After reading Kurt Vonnegut’s essay, “How to Write with Style,” I believed Vonnegut was trying to give readers a specific guideline on how to achieve an influential voice or writing style by being who you are. Vonnegut talks about making sure you are genuine when writing and focuses on keeping things simple, while sounding like yourself. We shouldn’t write like the next person. We should write in our own way.
“I myself find that I trust my own writing most, and others seem to trust it most too, when I sound most like a person from Indianapolis, which is what I am.” This quote says to just be who you are and people will trust that. It adds a personal touch to your writing and is sincere. It will sound best if it’s done in your own style. Style does not have to be the way a person uses certain words, but perhaps the uniqueness of attention-grabbing ideas being used in the writing. He talks about sounding natural. I agree with this. When you write, you don’t want to sound like an echo of someone else because it will not catch the readers’ attention. It will be not interesting and may sound forged or fake. If your writing mimics someone else’s, then it is not actually your own writing.
Vonnegut talks about saying what you mean. Not necessarily using massive words, but to make sure the reader understands what you are talking about, and can relate in a sense. Make sure you are writing about something you feel a certain type of way about. This will ensure that you are genuine and sound like you, using your own style of writing. In doing this, make sure to keep it simple and to the point, without rambling on. “Simplicity of language is not only reputable, but perhaps even sacred.” This quote says we should choose to write more simply, rather than using long sentences that we tend to not understand as much. The message tends to be clear and the point is more obvious when keeping things simple. He makes some good points and suggests some key...