The Elephant in the Middle of the Room

I’ll bet you’ve never asked yourself the question, why do I need a style manual? Yet, bookstores and libraries offer shelves full of them. And no two are alike. Duh! That’s because each was written to apply to a certain publication — not yours. The Podunk Tribune, too lazy to write its own style manual, may choose the AP Style Manual and add its own touches, making it the Podunk Tribune Style Manual.

You, Mr. or Ms. Writer, can do the same thing. Or… you can write your own from scratch. Pull out a spiral notebook or open a computer file, title it My (your name) Style Manual and begin making notes.

Decide which words you want to capitalize;
Decide how you’ll spell certain words;
Write down definitions to remind yourself; list the characters of your next book;
Design a location for your story;
Keep track of your characters birthdays, ages, appearance. 

Oh the many entries you can make. In time — a very short time — you will have a bulging notebook. If you are a prolific writer, you may want to start a new style manual for each project, keeping the primary manual for general writing notes.

Congratulations! Now you are the author of Your Style Manual!