Imitations Always Fall Flat

Very often, amateur writers try to imitate another author's style. They may do it because they are impressed by that author or truly enjoy that style of writing. And while it is good to learn from others, I will warn you against trying to copy a style outright.

Imitations always fall flat. When people imitate, it means they are trying to use a style without a true understanding of how that style works. If you want to sound like another author, you need to do more than just imitate it - you need to study and break down and analyze it. You need to know the words used, the way they're put together, even the subjects that would be written about.

Because it would take so very much time and effort to try to sound like somebody else, I will generally tell people to not bother. It is a worthwhile endeavor to study writing styles, but only to understand what is possible to do with words. The best person to try to sound like is yourself.