Keila’s Korner
For Conscientious Creators: Voice
A Bi-weekly article for Proud ViM Productions:
A writing voice is something we hear about often. How do we achieve it? What does that even really mean?
In this article, I will provide you with some tips and suggestions from my perspective as a writer continually seeking my own voice and personal self-expression. I want to sound like “me” now. Often times we start writing by emulating others. At some point, we need to venture out to develop our own authentic voice.
One must to dig deep to acquire it. To develop it. And it changes over time. Your experiences and beliefs impact the sound of your true voice. But don’t worry too much about “finding” it – it happens over time as you practice and keep a learning mindset.
When you read something, voice is what draws you in. It’s the way that an author mixes words, turns a phrase or conveys an experience. It’s the “soul” of a work to which you are drawn. It’s a piece of an author that is uniquely his/her own which cannot be thoroughly emulated. It’s what gives a piece credibility and makes it interesting.
A generic voice becomes monotonous and loses a reader’s interest. As writer’s, our goal is to keep them engaged. One way of doing so, is to add a touch of personality. In your own way, show your humaness.
To develop and recognize your unique voice, you’ll need to write a lot. And that means writing from a place of authenticity in your heart and soul. Instead of working hard to write in a way that you think makes the public happy, write in a way that makes you happy. People will get bored by reading the same information presented in the same way over-and-over. By trusting the process, you will find a fan-base interested and supportive of what you have to say and the way you say it.
You can practice developing your unique voice by taking pieces of work from writers you admire and writing those ideas and expressions in your own words, in the way that the meaning appears to you.
You can also read a lot, looking at works and how the way it’s written appeals, or doesn’t appeal, to you, and build on those ideas to make your points in your own writing.
For practice to enhance your skills, attempt different genres, or even delve into trying out different mediums for self-expression. I am currently challenging myself using practice inspired by song lyrics.
What I am learning is how to incorporate a greater experience of sensual emotion into my writing, which exercises using my own thought process. By venturing beyond your comfort zone, you can challenge old habits and stretch your mind to let in new ways of thinking. If it’s unfamiliar territory, a person tends to be a little more “raw” in their approach and therefore, more likely to fall back on an authentic voice. Try it, then study your attempts to see what individuality stands out – what flair do you add that’s authentic and unique?
Another fun way for revelation is writing Stream of Consciousness pieces, where you just let the words and phrases on a given thought flow, with no regulation from your internal critic at this time. Just write!
This has become one of my personal favorites. It allows one to be unregulated in self expression, which is crucial for self-discovery.
But mostly, you need to overcome the fear of vulnerability, which takes time and practice and a willingness to learn. With learning comes missteps, but that is also where you’ll find the greatest growth.
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Thank you so much for reading through this article about “voice”. Did you find it useful or informative? How did it help you most, or what did you find lacking?
Join me here for the next article where I plan to tackle the concept of “Constructive Suggestion.”
Until then, Happy Writing!
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Comments (3)
Some excellent advice in your wonderful article
When a writer has found a voice, I can "hear" the words as I'm reading them and it draws me in. When the voice is missing, I find myself reading the same lines over.
Good advice. It's true how monotony kills the creativity both in the writer and in the reader. To me, I like the diversity in an artist such as Picasso. Yes, he could draw a bull with a simple line, yet he could also create more vivid images, masterpieces that took many strokes of colour. The artist, regardless of their genre must feel the pull, the tug to create genuinely.