The Crossing evinces a blunt, spare writing style. Paulsen's prose cadence is clearly reminiscent of Hemingway's, a debt he acknowledges freely. Some critics find fault with this obvious indebtedness, though, suggesting it leads readers to feel the narrative voice is contrived. One distinctive trait of this written voice is the use of coordinating conjunctions, which has the effect of "leveling" presentation. Every idea is, then, as important as the next; little dynamic development occurs thanks to subordination in sentence structure.

For example: What a thing it was then, he thought. What a thing to see it must have been. All the horses coming in abreast and the men firing and Pancho in front with his large sombrero and the silver pistol, and it was said he also had a silver saddle and a large mustache and the strength of five men.

Paulsen skillfully achieves dynamic development...