flexible so we can tweak to fit, if writing for an organization or non-fiction.

Are we flexible enough to write differently without putting on a mask? If we are able to, then the battle is won between giving ourselves up to hirer’s preference and deriving satisfaction from our writings.