Writing with Flavor

Years ago, I was a Top Writer on the question-and-answer site Quora. I wrote many answers to many questions in order to receive that distinction. Some answers were short and sweet, especially those that only fell in the periphery of my wheelhouse. Others, like this masterpiece, were much longer, more in-depth, and provided more value because I consider this subject my area of expertise. One of these longer answers, the response to an ask-to-answer query, inspired the birth of this series all these years later. You can read the original, a guide to adverb usage, here:

Who Are You to Tell Me How to Write with Flavor?

Be forewarned that this section gets a little link-happy in an effort to communicate my bona fides.

At the time that I wrote my Quora answer and became a Top Writer on the platform, I had been working as a freelance writer and editor for three years. Now, four years down the line, I am the chief copywriter for an advertising agency, Adrian Agency, and an author here on Vocal. I also publish on my blog, on Medium, and occasionally via an external contest. For example, you can find one of my poems (a haiku) and two of my stories (a one-paragraph horror story and a short romance) in this contest anthology.

I still do freelance work on a few platforms and with private clients in my spare time (when I have any), and I recently earned two Top Story designations and a runner-up spot in a challenge here on Vocal. In short, writing is very much what I do. I know what makes a good story. I know what makes people stop scrolling and click on a headline, and I know what ingredients you need to use to bring your own distinct style and flavor to your pieces. That distinctive flavor is what is going to keep your readers coming back for more.

What Is Your Style Like?

My story style is something of an acquired taste. I have a tendency to (deliberately) dance around my point with metaphor and flowery descriptions that leave a recognizable note of poetry lingering on the back of my reader's palate. Many writing courses will tell you that wordiness and purple prose are your enemies, and for around 80% of people, they would be right. There is a specific recipe required for overly-descriptive prose, set in overly complex worlds, that demands precision in the mixing lest the result become sickly sweet and far too rich to stomach, like a sundae bar's worth of toppings dumped in a single pint of ice cream. Appealing to a child, perhaps, but not to the discerning tastes of an adult.

Sensory notes and imagery, when used properly, result in an immersive experience and brings my settings to life around my characters and the readers who follow them around. A complex plot with many possible outcomes, several perilous predicaments, and heart-thumping thrills propels that immersion. The plot, in turn, is driven by the characters, so lifelike and familiar, relatable and yet unique. It is the balance of these three key ingredients and their individual potency that crafts a story readers can savor.

What Kinds of Stories Do You Write?

This recipe is best suited for speculative fiction, like fantasy and science fiction. It sometimes works in the more mundane and modern settings found in literary fiction, but it often gets dry with a low-and-slow slice-of-life plot in a familiar city or a pastoral countryside. I particularly enjoy retelling familiar tales in a new and exciting way—often with a Big Twist (TM) added to spice up the formula and to give it a distinct flavor that distinguishes it from the original. I love a good scare, so most of those twists manifest in some horror trope or another, simmering like a witch's brew.

That being said, I also write nonfiction if the mood strikes. I have been known to spin a yarn about my childhood or compose a guide to tools, resources, or other things I think may be helpful or entertaining to learn about. However, my nonfictional comfort zone is in poetry. I’ve written hundreds of poems in dozens of formats over the years. In fact, I’ve even set a few to music and audaciously called them songs (even though my singing voice is nowhere close to what it was when I was young and my lungs weren’t perpetually full of tar).

What's Next for Writing with Flavor?

Depending on the level of interest garnered by this introductory post, I'll be following up with another installment sooner rather than later. The next chapter will address the motley crew that brings a recipe to life: vegetables (aka characters)! Each archetypal character serves a purpose for a story, just like each vegetable brings its own flavor and texture to the dish.

Not every story has a full spread of characters, though. Sometimes you want to make bangers and mash instead of ratatouille, right? So we'll discuss what each of the twelve archetypes brings to the table and how to decide which ingredients are right for your writing. In the meantime, you can get to know some of my more popular characters by reading A Silent Scream (starring Boog the Space Bug, of Patreon fame) or Fear the Dead.

Until next time, bon appetit and happy writing, fellow flavor aficionados!