Should I be worried about my prose style changing over the course of a single novel?

[Loewenmensch]

Like the title says. I'm very conscious that my current project is a developmental thing for me: I've never tried to write something of this length before, and I'm learning as I go along when it comes to things like pacing and handling multiple plotlines. I think how I handle these things will change as the work progresses, and probably for the better—so I just hope the early chapters are "good enough" that readers won't bail out early.

But another thing that's changing, I think, that worries me more: the prose style. I wrote the first couple of chapters in a detached style with relatively little sensory description, almost no metaphors, and a general sparseness. This was intentional: I was terrified of lapsing into purple prose. But as I keep writing, I find I want to make the narration more of a movie. But this would mean writing in a significantly different, less restrained style.

From another direction, since I'm writing to a self-imposed deadline of two 2000+ word chapters a week, I find I have less time to rewrite and work over the prose, meaning that it's probably looser and sloppier, too. (I should add that I do use AI to draft some scenes, just to give me a template for the pacing and level of detail, but I always rewrite it myself: I never paste AI-generated prose directly into my manuscript. Nonetheless, I wonder if the hacky, first-idea's-good-enough style of most AI-generated prose is influencing me.)

These two issues come together in one particular way: During the first few chapters, I was trying hard to use a different prose style for each character's (third-person limited) narration. For example, using different sentence and paragraph lengths, or different kinds of vocabulary, depending on who the viewpoint character is. But in the last few chapters it feels like I'm writing in a similar style for everyone, and I feel okay about this because it makes it easier to focus on the story instead of on tweaking the style.

Is it artistically damaging, and/or offputting to readers, for the prose style to change over the course of a novel? I really don't want to keep going back and making new versions of the earlier chapters, because it will cut into my time and motivation for writing new chapters. But am I shooting myself in the foot?

 

[KoyukiMegumi]

Is it artistically damaging, and/or offputting to readers, for the prose style to change over the course of a novel? I really don't want to keep going back and making new versions of the earlier chapters, because it will cut into my time and motivation for writing new chapters. But am I shooting myself in the foot?

Change is good. However, if you don't update the old to the new, you could just end up with a bunch of plot holes and inconsistencies with the end product.

What we usually show readers are drafts. And those can change with time.

 

[Enkiari]

I personally think you should keep your style consistent.
Some drift is inevitable if your story gets long, but most people won't notice if it is gradual.
Especially if you are new to writing, you'll improve rapidly as you go.

That said, after checking your linked story, it is 14k words long.
If you plan to switch your style, it is a good idea to go back and redo the beginning.
I'll be honest, 14k words is not very much. People will notice.

But also... I don't think anyone will mind it. Some might even praise you for improving your writing so quickly.
Well, that's my two cents. Good luck!

 

[Loewenmensch]

Change is good. However, if you don't update the old to the new, you could just end up with a bunch of plot holes and inconsistencies with the end product.

What we usually show readers are drafts. And those can change with time.

I mean, another reason I avoid changing previous chapters is because it forces me to make my new chapters consistent with what came before, instead of changing the previous part in ways that could lead to a cascade of continuity problems. I imagine once the whole thing is completed it would be good to go back and revise it just to clear up the small clunkinesses and inconsistencies that are inevitable, but revising as I go seems incredibly dangerous—the process is complicated enough, and losing the solid bedrock of previous chapters would make it unmanageable for me.

 

[KoyukiMegumi]

I mean, another reason I avoid changing previous chapters is because it forces me to make my new chapters consistent with what came before, instead of changing the previous part in ways that could lead to a cascade of continuity problems. I imagine once the whole thing is completed it would be good to go back and revise it just to clear up the small clunkinesses and inconsistencies that are inevitable, but revising as I go seems incredibly dangerous—the process is complicated enough, and losing the solid bedrock of previous chapters would make it unmanageable for me.

I don't publish my novels until they're done. Then I just revise as I go. After letting it sit for some time.

But yes, you could do that.

 

[ElijahRyne]

Like the title says. I'm very conscious that my current project is a developmental thing for me: I've never tried to write something of this length before, and I'm learning as I go along when it comes to things like pacing and handling multiple plotlines. I think how I handle these things will change as the work progresses, and probably for the better—so I just hope the early chapters are "good enough" that readers won't bail out early.

But another thing that's changing, I think, that worries me more: the prose style. I wrote the first couple of chapters in a detached style with relatively little sensory description, almost no metaphors, and a general sparseness. This was intentional: I was terrified of lapsing into purple prose. But as I keep writing, I find I want to make the narration more of a movie. But this would mean writing in a significantly different, less restrained style.

From another direction, since I'm writing to a self-imposed deadline of two 2000+ word chapters a week, I find I have less time to rewrite and work over the prose, meaning that it's probably looser and sloppier, too. (I should add that I do use AI to draft some scenes, just to give me a template for the pacing and level of detail, but I always rewrite it myself: I never paste AI-generated prose directly into my manuscript. Nonetheless, I wonder if the hacky, first-idea's-good-enough style of most AI-generated prose is influencing me.)

These two issues come together in one particular way: During the first few chapters, I was trying hard to use a different prose style for each character's (third-person limited) narration. For example, using different sentence and paragraph lengths, or different kinds of vocabulary, depending on who the viewpoint character is. But in the last few chapters it feels like I'm writing in a similar style for everyone, and I feel okay about this because it makes it easier to focus on the story instead of on tweaking the style.

Is it artistically damaging, and/or offputting to readers, for the prose style to change over the course of a novel? I really don't want to keep going back and making new versions of the earlier chapters, because it will cut into my time and motivation for writing new chapters. But am I shooting myself in the foot?

I don’t think it matters as long as the change is gradual and you don’t wish to publish it professionally.

 

[IanWhite2105]

Like the title says. I'm very conscious that my current project is a developmental thing for me: I've never tried to write something of this length before, and I'm learning as I go along when it comes to things like pacing and handling multiple plotlines. I think how I handle these things will change as the work progresses, and probably for the better—so I just hope the early chapters are "good enough" that readers won't bail out early.

But another thing that's changing, I think, that worries me more: the prose style. I wrote the first couple of chapters in a detached style with relatively little sensory description, almost no metaphors, and a general sparseness. This was intentional: I was terrified of lapsing into purple prose. But as I keep writing, I find I want to make the narration more of a movie. But this would mean writing in a significantly different, less restrained style.

From another direction, since I'm writing to a self-imposed deadline of two 2000+ word chapters a week, I find I have less time to rewrite and work over the prose, meaning that it's probably looser and sloppier, too. (I should add that I do use AI to draft some scenes, just to give me a template for the pacing and level of detail, but I always rewrite it myself: I never paste AI-generated prose directly into my manuscript. Nonetheless, I wonder if the hacky, first-idea's-good-enough style of most AI-generated prose is influencing me.)

These two issues come together in one particular way: During the first few chapters, I was trying hard to use a different prose style for each character's (third-person limited) narration. For example, using different sentence and paragraph lengths, or different kinds of vocabulary, depending on who the viewpoint character is. But in the last few chapters it feels like I'm writing in a similar style for everyone, and I feel okay about this because it makes it easier to focus on the story instead of on tweaking the style.

Is it artistically damaging, and/or offputting to readers, for the prose style to change over the course of a novel? I really don't want to keep going back and making new versions of the earlier chapters, because it will cut into my time and motivation for writing new chapters. But am I shooting myself in the foot?

If your writing has improved over the course of it, then it is a good idea to revisit earlier chapters and fix them up. Though it is best to not make any drastic changes to the actually plot or overall substance but instead focus on the writing itself.

 

[LilRora]

I don't think there's a single right answer to that. In general, you should keep your style consistent, but there's a lot of cases where a change in style can be very on point. If it's possible, I would try to change the tone of the story, the plot, or the characters together with writing style. That, however, is assuming your outline is flexible and you have the leeway to switch things up.

If it's not possible, the change should be gradual - I'm assuming it is. And good point - changing the earlier chapters to fit is also a good solution, but it can easily backfire if you start overthinking or get lost in the revisions.

I personally would keep the story as is for the meantime, inform the readers it's likely you'll rewrite it when you're done, and, if the motivation stays with you, revise all of it later. If you're doing that, try to keep at least a very rough outline of things you'd like to change, maybe also those you want to stay the same, so you don't forget after the weeks or months before then.

 

[J_Chemist]

Nyes.

You shouldn't change your style or narration technique drastically over the course of the novel. Your readers will get used to one style and if they like that style, they might drop your novel due to the change.

Yes, your skill will improve with time and you'll learn new techniques that you should apply to your story in order.to make it "better". However, the style and method of how you write the story should be kept generally the same. Otherwise, it'll shift too much and it'll be like reading two separate novels at some point.

 

[melchi]

I think the style doesn't matter so much. What will turn people off more is doing things that readers don't like.

For example: Head hopping. If the bulk of the first part of the work is from one character's POV then it changes to switching between POVs often that is head hopping, it is not a good habit.

Narration style IMO is not as important to dialogue style. If a character has certain things that are a signature to that character but then they don't anymore it'll make it harder for readers to follow.

Jane is the girl with .. .

Jill is the girl with . . .

If they start lacking that one thing that clues readers into who they are it makes it harder to follow.

 

[Deleted member 84247]

Improvement is good. As long as you develop your own author voice. I have a style unique to myself, and even when I got better at writing, the core part of my voice didn't change. I can tell when reading my old stuff. The writing is worse, but the voice is similar. I think that is true for most.

 

[TheEldritchGod]

Change is good.

NO! CHANGE IS BAD!
THE SUN HAS MOVED IN THE SKY AND I DISTRUST IT ENTIRELY!
STATIC IS JUSTICE!!!

 

[2wordsperminute]

It's a different medium, but manga artists' artstyles tend to change over the course of a long series. 99.9% of the time it's not a bad thing. As long as it isn't a sudden jump to a new style, a lot of readers probably wouldn't notice unless they go back and re-read older chapters.

 

[LuoirM]

Character development is fine even if the character is the author

 

[Loewenmensch]

For example: Head hopping. If the bulk of the first part of the work is from one character's POV then it changes to switching between POVs often that is head hopping, it is not a good habit.

I thought head hopping referred to switching POVs within the same scene. If I have several POV characters in the same chapter, but only one for any given scene, are readers going to be upset by that?

 

[EliseValkyria]

Author of over 280 chapters here, so I want to contribute my small piece on the subject.

First of all, don't be afraid of change. It's clear that it will happen over time, it's inevitable. Why? Simple, because you'll likely become a better writer. Even if you don't want to, just by the act of writing, you'll improve. The bad writers are those who never change despite knowing they make mistakes and do nothing to fix them.

Now, about changing the "style" of your novel, that's a bit different.

What readers generally want is a distinctive style in your work, but you shouldn't let it be the only thing in it. To put it another way, if your work is a romantic comedy, it's a given that your readers expect most chapters to be about comedy and romance. However, the secret lies in that word "most". There can also be room for sad or dramatic moments in your work; in fact, it's even advisable to give each character humanity. Just remember to keep the majority of the chapters focused on the main theme.

In my novel, I write in the first person from the protagonist's point of view. He constantly narrates what happens to him and what he thinks, as well as the decisions he makes with the lack or presence of information at that moment. However, every now and then I change the narration in a couple of chapters to show a new angle or information to the reader. It's something like a special chapter where the narrative shifts, sometimes it's a secondary character close to the protagonist. For example, at one point, the protagonist appears to die in a plane accident, and the next chapter is from the mother's point of view, going through the slow agony of receiving the news and trying to find out what happened. Then, in the next chapter, I return to the main protagonist, who is back with his mother again.

Sometimes when I narrate a legend within the lore of the novel, I switch to an omniscient narrator to reflect that it's a story within a story. Other times, in some chapters, I write as if it were a secondary character writing a diary and try to reflect their personality with their writing style. On one occasion, I challenged myself to have the protagonist mention a slightly boring past adventure of his, but in the form of rhyme and poetry to make it more entertaining.

And so far, nobody has complained about this.

But the secret is to keep a majority of chapters in the main style of your story. For instance, aim to have about 20 new chapters, with only three not featuring the protagonist. I hope that makes sense.

 

[melchi]

I thought head hopping referred to switching POVs within the same scene. If I have several POV characters in the same chapter, but only one for any given scene, are readers going to be upset by that?

Only speaking for myself, but it depends on how long the chapter is. There was a fiction I thought was good starting out, but then the writing style changed. The chapters were about 1500 words a pop and some of the chapters had 3 different pov switches in different locations. It was jarring enough that I dropped it after the author kept doing that. It begs the question, why not combine the 3 pov switches, about 500 words a pop for one 1500 word chapter from that pov.

That being said, there are good reasons to switch POV. If your main character is OP, and is going to face stomp an enemy in an overwhelming victory switching the POV to not-the-main-character will make them seem like less of a bully.

 

[TheMonotonePuppet]

Like the title says. I'm very conscious that my current project is a developmental thing for me: I've never tried to write something of this length before, and I'm learning as I go along when it comes to things like pacing and handling multiple plotlines. I think how I handle these things will change as the work progresses, and probably for the better—so I just hope the early chapters are "good enough" that readers won't bail out early.

But another thing that's changing, I think, that worries me more: the prose style. I wrote the first couple of chapters in a detached style with relatively little sensory description, almost no metaphors, and a general sparseness. This was intentional: I was terrified of lapsing into purple prose. But as I keep writing, I find I want to make the narration more of a movie. But this would mean writing in a significantly different, less restrained style.

From another direction, since I'm writing to a self-imposed deadline of two 2000+ word chapters a week, I find I have less time to rewrite and work over the prose, meaning that it's probably looser and sloppier, too. (I should add that I do use AI to draft some scenes, just to give me a template for the pacing and level of detail, but I always rewrite it myself: I never paste AI-generated prose directly into my manuscript. Nonetheless, I wonder if the hacky, first-idea's-good-enough style of most AI-generated prose is influencing me.)

These two issues come together in one particular way: During the first few chapters, I was trying hard to use a different prose style for each character's (third-person limited) narration. For example, using different sentence and paragraph lengths, or different kinds of vocabulary, depending on who the viewpoint character is. But in the last few chapters it feels like I'm writing in a similar style for everyone, and I feel okay about this because it makes it easier to focus on the story instead of on tweaking the style.

Is it artistically damaging, and/or offputting to readers, for the prose style to change over the course of a novel? I really don't want to keep going back and making new versions of the earlier chapters, because it will cut into my time and motivation for writing new chapters. But am I shooting myself in the foot?

I worry about this as well, although on a broader scale. My main character has a very characteristic inner voice, as does the way I talked on Discord. But their voice comes from multiple things about me that have changed drastically. Specifically, my energy levels, which are very, very, veeery low due to medical problems. I tend to get listless now, so maintaining what feels like the heart of my soul in my speech patterns is difficult now, and it hurts.

As to your first question in the last paragraph, it is artistically damaging if the prose style is intended to be a powerful draw. If your readers love how every single person sounds different and unique, then they will be sad as it changes. If they are here for the information, the bare bones of the plot, or other draws of writing, then changing the prose stye to be consistent will only make them happier.

And to your second question, my writing is on hiatus as I dither over prose and struggle with listlessness. Whatever you choose, be decisive and swift. I would recommend not going back until, or if, you have an editor or friend (their input will freshen up what you could not see yourself and make it so it won't drain your motivation to write).