Read a book by Houellebecq

>read a book by Houellebecq
>start writing like Houellebecq

>read a book by DFW
>start writing like DFW

>read a book by Tao Lin
>start writing like Tao Lin

>read a book by Jeffrey Eugenides
>start writing like Jeffrey Eugenides

How do I stop this desu?

Read your own books user

Is that a superpower?

Read a book by Stephen Kong, publish your imitation, profit

try to read 4 books at once, then, out of this sick mixture, your "own" style will emerge

You're too preoccupied with style. Style doesn't matter. Your subject matter is more important.

>read steppenwolf by hesse in german
>write my gay friend a 1000 word paragraph about god and self fulfilment
>Annoy literally anyone i'm texting with for 1-2 hours with my pseudo intellectual bullshit, till the effect worn off
Why am i like this

Read three books at once.

I highly doubt you write like them.

I'm not much of a seasoned writer, but music is something I've spent most of my life on.
I always unconsciously imitated stuff. First I did it on purpose (this is an important part of learning.) Then I realized I didn't want to sound like anybody so I made it a point to deviate from things people said my music reminded them of. Still, I sounded like somebody. Eventually it went away through the act of doing. This process literally takes years.
Once you arrive at a point where you're yourself, you will still echo others, but you'll know your style and others will know your style.
You'll reach a point where you read DFW, go to write, and even though some DFW is there, mostly you will be there.
It takes years of obsession. Your art has to be as vital as drinking water, otherwise you wont improve or live in your work. THIS is water.

i dont understand the problem.
my favourite novel is "Narziß und Goldmund" by Hesse and before I start writing on my own works I always reread a part of Narziß und Goldmund because I realized a couple of years ago that reading Hesse turns my writing style into Hesse's style (I gave one of my shortstories to a literature professor at our university and his first reaction was "wow, this sounds a lot like Hesse").
Why shouldn't my novels sound like my idol's?

Unlearn reading and writing and establish an oral tradition which you pass down for centuries to fellow cult members

beat me to it

checkmate

>read DFW
>kill yourself like DFW

Stop writing

Stop reading

I only have two eyes

Oh no, no no no. Great execution with poor subject matter might still be worthy of reading. Poor execution kills any redeeming factor whatsoever, style is important.

>dig through my great uncle's shoe boxes full of letters and diaries
>find out that I'm related to people who took this idea too seriously in the 17th century.
>none had to unlearn reading or writing because none knew how
>words though were sacred
>the oral tradition combined new world trade languages with bits of Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and archaic French and English.
>books and letters were filled with regular english that I could understand mixed with some of this oral tradition which had been passed down for centuries
>realise that some of the words I use in regular speech that I thought were regional were in fact part of an oral tradition
>realise all the times when I got drunk and spouted off some gimley to people I was speaking another language
>whenever I have to explain some word or phrase now to some dode - which usually settles me into a carxation, the laughing anger - I'll volaughine, which is hard to explain.
>been collecting more and more of these letters to see if I can't get a government grant to reestablish my proper language so I can finally write my book
>going to charge big for the language classes too
>thinking about Kulpro, a sort of mascot that doesn't exist yet in my family's "cult" because I need something to lure people in
>dimandingmoorezpropeait

why is your friend's sexuality relevant?
that fucking freudian slip

Keep reading and keep writing, you'll come out soon enough.

Also if you want to realise just how little you actually write like them go and actually read some posts in a critique thread and feel all of that painful cringe, made worse when you see that you still share all of those terrible habits and inflections.