Originality and own style, eighth commandment of the writer

Since we are born we learn by imitating, it is in our DNA and in that of many animals such as primates.

It is our adaptation to the world that is empowered and diversified throughout our lives in different circumstances, as we learn what others expose but we are stripping ourselves of literal imitation to a more personal, without this meaning that we must paraphrase because in that case we are simply imitating without contributing anything personal.

For those who are passionate about reading and then writing or vice versa, it is normal that certain styles impact them and that their first steps in the field are a form of imitation of those, even those literary influences are healthy, as long as you do not try to take them to the maximum of similarity, not even 50% of this because the limits of originality are transgressed and you become a plagiarizer.

Zadie Smith, novelist, essayist and short story writer, now considered one of the most talented English writers wrote "If you can tell stories, create characters, come up with incidents and have sincerity and passion, it doesn't matter at all how you write".

In no way is he proposing that it doesn't matter to follow the established patterns in literature, since he is listing indispensable qualities of literature before, he is stressing that you should not worry about writing like others but about doing it as your abilities allow.

The originality of the author's personal style makes him stand out from others.

It is a perennial exercise in self-criticism, a daily challenge to get rid of what others have written and impacted us so as not to return to our natural genesis as an imitator.

Francois-Rene de Chateaubriand, French writer and founder of romanticism wrote: "The original writer is not the one who does not imitate anyone, but the one whom no one can imitate".

He is affirming that originality is the key that leads the writer to be special, since it feeds him with something sublime that is his own style and that is impossible to be equated by others.

Billions of people and writings are produced daily, languages are not infinite and they all share words, ideas, situations and countless other details without even knowing each other, because although it sounds ironic, fiction is as real as reality itself.

It is impossible not to coincide in some line with some other written thing, it would be necessary to invent a particular language for that and the problem would be that nobody would understand what was written, but how is it possible that the reader can be sure that the author is the creator of this one?

Simply because you have a particular style of writing even the same thing, without this meaning that you are imitating it, nor that you are doing it the same way with other words

Jean Paul Sastre, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1964, wrote: "One is not a writer because one has chosen to say certain things, but because of the way in which they are said".

This is the form that imprints the personality to what is expressed and is contrary to imitation, has been baptized as its own style and is the alter ego of any amateur to pour on paper their impressions, inspirations or diversity of feelings in any style, to share it with others and get connected through them.

This style is acquired with the passage of time, through practice, trade, perseverance, love that is put and above all the willingness of the author to give a personal touch to his creations.

The 19th-century French poet Joseph Roux said, "There are two kinds of great writers: those who think and those who make you think."

To be one of those you have to be original.