mousie i'm sorry it took me so long to answer this. i think i remember seeing an excellent response from bunny and i thought i couldn't do better than that. then the adhd got me and i forgot. i don't remember bunny's response exactly anymore, so if there is some crossover please forgive me.

i'd say i can be a bit inconsistent with style depending on my factors. a big part of it is definitely that i'm finding my feet with writing again after long time not doing it. i'd say famine and the feast was the first time i felt like i'd found some of my voice again, and then again with cracked and your touch embroiders me. genre does effect your voice/stylistic choices sometimes i think, or simply some genres fit more naturally with some styles.

i think one of the best pieces of advice for improving your writing in anyway is to read. reading others can teach you sm about writing, and also importantly your own tastes. my advice would be to read and think more consciously/deeply about what is you do and don't like or what does/doesn't work for you. revisit your favourites, what is it about them that grips you? how does it grip you? learning to read more deeply helps will reveal a lot about style and narrative voice to you. it's also useful to apply the same thinking/evaluating to other media.

then, think deeply about yourself/your own writing. what about it do you like or fills you with pride? what parts of your writing do you dislike, and why? understanding yourself helps you direct your attention and energy with writing. i've personally found it helps you build your own instincts and intuition too.

i'm a big believer in finding ways to write/work that work for you. i tried to be a 'planner' for years, and tried emulate so many different methods of story planning. however, none of them worked for and would ultimately lead me to being too frustrated to even write. i've found a way to very loosely plan that helps me guide my writing, without overwhelming me. however you plan, or don't, when writing having a strong sense of your characters and setting is really important. i like to think about the story I want to tell and who the characters are. sometimes i'll write this down as dot points, sometimes it just lives in my head. having thought through these points helps guide me and keep me on track while writing .