writing styles...

Bonjour,

I wanted to talk about writing style. I'm reading this book called "Six Months in Sudan" about an ER doctor that joins Doctor's Without Borders. An organisation where you volunteer and are sent around the world. He initially kept a journal while in Sudan and made it a blog, then it turned into the book I'm reading. Anyway, it's a fascinating read and I really enjoy first hand accounts like this. See "A Long Way Gone" by Ishmael Beah and "4000 Days" by Warren Fellows.

Anyway, it's very interesting read because he is a doctor. He is very educated, and thus his writing is very good. His grammar and sentence structure flows and you are always understanding what points he's trying to make. Writing style is such an important part of any author's attempt at writing.

Take "Million Little Pieces", also an incredible story. This is a man that gained fame through Oprah's book club about his attempts to finally stop killing himself using hard drugs and alcohol. I mean he was lost on the streets, almost dead, completely addicted and tried to quit doing drugs and stop drinking alcohol.

his style is short
to the point
he writes with a raw style
no punctuation
it's clear
easy
sometimes fucking disturbing
but a real taste of what his addiction to drugs was like
and his subsequent rehab
it read really fast
not many words on a page
but you could feel his emotion when he put things down
it was fuckin crude, and he dealt with a lot of shit
but I really enjoyed his style...it was easy and fun to read

So when I think about how I want to write my blog, I ponder which style will be more effective. My classically trained University degree writing style
or his short
no bullshit
down on paper facts

I ponder

Anyway all of these three books are incredible stories and I recommend them all
so do it
go to the library
get the books
and witness for yourself
how writing style can really change a good book