A work that lovingly imitates the style or conventions of another work, genre, or era without mocking it.
A pastiche is a creative work that deliberately imitates the style, tone, or conventions of another author, genre, or period. Unlike parody, which imitates in order to mock, pastiche imitates out of admiration, homage, or creative exploration. Think of it as wearing another writer's voice like a costume - not to make fun of it, but to see the world through their eyes. A pastiche can imitate a specific author (writing a new Sherlock Holmes story in Conan Doyle's style) or a genre (writing a hard-boiled detective novel that captures the feel of 1940s noir).
Pastiche is one of the best exercises for developing your craft. By imitating another writer's style - their sentence rhythms, their vocabulary choices, their structural habits - you internalize techniques that eventually become part of your own toolkit. Beyond exercise, pastiche is also a legitimate creative form: some of the most beloved books are pastiches that take a familiar style and use it to tell a new story.
Eco wrote a medieval mystery that reads like an authentic medieval chronicle, complete with period-appropriate language and structure.
Portis captures the voice and rhythm of 19th-century frontier storytelling so precisely that the novel feels like a discovered memoir.
Reid crafts a Hollywood Golden Age narrative voice that feels authentically vintage while telling an entirely contemporary story about identity and ambition.
Pastiche imitates a style, not specific content. You can write in Hemingway's clipped prose style without copying his plots or characters.
A good pastiche captures the why behind a style, not just the what. If you are imitating Austen, understand her irony and social observation, not just her vocabulary.
Use pastiche as a training tool, not a permanent home. The goal is to absorb techniques and then blend them into something uniquely yours.
Pick an author whose style you admire - Hemingway, Toni Morrison, Terry Pratchett, anyone with a distinctive voice. Write a 300-word scene in their style about a mundane event: making breakfast, waiting for a bus, walking a dog. Then write the same scene in your own natural voice. Compare the two and notice what you borrowed.