A Matter Of Style

I suppose it’s natural to be self critical. Mrs. Lion and I write every day. I am also a regular reader of other related blogs. I compare what I write with what other bloggers produce. Each blogger has an individual style. I truly enjoy the diversity. Then I start thinking about what I write.

There are choices on how to approach writing. Some of them are what I call journalistic. Mrs. Lion and I fall into that genre. Others are story form. Of course, you can slice and dice writing styles a million ways. But for now, lets just look at these two, very-different approaches.

Story style writing tends to be slice-of-life narratives. They feature highly descriptive language and generally include dialog. Here’s an example I created to describe my recent inability to get aroused:

It was time for her to have some fun. She told me it was time for her to take an orgasm from me. She didn’t wait for me to react. She pulled the blanket off me and began caressing my cock and balls. I stayed soft.

“Come on, up boy,” she ordered.

“I’m trying Ma’am”

“Can’t you see I am playing with you?”

“Yes, but I just can’t get hard.”

She shook her head and moved away. “This isn’t what I expect from you,” she said.

“I’m sorry.”

“Let’s wait a couple of weeks and see if you haven’t learned to behave properly.” …

Depending on the writer, the dialogue could be more elaborate and go into lengthy descriptions of how she moved her hand, my struggle to get aroused, etc. The story paints a picture you can see in your imagination.

I like that sort of writing. I like it a lot. But over time it becomes less a playback of reality and more an impressionistic painting of a power exchange. At best it is an accurate picture of an interesting piece of time. This style is frequently used in books on sexual subjects. A picture, even a mental one, is much more vivid than exposition.

But then, why do Mrs. Lion and I choose to write in a narrative style?  My reason is that I want to share more than my experience. Creating a dialogue, even an inner one, makes it more difficult for the reader to see changes over time. Also, the story format doesn’t lend itself to exposition; explanation of reasons things do or don’t happen.

Both Mrs. Lion and I reported on my erectile problems. You read her account of what happened and how she decided to handle the issue. I wrote about how I felt and how I worried the change might be long term or permanent.

The difference in the two styles is that the story style created a movie of events. You, the reader, can put yourself into role of one of the people in the scene. It’s a visceral experience. It can arouse, frighten, or perhaps amuse you. My account provided very little imagination fodder. But it gave a view of what happened, like you were reading a newspaper.

Neither approach is better than the other. It’s the writer’s choice. More importantly, it’s your choice. You decide what you want to read. If you’re like me, you like both styles. Each affects you differently. It doesn’t matter. If you come back to see what’s happening in our lives, then our approach appeals to you. If you also want a more experiential read, you know where you can find that too.

I admire good descriptive language. Some of the blogs in our list of blogs we read are incredible examples of storytelling. Others are like ours and provide a more “newsy’ approach. Isn’t it nice we can enjoy both?