Thlog #5: A Thlog With Style

This week was all about style. The best part was probably the fact that we got to listen to Sublime in class, which I doubt happens very often in other writing classes. We discussed style as a whole, which I had thought about before but never too in depth. I've been thinking about it a lot and maybe my writing style is also non-denominational hipster garbage, but I think I like it so I'll try to make my writing as mine as possible (does that make sense?) The weirdest thing about this week was the way that moves and style changed meaning for me. They are two words I use constantly but had never stopped to consider. It was a pretty cool learning experience because it made me think a lot about my own writing style and moves I use. I went back to my high school writing assignments and noticed that a lot of the time I start out papers with a personal first paragraph, a quote, or a question. It is weird to think I had never noticed this--I guess I kind of knew that I had a writing style but it had never hit me that I had actual moves that I've been unconsciously for years. I know this thlog sounds a bit like rambling but that is exactly how my brain feels, too! Looking back at my previous work kind of blew my mind (both because of the moves I found and because of how bad it was). One of the things that really stuck with me this week is how style is developed. I even remembered a little thing an artist I like once explained; someone asked her "How do you develop an art style?" to which she replied "Just pick a style you already like and fu*k it up as much as possible until you make it your own," or something along those lines. I realized that my style may not be completely unique to me but is a compilation of writing styles I have been exposed to and have picked apart and combined to make my own. I also realized my style is constantly changing but there are little moves here and there that have stuck around, and they are what make my style my style. I am looking forward to seeing how my style will change this year... Maybe it already has.