With the flow of a pen, a world full of magical life and mythical creatures could be created; a world full of creativity. The only limit is your imagination. Writing isn’t a bad hobby to pick up and you can meet plenty of wonderful people along the way.

Writing can be hard to get into, and finding your own writing style can be even harder. The main writing styles consist of narrative, analytical, expository, persuasive and argumentative. Each style is different and has its own pros and cons. “I prefer narrative writing a bit more since most of the stories I read use that style of writing, but I think that the other writing styles are wonderful in their own way too,” senior Hannah Shapiro said.

Finding a writing style that fits you isn’t easy and it’ll take time to refine it. The best way to start writing is to start with whatever comes to mind and go from there. “I found my style by just being myself. I like to create a world, then create characters, Then, I try to envision myself as them to make my writing more personal and interesting,” junior Posimi Obidina said.

If you’re new to writing and want to begin with a specific style, narrative writing is a good place to start. Most novels use narrative writing. If you read books, novels or short stories, you are probably already familiar with this writing style. “If they are unsure, I would advise the narrative writing style since there are so many unique ways to write a story in that format,” Shapiro said.

Showing your works to others can contribute to finding your own style. It is helpful to share your work with others, if you are comfortable doing so, to receive criticism. Your peers can give you large amounts of constructive criticism as well as the support to keep on writing. “Start by writing for yourself, then build on that, and you can incorporate that into something else later on if you want. It won’t be unique if you only write for others since it’ll be what others want, and not what you want to write,” junior Yiorgo Zairis said.

To find your writing style or to improve your writing, stepping out of your comfort zone is imperative. When you try out different writing styles and broaden your horizons, it will help you figure out what writing style works best for you. Even if the writing styles you try out don’t work out, you will have had the experience of trying that style. “I try to incorporate different themes, solely for [the] sake of people who will read my stories, I try to incorporate that into my writing,” Zairis said.

Each writing style is different, and everyone’s motivation to write is also different. The motivation to write can be powerful and can inspire others. One such example is Zairis’ story. “My grandfather passed away. It was an emotional time, and during that time, my mom would read me stories before bed. I realized that I wanted to do that with other people and wanted to write something inspiring and something that they can take comfort in and something that they would enjoy,” Zairis said.