This chapter covers the title: Style over substance in writing.

Read the disclaimer if you haven't already.

Something to keep in mind is that this whole style over substance thing won't apply to every story and everyone has different writing styles and reading preferences. This is just my perspective on the matter.

I'm sure most people are aware of what style over substance is, but in case you are not, it's exactly what it sounds like. It's when you prioritize the style of something (in art) and not the substance.

An example is Euphoria season 2, where the director is more caught up with making the shots look pretty than writing the plot (not that Euphoria has one), characters, themes, etc.

While it can be argued that style is inherently substance, especially in visual media like film, to that I say this:

No.

I'm sorry, but a pretty shot of Maddie dancing is cool and all, but it tells me nothing about her character, the themes, or the plot, especially since her character introduction in season 1 was of her dancing, so the dancing doesn't even show us that she likes dancing because we know that already. 

What substance do we get from pretty shot #231 of Maddie dancing? If you can cut something out and it wouldn't impact the story whatsoever, then I don't believe it is substance. You can have style while also having substance, y'know? 

That's not to say you can't have any style-only moments at all, especially in film, but I'm not talking about that, I'm talking about using style over substance, AKA overusing style.

Style should enhance the substance, not outshine it. Euphoria's style outshines the substance. When people talk about the positives of Euphoria s2, notice how one of the first things people mention is the cinematography. It's outshining the substance.

Style over substance exists, and it exists in writing too.

Most commonly, style over substance occurs when writers unnecessarily use overly complex vocabulary and/or sentence structures to describe their stories.

There's nothing wrong with complex vocabulary and sentences, but it is a problem when they are overused (or used unnecessarily) and take away from the substance of the story or make the story too hard to read.

If you're consistently writing pretty sentences for the sake of writing pretty sentences, that is style over substance. Complex vocab and sentences can still add to the substance, so I'm not saying don't use them, but I am saying it can be detrimental if overused or if you're just using it because it sounds prettier.

It also depends on what kind of story you're writing. For example, for my work, something like Spiderkook in the Multiverse of Madness (MOM for short) isn't nearly as complex as Like Crazy. Spiderkook is a superhero fic, and while it is a dark story covering difficult topics like PTSD, I save most of my more advanced vocabulary for the intense emotional moments to make them stand out more. Meanwhile Like Crazy has more advanced vocab throughout because of the story genre and target audience.

This might sound harsh, but I don't find it very impressive when an author has a complex vocabulary, especially in modern times where thesauruses are programmed into writing platforms like Word.

Sentence structures I'm a little more impressed by since that demonstrates a solid grasp on language, but I'm not going to list it in my top 5 favorite things about a story.

I'm not saying it's not impressive at all or not something to be proud of, but I'm not going to be impressed by the story based solely off of complex vocab and sentence structure.

Good grammar and a complex vocabulary will not write the substance for you. I find it far more impressive when an author writes an interesting character, a thought-provoking theme, or a unique plot.

I also also understand some people love reading stories that are very pretty, and even reading stories that are just pretty words without a plot. I have no problem with that. If those are the types of stories you like, that's fine! I'm happy for you. From my perspective, I spent the past three years of my life watching avant-garde films with no plots, characters, or themes and just pretty shots for the sake of pretty shots, so I hope you understand why I'm a little tired of "pretty stuff" without the substance.

I'm not kidding. That is the film department at my school. Narrative film is like Voldemort here, we never speak its name. That could be why I'm tired of style over substance, so please keep that in mind while reading this chapter.

Here are common ways writers make their stories too complex:

- Constantly using words literally no one will know, and most of the time this is done back-to-back so there are just like five words in a row readers will have to Google

- Overusing the more "sophisticated" punctuation (dashes and semicolons, but particularly semicolons)

- Consistently writing very long sentences

- Spending too much time describing environments/characters (which is also a pacing problem)

Let's cover those things one at a time.

1) Complex Vocab

Again, there's nothing wrong with having complex vocabulary in your story. You're a writer. You should be good with words and have great word choice; however, there is a difference between having good word choice and throwing "big" words in there for the sake of sounding pretty.

I know what you're thinking: "But Raven, what about stories that have that style of world, like a high fantasy?"

This is why I don't read high fantasy. I don't like that writing style.

This is why I always say in almost every chapter there is an exception to everything. The tips I am giving are general writing tips and not rules, which is why you should always take everything I say with a grain of salt because my words may not apply for the type of story you're writing.

Stories with that ancient feel get away with the fancier sentences and words since it fits the era. I don't like them, but they are an exception to what I'm talking about. 

At the same time, there are still areas where authors will go way too overboard with the flowery language to the point where no one in their right mind can understand what a sentence is saying.

Remember, there's a difference between having a good vocabulary and throwing complex vocab words in there because you think they'll sound cool.

I think almost every author is guilty of changing words for the sole reason that they think it'll sound cooler, and that's fine. I'm not trying to demonize people who do that because, the truth is, how do you improve your vocab if you don't experiment with new words?

I'm not saying you need to memorize the entire English language and know off the top of your head what vocab words would work best for your sentence. I use thesauruses too for every single chapter I write, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that as long as you're doing it to enhance the story, not because you want to sound fancier.

If you're forcing words to be fancier, then there's a chance your writing will come off as ingenuine. One word can change the entire meaning of a sentence, so if you're using words you yourself aren't familiar with for sake of being "fancier," then your sentence might not make sense or feel like it wasn't written by you.

My one and only point is to not overuse them. Don't go overboard and put a bunch of words no one is gonna know back-to-back. If I have to stop reading to open Google to understand what you're saying, I'm not going to want to read your story.

And this is coming from an English major.

I encourage you to use complex vocab and do research to improve your word choice. At the same time, I encourage you to read your sentences out loud and be honest with yourself about how readable it is. It's okay to have simple sentences, just like how it's okay to have long and/or complex sentences (which we will talk about later). It's all about your intentions and if you're overusing these elements.

2) "Sophisticated" Punctuation

I only say "sophisticated" because semicolons and dashes are considered the more advanced punctuation types that make your writing look more elegant.

There's nothing wrong with using semicolons and dashes.

The problem comes when there are countless semicolons and dashes every chapter. The same could be said for commas, but if I'm being honest, to me, they're much less noticeable than semicolons and dashes.

You'll notice a similar theme in this chapter. I'll be repeating how it's really only a problem when it's in excess or done unnecessarily.

I use semicolons. I use them in almost every chapter I write; however, using them in excess can become distracting. Dashes are similar but we'll get to that in a minute.

The issue I take with semicolon usage on Wattpad is how many people use them wrong and too much. That may be why it's so noticeable to me. As much as I hate Grammarly, I strongly recommend using it to help you identify where semicolons go. Since I already explained the difference between a semicolon and a comma, I will not repeat myself here. I believe I explained it in the "Grammar" chapter.

I cannot tell you how many times I've seen authors use semicolons more than once per paragraph several paragraphs in a row. It's to the point where there isn't any other punctuation. That's when it becomes way too much.

Long story short: Don't use too many semicolons. Use them, sure, but don't overuse them.

Now let's get into dashes.

Okay, maybe this is just my Quotev brain talking, but I need to ask you guys this—why do em dash lovers use them constantly?

When I was on Quotev, I lost count of how many writers loved to use em dashes (—) and used them all the time. When I asked them about it they would tell me they just love using them.

I don't see the appeal of a punctuation mark, but I'm not one to judge. I literally bark for a 28 y/o man who lives on the other side of the globe, I'm really in no position to say anything.

Still, I'd like to understand. If you love using dashes, can you explain why you love using them so much? Not if you like dashes or use them a decent amount, I mean if you love them and use them constantly.

It's like there's no in between. There's the person who loves semicolons and/or dashes, then the person who is kinda just meh with them and uses them out of obligation.

On Wattpad, I don't see as many people overusing dashes. It's mostly a Quotev thing. I don't know why Quotev users want to marry em dashes, but hey, like I said before, who am I to judge?

Long story short, try not to use a bunch of semicolons and dashes back-to-back (and even commas, but this section is about dashes and semicolons so I'm focusing on them).

3) Long Sentences

Your sentence structure should vary, otherwise readers will get bored. One very common sentence structure (in English) is: introductory clause then the rest of the sentence.

An introductory clause is exactly what it sounds like. It is a phrase/clause that gives context or background information that sets up the rest of the sentence, or the independent clause. In most cases, these clauses get commas to show they are separate from the core sentence.

For example: "After considering his dilemma, Jimin decided he would go to the party."

The "After considering his dilemma" is the introductory clause. That part of the sentence gives context to the independent clause ("Jimin decided he would go to the party").

So why am I bringing this up? It's because when I read a story that I feel has sentence structures that are too similar, I always come back to the curse of the introductory clause. Many stories will overuse introductory clauses. They're easy to write and can do a good job giving background info when needed, which is why I believe a lot of people use this sentence structure.

It's absolutely okay and even good to use them, but when you're using them more than once a paragraph unnecessarily, it can make the writing feel stale. We don't always need background info or context. Sometimes it's okay to just have an independent clause.

However, this goes deeper than introductory clauses. I call it the "Allergic To Periods" condition. It's when a writer feels the need to extend their sentence and the period is nowhere in sight.

I know this may be a hard pill to swallow, but it's okay to have sentences without any punctuation (commas, semicolons, colons, dashes, ellipses, etc.). Obviously sentences need end punctuation, but I'm talking about the other punctuation marks.

You can make a simple sentence. I just did it right there. And there! Two of those three previous sentences had no commas, no semicolons, no colons, etc. It's okay to only have a period in your sentence.

The more complicated you get with your sentence, the more likely readers are going to get lost and the more likely you're going to forget what the sentence even means. That's not to say don't write complicated sentences. All I'm saying is make sure the sentence makes sense and isn't complicated for no reason.

Whenever I read a story that prioritizes complex sentences over substance, you'll notice a common theme: some of the sentences are completely wrong. The reason is because the writer forgot what the sentence was doing in the first place and instead focused on making it as long as possible.

Whether it's to feel sophisticated or because other writers told them longer/more complex = better, I don't know (Grammarly tells you that, hence why I don't like Grammarly). Maybe they're doing it for no reason other than they think it's right or it's their style. No matter the reason, I hope those authors know you don't have to be overly complex, especially if it's coming at the cost of clarity.

Every once in a while, when I review a story and say there are clarity issues, an author will tell me they did it purposefully to add mystery to the story. I don't think the author quite understands what I mean by "clarity issues."

If there is a story element that feels unclear, I call that vagueness. When I am referring to writing itself being unclear, I call it clarity issues. You can add mystery without confusing your audience. And no, I don't mean confusion in the sense that they doubt their theories or they're confused about a plot element. I mean confusion in the sense that the reader has no idea what the sentence is saying. That is what I mean by clarity issues.

There's a difference between being vague, making your reader feel confused, and making your reader confused about the sentence. If you are doing the last one, there could be a major problem.

That's where overly complicated sentences come in. I call it the three-read test. If I have to re-read a sentence more than three times, then it is a confusing sentence (unless I'm just being dumb, which is totally possible, in which case I laugh at myself).

I run this test on stories I review and even my own stories. I read my sentences out loud, and if I need to read it more than three times, I change it. Sometimes I change it if I have to read it out loud more than once.

Clarity is extremely important for storytelling. When I say clarity, I'm not talking about there being no mystery or vagueness in the narrative, no, I'm talking about clarity in the writing itself. If the readers cannot understand the sentences because they are too complex (or, on the opposite end, have too many typos or grammar issues), then the writer has clarity issues.

That's just my personal evaluation of clarity and I'm not saying that's what every writer thinks, but I thought I'd clarify (no pun intended) that for anyone who may have been confused to see me say some writers have clarity issues.

4) Description Over Story

Description is important. Some might argue a lot of description is important. The reader should be given the chance to visualize themselves in the scene, and description is one of the main ways to give your readers that chance; however, overusing description can hurt the pacing and substance of the story.

Some books require more description than others. My books, Plastic World, Like Crazy, and Starfield all require ridiculous amounts of description because they're taking place in entirely different worlds with customs and environments we aren't used to. Then I have stories like The Cop From Busan where I use quite a bit of description, but you can tell it's not nearly as much as the other stories I listed.

I mean, really, which one do you think I'm gonna have to describe more? A futuristic cyberpunk city known for its lights, glitz, and glam, or modern-day New York City?

I think the answer is pretty obvious.

Not saying I shouldn't describe NYC, but I don't require as many paragraphs to describe it as I would for the cyberpunk city. The reason is because NYC is familiar to us while the cyberpunk city is not. If I ask a hundred people what NYC looks like, most of those people will be able to give a relatively accurate assessment regardless of if they've been to NYC or not. If I ask a hundred people what a cyberpunk city looks like, I'll get a bunch of different answers and maybe even some who don't know what it is let alone what it looks like.

That's why I'm cautious about saying "don't overuse descriptions" because there are some stories that genuinely need a lot of it to effectively set a scene.

That was a long way of saying, "Description is whack."

That's why it's hard to write this book at times because there are so many exceptions it can be hard to talk about these tips. I will do my best, but keep in mind I am talking generally and it varies from story to story. This advice may not work for you!

If you're struggling with your description, consider condensing it. By that I mean try to shorten it where you can, and I don't mean in terms of sentence structure or vocabulary.

I mentioned it earlier in this book, but try to see how many things you can describe at once. Look for ways to describe multiple things in the same sentence. Compare and contrast your character to other characters, or their environment, or even the night sky.

I hesitate to recommend this next thing because this has become my thing and I don't really see anyone else doing it. It's my writing style and I love my style. So, while I do want to give advice, I ask you take my advice and put your own spin on it.

Whenever I describe something, I try to look for ways to incorporate humor or outlandish details that make the reader remember it.

When I say outlandish, I mean it.

From The Cop From Busan: "Right after, she busted out her cracked laugh that sounded like a dolphin if it had snorted ten pounds of cocaine mixed with fentanyl and eighteen energy drinks."

Yeah, I told you it was outlandish.

I'm not saying do that, and I'm not saying it makes my writing good, but it at least makes my writing memorable. You're not going to forget that description of her laugh, are you? At the very least, you're going to stop and wonder what the heck you just read.

Incorporating your own style to make descriptions stand out is a great idea. For example, I like to use humor in my descriptions, especially in Jimin's POV since his character in my works tends to have that charm. My stories are pretty depressing, so I try to add light where I can. For other writers, you may use a more elegant style. On the opposite end, you may use simplistic terms or slang to describe what's going on.

There are countless ways to go about description. My advice would be to incorporate your style and make your voice heard!

Small details are important, too. As much as it's nice to know the main character has black hair, that doesn't say much about the character. Many people have black hair. What makes this person unique? What makes them stand out?

Do they have freckles? Noticeable blemishes and/or birthmarks? Scars? Chipped, missing, and/or bent teeth? Fake teeth? Any dimples? Eye shape? What kind of nose do they have? What is the texture of their hair?

There are many ways you can take that, but try to incorporate smaller details. If you're sticking to describing the basics like their hair and eye color, you're probably not going to give the readers a great mental image of the characters. Even if you're writing a pre-existing character or you're writing a character based on a person, you should still take the time to describe them so the reader can visualize it.

Feel free to make changes to their appearances, too. It's fiction, no one cares. Make changes and make the little details stand out.

However, while on the topic, I strongly advise against using several long paragraphs to describe what a character looks like. If you keep going on and on about a character's appearance, it's going to get boring and drag the pacing.

Sure, some people like reading all about outfits and appearances, but it will still hurt the pacing. If you have a lot to describe about your character, try different description methods. I gave you three already, but you can also use bite-sized chunks and give little descriptions here and there while advancing the plot at the same time.

What I mean by that is give one paragraph of description, then take a break to go to dialogue or action, then do a brief return to description. Of course, make sure you're transitioning to it and not just randomly cutting back and forth, but it is a tactic to consider.

In summary:

1) Try to describe multiple things in one sentence

2) Incorporate different styles so description stands out and is more fun to read

3) Small details stand out more

4) Don't give paragraphs upon paragraphs of character descriptions please

Why Style Over Substance Can Be Harmful

First and foremost, if your story doesn't have much substance and only style, you risk people forgetting your story or mostly remembering it being pretty instead of anything that sparks deeper discussions.

Not that every story needs to spark deep discussions, but it is a risk you take when you choose to go with style over substance.

You may not believe me, but another risk of style over substance is being cliche. I know that sounds weird to say. How is a story that puts so much effort into being pretty cliche? Most times when I see a story go this direction, there are always cliche descriptions or phrases hidden in the pretty stuff. Whether it's cliche plotlines, phrases (such as a body going on autopilot, or butterflies in the stomach, or something else that's cliche), or dialogue, there's always a lot of cliche stuff in these stories. 

I don't know why. I wish I had a theory for why, but I don't. Maybe you guys do? I'm not sure, but whenever I read one of these stories, I wait for it to start getting cliche, and it almost always does. And I'm not talking these stories have one or two cliche things, I mean they have cliche things everywhere.

Let's be honest, everyone has used cliches before, sometimes in great quantity. I actually think some of the best stories take cliches and spin them on their heads to make them creative, so I honestly don't have much problem with cliches depending on how they're used. However, it becomes a problem when I'm reading a story with so much emphasis on being pretty, then it reverts back to cliches.

I can already hear the counterargument. "Raven, what if that's the point? What if it's an oxymoron to itself?"

In the stories I read, it isn't. If it is, then it wouldn't make any sense considering it has literally nothing to do with the plot, characters, themes—anything of substance in the story, really.

But, if a story was doing that and did it well, I would have no problem with it. So, yeah. I agree with you. It depends on how it's executed. Problem is, as I just mentioned, it's never done that way. I believe it's done on accident.

There are exceptions to everything. I'm not saying cliches are inherently bad because, when used right, they can be incredible. For example, let's say a freshman in college (probably 18 or 19 years old) speaks like a cliche teen. Over the course of the story, they grow and their dialogue goes from cliche to more independent. That's an excellent way to use cliches and show subtle character growth.

Again, depending on how it's executed.

My point is, these style over substance stories tend to have a lot of cliche elements despite being written in a way where you'd think no cliches would ever appear.

Moving on from cliches...

Lastly, another risk of style over substance is the word choice is repetitive. Like with cliche phrases, almost every single story I've read written in this style has repetitive word choice. I know what you're thinking: "Raven, how can a story that uses complex vocab be repetitive? Isn't that hypocritical?"

No, it's not. Let me explain why.

The words they are repeating are the complex words. Think of a word like soot. Sure, I wouldn't consider soot a complex word and it's relatively common, but that's just an example. It stands out when compared to its synonyms. 

Soot is a memorable word, so if you're using it multiple times, readers are going to notice. You don't really think about how often authors use "and" unless it's like, super repetitive. However, a word like "soot" stands out because of its uniqueness.

That means when someone is dedicating themselves to writing a story with complex vocab, if they repeat the vocab (like they often do), it stands out far more than if they were to repeat the more basic words. There have been times I've seen authors use the same complex word three times within two paragraphs. That's what I mean by repeating the words. I'm not saying never use the same words, but I'm talking about when you're using them in close proximity.

And there's also the "breathe" pandemic. I cannot tell you how many times I've read a story where some form of the word "breathe" is used 5+ times per chapter. I read a story that had, yes I counted, over thirty uses of some form of "breathe" by the beginning of chapter 3. That's 15+ usages per chapter, and the chapters weren't very long (10-12 pages each).

That is what I mean by repetitive word choice. Now imagine that but with the more complex words.

So those are the reasons style over substance is a risk in writing. It's not a bad thing to have style or even a lot of style. All I'm saying is try not to overuse it or use it unnecessarily. Even if the reason is small, like you want to make a sentence stand out more, at least you have a reason.

And also remember it depends on your writing style, target audience, and preferred genre. I don't like avant-garde films, but they certainly have an audience. I may not like stories that are style over substance, but that doesn't mean no one does. So, long story short, try to find what works for you and the audience you're writing for!

~End~

I hope that chapter made sense. It's 8 a.m. as I edit this so my brain is a bit scrambled right now.

Either way, I hope you enjoyed, and please let me know if you have any topics you'd like me to cover!

I'm hoping to do flashbacks next, but that can change depending on my mood lol.