Writing in an unfamiliar style.

[Gawian]

Does anyone have any tips for this?

I mean, most of the stories I write (or start writing and never finish ) are big military themed stories. Warring factions written from a Commanders point of view. Spaceships and SpaceGuns are the order of the day. Everyday. Every order. It's a very singular restaurant here.

Anyway, I have an idea in my head now, but it doesn't fit the warring factions style of writing that I'm locked into.

Rather than the brave commander leading an outnumbered force into a battle, I'm currently thinking of a more political themed story.

So how does one break from their normal style of writing?

 

[TheDustyZebra]

Start writing it. If it doesn’t have your standard characters in it, your new characters will advise you on how they want things done.

Also, start reading stuff of the type you’re aiming for.

You might try starting from a different POV. If you normally write third, try first. That tends to shake things up and get the brain out of old channels.

 

[Gawian]

I do usually write third person. But I'm not entirely sure if I like the start.

I've started with a brief history.

The Alien Invasion.
The Appointment of a Human to a Seat of Power.
The quality of life Improvements during the rebuild.

I want to paint the Aliens in a good light, but I'm finding it difficult to do when just a few sentences earlier, I say they defeated Earth in a decisive yet bloody invasion.

From a soldiers point of view, this story would be a lot easier. The Aliens are scum. Through and through. Easy mode.
But I'm doing it from the Planetary Governors point of view. He was a strong supporter of the Aliens (before the invasion).
After it, he was appointed to the Governor position. So overall, he thinks the Aliens are good. He regrets the loss of life, but if I'm writing it from his point of view, I don't want to highlight the shortcomings....

 

[zmunkz]

For me, I read something in a similar style to what I'm trying to achieve. Actually, listening on Audible is even better so I can hear the meter and voice. Then I try to do it myself.

 

[sknox]

I think the style is secondary, at least for a while. Why did this man support the aliens to begin with? Why did he keep supporting them even after they began slaughtering humans? What was his position before? Was he Joe Nobody, or was he already in a position of power?

In other words, how did he get here and why? In order to write from his point of view, you need to know and feel his point of view.

 

[Gawian]

I think the style is secondary, at least for a while. Why did this man support the aliens to begin with? Why did he keep supporting them even after they began slaughtering humans? What was his position before? Was he Joe Nobody, or was he already in a position of power?

In other words, how did he get here and why? In order to write from his point of view, you need to know and feel his point of view.

He was a military leader before the invasion.

They aliens didn't attack on arrival though. They came and tried to get us to join diplomatically. Initially, it went well, but humans being humans are VERY prejudice. They attacked, the Aliens responded. It escalated into a very brief war. One which he refused to fight. He was removed his position during the war, but after it was over, the Aliens reinstated him because he was a supporter.

Also, he does hold some political power, but not all of it. The aliens still have a council which decides major matters. So the hierarchy is
Country Leaders (like now) > Alien Council (which holds most of the power) > Planetary Governor (think President of Earth - sounds powerful, but still answers to the Council.)

For me, I read something in a similar style to what I'm trying to achieve. Actually, listening on Audible is even better so I can hear the meter and voice. Then I try to do it myself.

I don't suppose you have any examples of Sci-Fi Political stories do you? Because my reads tend to be WH40K related, so written from a Soldiers POV, which is what I usually write.

--

So I have a lot of the characters fleshed out, a lot of the plot decided, it's just writing it and trying to keep it politically themed rather than slipping back into fight scenes.

 

[sknox]

There are lots, but the one that comes most readily to mind is Asimov's Foundation trilogy. I'm sure others here can suggest more recent stuff.

So, the MC was a military commander. He was removed by humans for refusing to attack the aliens, then reinstated by the victorious aliens. That means he's back to being a military commander, but now with some political aspects? Or is he now the Planetary Governor? In any case, I always look for the conflict, and in this case it would be between his comfort zone--commanding troops in the field--and his new duties, which are political. He has to attend council meetings, which he hates. Has to make nice with people he thinks are fools. Has to allow things to happen he'd rather prevent. And so on. Worse, he has to live with perpetual uncertainty. Nothing in politics is as clear-cut as the battlefield.

Somewhere along the way, there needs to be a choice to make. Between stepping up or stepping back. Between human and alien. Between his core values and the greater good. A choice that is going to have a cost, no matter what is chosen.

Because, in the end, whether you're writing a political novel or a military one, it's about the people, not the tech.

OK, all that was horribly prescriptive, so please feel free to pick and choose or reject out of hand. Everything I just said can be nuanced or outright contradicted, in the right hands. I offer it mainly as at least one point from which to jump. And also to repeat what I said before: once you sort out the story, the style will follow.

 

[Vladd67]

You will also have to deal with the fact many people would regard him as a Quisling. How does this temper his actions? What are people’s reaction to him? Is there an active resistance?

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Try writing in first person and see if you can capture his voice.

 

[chrispenycate]

Do six months or so of writing challenges? You're forced into so many different heads, so many different directions, all in so few words…

Oh, you had wanted a faster conclusion than tha?

Trouble is, everything you do in writing you tend to have to unpick it and start over, and the patterns they give you are useless, as it needs originality, which you can't buy from Readers' Digest.

 

[Biskit]

Start writing it. If it doesn’t have your standard characters in it, your new characters will advise you on how they want things done.

I'm with TDZ on this, and not just because I'm a committed pantser. There's lots of good suggestions here, but the only way to really get a feel for doing something different is to start writing and see what you come up with.

 

[Gawian]

There are lots, but the one that comes most readily to mind is Asimov's Foundation trilogy. I'm sure others here can suggest more recent stuff.

So, the MC was a military commander. He was removed by humans for refusing to attack the aliens, then reinstated by the victorious aliens. That means he's back to being a military commander, but now with some political aspects? Or is he now the Planetary Governor? In any case, I always look for the conflict, and in this case it would be between his comfort zone--commanding troops in the field--and his new duties, which are political. He has to attend council meetings, which he hates. Has to make nice with people he thinks are fools. Has to allow things to happen he'd rather prevent. And so on. Worse, he has to live with perpetual uncertainty. Nothing in politics is as clear-cut as the battlefield.

........

OK, all that was horribly prescriptive, so please feel free to pick and choose or reject out of hand. Everything I just said can be nuanced or outright contradicted, in the right hands. I offer it mainly as at least one point from which to jump. And also to repeat what I said before: once you sort out the story, the style will follow.

He wasn't reinstated to the Military Position. He went from Commander, to Civilian, to Governor.
And I hadn't considered that the Political Landscape would be vastly different from his military one. That could be something to write in.

You will also have to deal with the fact many people would regard him as a Quisling. How does this temper his actions? What are people’s reaction to him? Is there an active resistance?

There is an active Resistance who consider him a race traitor, but no-one else really does.

 

[sknox]

I can see a fellow in this position resisting: resisting the job, the details, the protocols, the necessary compromises, the hard decisions.

I can also see a fellow embracing--trying to do his best though he's ill-equipped to do so (or believes he is), painfully aware that lives depend on him, longing for a return to the simplicity of military life.

I can even see him vacillating between the two extremes, but it would be tricky to strike the right tone.

It occurs to me that someone who mainly writes military adventure would be new to this sort of introspection. Could that be what you meant by voice? Of so, it is most definitely a difficult adjustment. But if this is a story you really want to tell, that wants to be told, then yield! Write the story.

 

[tinkerdan]

This::

You will also have to deal with the fact many people would regard him as a Quisling. How does this temper his actions? What are people’s reaction to him? Is there an active resistance?

:: is rather important to the final decision in writing this.
I don't think you can avoid it, so if you want sympathy for the character you might have to do this from his POV and quickly address his internal reason for working with invaders; and make them compelling reasons. Get into his head far enough that the other character reactions to his action won't turn the reader against him. Of course if you want the reader to react poorly then you could go either way in POV and make his motivations sound weak.

However if you want to make it difficult and you want the reader to decide you might look at Orson Scott Card's Empire and Hidden Empire. The story involves an attempted takeover of the USA by the military; however there is a key figure who is mostly in the background and ends up taking control. The story is told from the POV of several different characters who know this individual and work for him and sometimes even against him and how they deal with it and in some cases how they cope with the decisions they make while they can see both the evil and the good of this one man.