Why does all amateur writing sound the same?
I've read lots of these short stories and things on this group and I just can't help feeling that all amateur writing sounds very similar. Its like people are writing how you are meant to write to achieve a good grade in school. Kind of cliché but good enough to warrant an above average grade from the teacher. It sounds very much like people are trying too hard and that is what makes the writing a bit over extended and shallow. I've definitely fallen foul of this myself and write exactly as I have just mentioned but I thought I should bring it up because I've noticed it.
It's like nobody has a voice. Now I don't know if that is because school has pushed a certain descriptive writing voice onto the majority of people or if mediocre writing all just sounds the same. You know what I mean. When you start reading a short story and the first line is just a little bit too clever or descriptive. I think maybe this is an issue more in short stories as people feel they need to write a lot in a little. It's sentences like - 'The house was cold in winter, as it always was. Mum never turned on the heating for fear the bill would get too high... 'insert more short sentences that sound punchy but lack weight''. Or - 'The black iron gate felt cold against my hand as I pushed it, gently at first but then with a heave as I realised it wouldn't budge.'.
I could go on honestly but I'm just thinking about if there is a way to get out of this trap of mediocrity.
Any thoughts would be appreciated for the sake of my writing and others.
Thanks