Comparing Styles

I don’t usually spend much time trying to compare my writing to other authors’ (which is probably why I’m terrible at coming up with comparable titles when asked to, but that’s a matter for another post.)

No, today I’m actually considering stylistic similarities between my writing and another’s.

This all started last year when I started receiving reviews that mentioned my writing is stylistically similar to John Gwynne’s. I hadn’t read any of his works at that point, and it took me until a couple weeks ago to begin that journey.

As many of you know, I take book review requests off and on, and as such, my to-read list is ridiculous at times. I made it one of my goals for 2024 to focus more on books I want to read, and that included The Faithful and the Fallen series by John Gwynne. This series has been on my radar for years, but I wanted to make a point of reading it to see if what the reviewers said is true.

I want to point out that the reviewers who have mentioned this have all reviewed books in The Caein Legacy series, which is written in first-person with a single point of view. The Faithful and the Fallen is in third-person and features multiple points of view. In that regard, the two are very different.

However…

I can actually see marked similarities in phrasing, in how descriptions are made, and in the word flow. Going in, I wasn’t sure if I’d see that at all. But I did, which was really cool.

Side note: I was initially doubtful because I’ve also had reviewers compare one of the characters in my Relics of War series to The Scorpion King movie, and I have no idea where they’re coming up with that. I watched the movie after seeing the comparison several times, and to my mind, they’re nothing alike, with the exception of having “scorpion” as part of their name. My opinion: in terms of action, the movie is fine, even if some of the scenes are unrealistic. The story line is…okay, but definitely has some flaws. It’s not one I’ll be watching again.

So back to the topic at hand.

I think the reviewers comparing styles are actually on to something. But what I’m now curious about is this: Would they say the same thing if they read my Relics of War series?

My style isn’t different between the two series (it’s my style after all), but The Relics of War is written in third-person and features multiple points of view, just as Gwynne’s series does. I have yet to see anyone compare that series stylistically to another author—but those who commented on The Caein Legacy have not (at least to my knowledge) read The Relics of War. It will be interesting to see if they do one day… And if they feel the same.

And I’ve come away from this personal investigation of mine with something useful too. I now have an author I can compare my work to should the need arise. I didn’t really have that before.

So thank you to those reviewers for pointing me toward John Gwynne’s books. (They’ve also been great reads so far.)