How did you find your "Voice" as a writer?

[RiseBeauty]

I was discussing this with some other writers today and wondered what AW boardies might have to say on the subject. I am curious because afterward I questioned whether or not I had in fact found my 'voice' yet. Suddenly, I felt like I was going through a cruel fresh version of puberty. I couldn't get the Neil Diamond song out of my head "Girl, you'll be a woman, soon" :Shrug:

I haven't had a BING moment where I said "Yes! This is my voice!" Is that supposed to happen? Have I missed something here?

Here are my questions:
How did you find your voice as a writer and know it was your voice?
When did you make the discovery?
Did finding your voice ease the writing process for you? If so, how?
Lastly, any tips for finding one's voice?

Nadja

[Prozyan]

Lastly, any tips for finding one's voice?

Nadja

Take a book you enjoy from your favorite author and start copying a few chapters. When you feel the urge or desire to change something as you are copying, do it. That urge is your individual voice/style wanting to get out.

[Cassiopeia]

Write. Write a LOT. In time your voice shines through. Don't worry about it, don't question yourself. Just keep writing. Read your writing out loud, listen to the inflections in your voice.

For me there came a time when my writing was consistent in all the different genres. It's my voice, my style but I had to keep at it. Just keep writing.

[NeuroFizz]

I don't think this is something that smacks one over the head like a caveman's club, or ushers in some revelatory change like a hormone-induced high. And it's not something that is suddently found while upturning literary rocks. It's something that develops over time, and like Cass said, it takes writing, writing, and more writing. And it isn't a static entity, either. As long as a writer tries to improve in the craft of writing, his/her voice will change, even if that change is just a maturation. Hopefully, that change/maturation never stops as one writes more and more. And if a writer challenges him/herself to write new and different kinds of stories, there is no reason why that voice won't change a bit with each one. Just like every other aspect of writing, like tone, theme, word choice, and all of the other subtleties, each project may require a slight shift in the author's voice to bring out the story in its full flower.

If an author is writing a story series using the same characters (like some mystery writers tend to do) or if an author's stories are cookie cutter in organization, like many of James Patterson's works, voice will be relatively constant (unless a few of the latter person's co-authors have an influence). But pick up the works of an author whose stories are very different, even if in the same genre, and see if you can detect a slight customizing of that author's established writing voice in each one. My guess is if a good author really climbs into each of his/her stories while writing them, instead of working off more of a formula-driven story arc, it will show in the subtleties of the writing. I think Dean Koontz's writing voice is a bit different in his Odd Thomas stories than in many of his other works, but not totally. The Koontz writing voice is there in all of them, but it seems there is a subtle difference that comes through.

[C.M.C.]

I still believe that you shouldn't have to look for your voice. It should come naturally to you. You may not like the particular voice you write in, but it's yours.

[Danthia]

How did you find your voice as a writer and know it was your voice?
I just wrote, and eventually I noticed that everything I wrote that was any good at all had a certain style and sound to it.

When did you make the discovery?
I couldn't even tell you. I think someone made a comment once like "this so sounds like your writing" and it dawned on me it did. Was years ago.

Did finding your voice ease the writing process for you? If so, how?
Maybe. I trusted I had my own style so I wasn't trying to copy books and authors I liked, but the writing was still writing. All the rules still apply whether I was writing in my voice or still trying to find it.

Lastly, any tips for finding one's voice?
Read a lot. Write a lot. You'll be drawn to books you admire and they will influence your voice. Writing will help you develop that voice. There are no shortcuts, you just have to do it. I think learning your craft helps to, because once you have a solid writing foundation, you can work on your voice and storytelling skills and not get hung up trying to figure out how dialog tags work or where to put a semicolon.

[firedrake]

As neuro fizz said, it comes over time.
The more you write, the more your 'voice' emerges.

[IdiotsRUs]

I didn't even know I had one, until someone commented that they liked it. I just wrote the way I thought worked best, with words and sentence constructions that I liked. And my voice works better in some genres than others ( as I was poignantly reminded by my crit group, what works in high fantasy may not work so well in gritty dystopian future :D But when I rewrote that dystopian future, it was still in my voice, just with slightly altered word choices. Can still tell it's me though)

Write, write and write some more. Write how you feel it should be written, use the words that you use. Yes, you may have to tweak some parts, but that essential 'youness' will always be there. And bingo - there's your voice.

[RiseBeauty]

Thanks everyone. This is great advice from many angles. If more replies come I look forward to reading those too.

I already read and write a lot. I am at the page on a daily basis in one way or the other. Mostly both. It looks like in this respect I am on the right track :D

From what everyone wrote it seems voice is what comes over time with persistence and honesty. A consistent willingness to be there in the writing without apology and let what comes simply come. I think this was an obstacle for me. I had the realization that I've been suppressing my voice. Making such a subconscious effort to find it that I was kicking it aside in my search. I worked on my WIP early this morning, before the inner editor woke up, and rewrote it with these thoughts in mind. I saw some improvement that hinted that the stubborn lid may come off the box yet.

[BenPanced]

Show your work to a beta reader and ask them for a critique. That's how I found out what my strengths and weaknesses are.

[Cybernaught]

I haven't yet. Still searching for it! But I'm getting close... it's hiding somewhere out there, amid my convoluted prose.

[Aggy B.]

It took me about twenty years. (Though the first ten were not very serious as far pursuing the craft of writing.) And for me it's not so much "voice" as "voices."

There is an overall style to all of my writing. But depending on the genre/POV/gender of the character the sound is individual.

I don't think you ever stay permanently in one voice. It continues to evolve as you get better at writing. I think the best way to start "finding" voice is to write first person. Try and put your talking voice down on paper. Even though my writing is different from my speech there are similarities and getting a good look at the way I talk and string words together helped me make sense of how I was trying to write.

The key though really is just to write and write and write.

[maestrowork]

How did you find your "Voice" as a writer?



By writing a lot.


There really is no other way.

As for how did I know? Well, after writing so much, you just have to know... read your stuff and see the similarities. The word choices? The sentence structures and pacing? The way you say something? The more you write and get your stuff read, the more you'll know.

And it's not like an "Eureka!" moment like suddenly you wake up and say, "That's my voice!" It's a gradual process.

Keep writing, and worry less about "finding your voice." As long as you're not still imitating your favorite authors at this point, eventually you'll find it.

[ad_lucem]

I was discussing this with some other writers today and wondered what AW boardies might have to say on the subject. I am curious because afterward I questioned whether or not I had in fact found my 'voice' yet. Suddenly, I felt like I was going through a cruel fresh version of puberty. I couldn't get the Neil Diamond song out of my head "Girl, you'll be a woman, soon" :Shrug:

I haven't had a BING moment where I said "Yes! This is my voice!" Is that supposed to happen? Have I missed something here?

Here are my questions:
How did you find your voice as a writer and know it was your voice?
When did you make the discovery?
Did finding your voice ease the writing process for you? If so, how?
Lastly, any tips for finding one's voice?

Nadja


I've always wondered about this, myself. I don't know if I have a particular voice. To me, it would be like trying to describe my personality to someone from an objective point of view. And I don't do that very well, either.

[EFCollins]

I still believe that you shouldn't have to look for your voice. It should come naturally to you. You may not like the particular voice you write in, but it's yours.

You know, this is a really funny question. Me and some of the other AW peoples were talking about voice yesterday.

http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=136299

I didn't really know I had a "voice"... It took others reading my work and pointing out that everything was consistently old fashioned. Then I had to actually ask on here what the heck to do about it, lol. I didn't realize this was my own personal style... and that it can be effected by what I read and so on. Some gave some very good advice on the subject in that thread, useful links too.

[C.M.C.]

I didn't really know I had a "voice"... It took others reading my work and pointing out that everything was consistently old fashioned. Then I had to actually ask on here what the heck to do about it, lol. I didn't realize this was my own personal style.

Writing voice isn't that much different than physical voice. We all have one, though many can alter it and do various accents and whatnot. But in the end, there's a default setting that we fall back into when we stop thinking and trying. That's the true voice.

[Aschenbach]

Writing voice isn't that much different than physical voice. We all have one, though many can alter it and do various accents and whatnot. But in the end, there's a default setting that we fall back into when we stop thinking and trying. That's the true voice.

Is the true voice the best voice?

[EFCollins]

That's what I'm wondering. I'm struggling with mine... and hacking my novels to death trying to smother it.

[backslashbaby]

I don't like my voice much, but others do. Isn't that odd? I prefer reading very different styles than mine :)

How did you find your voice as a writer and know it was your voice?I didn't find it as much as it is the unconscious part of writing. Other people notice that my writing sounds like my writing more than I do.

When did you make the discovery? I'd say a few years into beginning. Before that was less consistent and more experimental.

Did finding your voice ease the writing process for you? If so, how? Yes! Now I have so much more work flow well the first time, without having to grasp for every phrase. I still edit like crazy, but things are more cohesive from the start.

Lastly, any tips for finding one's voice? Write and read :) Also, I'd write scenes describing what I was overhearing at cafes, or what scenery was like, etc. to practice tone and description without having to worry about plot.

[Matera the Mad]

Heh, I just whanged out a bunch of fan-fic (mostly parodies) and by the time I had the first novel-length one finished I knew who I was. Totally batshirt, but well-oiled and working.

[nighttimer]

1. How did you find your voice as a writer and know it was your voice?
2. When did you make the discovery?
3. Did finding your voice ease the writing process for you? If so, how?
4. Lastly, any tips for finding one's voice?

1. It took me about four or five years as a freelancer to find my "voice." I had to get past the point where I was going beyond being my own harshest critic to actually blocking myself from being the writer I knew I could be.

I knew I had found my authentic voice as a writer when I no longer merely was a poor imitation of better writers I admired and naturally emulated. There's nothing wrong with allowing ingredients of another's writer as part of your own, but when you know you're not speaking in your own voice, all you can be is second-rate copy of someone else.

2. I made the discovery after I had won a "Best Critical Writing/Analysis" award from a chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. When the award was handed out, it was in a hotel banquet hall and I was stunned by the fact that with the exception of my wife and myself, there wasn't another person of color in the room. Even all the waiters were White.

That was when I knew whatever inferiority complex I might have when comparing my writing to others was all in my head. It was a moment of total clarity. From that point on I knew I didn't have to take a backseat to anyone. The only thing that was stopping me from achieving my success was me.

3. Finding my voice as a writer liberated me from the self-imposed shackles I had placed upon myself. There are subjects I am not as skillful at as others and I don't have the right stuff to make it writing fiction, but while I am still awed by how well some writers write, I know they don't have any more talent than me. They may have just seized upon a opportunity that I missed or never had.

I'm not jealous or envious of any other writer. I don't begrudge them their success. I've had my own and while they may be more modest and less lucrative, I'm just as happy and satisfied as they are.

4. Everyone has to find their way to their voice in their own way. There isn't a "one size fits all" solution. Not at least any that I've found in the 17 years I've been at this.

Read the works of writers you enjoy and admire and figure out what they do that speaks to you. Don't imitate them trying to become you. But don't be afraid to find inspiration and guidance in what they have done.

Join a writer's group. I've been part of one for five or six years now and it's been an immense help. I need the immediate feedback from others whether I've written something brilliant or utter bullcrap. If you're sensitive to criticism it will help you develop a thicker hide. The input of others helps shape you as a writer.

If you're immune or indifferent to criticism you're probably only writing for yourself anyway.

Oh, and write. Write a lot. Don't worry about whether it's good or bad. Writing a lot of stuff will eventually overwhelm the bad by the good. The alternative is being someone who talks about being a writer and does little more than talk.

I will pass on a quote that resonates with me:

You can take for granted that people know more or less what a street, a shop, a beach, a sky, an oak tree look like. Tell them what makes this one different. Write your story as it needs to be written. Write it honestly, and tell it as best you can. I'm not sure that there are any other rules. Not ones that matter.

~ Neil Gaiman

:e2BIC:

[Wayne K]

For some crazy reason my voice is talkative wiseass and argumentive. I was born for this.

[RiseBeauty]

The replies here have been incredibly enlightening. After reading them I feel much less pressure to 'hurry and find the voice damn it!'
I feel more confident that this realization of voice will come in its own time as I move forward consistently.
Wow! This is much more fun than being a lurker ;)

[Elidibus]

Here are my questions:
How did you find your voice as a writer and know it was your voice?
I found it while doing Nano this past year. It turns out I was using that voice for a long time, but I finally took a step back and said, wow, this is really my voice. Awesomesauce!

When did you make the discovery?
November last year

Did finding your voice ease the writing process for you? If so, how?
Not really. I don't think a voice is something that makes writing easier. But going against your voice could make it harder. It's the part of "You" that you put in your work. How someone can read two similar stories and say that you wrote one

Lastly, any tips for finding one's voice?

I'm going to echo what others have said here and say read and write A LOT!. The best advice I received when I was starting out was "First, write one million words. Then throw them away. Now you are ready to begin: (Some famous guy said that, but I forget who)

OF course, don't throw away your old works and stuff. But write a whole lot. Then read your very first work and the one you finished after writing one million words. There's a heck of a difference. I think because, in part, your voice has matured.

So, read a lot and write a lot and good luck!

[dgiharris]

How did you find your voice as a writer and know it was your voice?
I'm still searching but feel I'm 90% there. I owe this to my writer's group and by writing a crapload of different stories in different 'voices' trying to see what works and what doesn't. Pure trail and error and getting feedback from readers/fellow writers. Also, reading and imitating my favorite authors. On a related note, i'd also dissect a few books that were my favorites, but instead of reading them like a reader ,i'd read them like a writer. Asking myself, Why did the author do this here instead of there. I'd look at how the author planted the seeds for 'this' so that 'that' would happen later. Etc. etc.

When did you make the discovery?
When my readers and fellow writers started telling me about the improvement. I was purely results oriented, no defending my writing, and just listening to the feedback. Eventually, got a few publications and a higher percentage of hand written rejections that helped reinforce that I was finding my voice.

Did finding your voice ease the writing process for you? If so, how?
Yes, became more efficient and the stories flow more naturally

Lastly, any tips for finding one's voice?
Trial and error and brutal analysis of the RESULTS. Keep experimenting, keep writing, and find the right people who can give you honest feedback. Friends and family really aren't a good source, they will tend to love what you do.

One thing I would do is give stories to people and tell them it was from someone else and that I didn't have time to read it.

Also, working this site. Reading uncle jim's thread and critting others.

Good luck

Mel...

[Romantic Heretic]

I don't know if I have a voice yet, although others have claimed I do. Personally I couldn't care. I just write what I want how I want to.

[RiseBeauty]

It's really great to read about the journey to voice other writers on here have taken. I really appreciate the responses because they are truly helpful.

I like Mel's suggestion about giving people my work to read and saying it is from someone else. I'm going to try that and see what happens. It's also a way to get clean slate feedback from those that already know me (writing group, friends, etc). Thanks for that one Mel :)

Also, a few others have suggested new approaches to incorporating the use of books/writers I like in the process (copying passages to try on the flow, dissecting favorite novels as a writer instead of just reading, etc). I'll try these out too.

I'm looking forward to seeing what results I get from trying these.

Nadja

[tilt190]

Here are my questions:
How did you find your voice as a writer and know it was your voice?
When did you make the discovery?
Did finding your voice ease the writing process for you? If so, how?
Lastly, any tips for finding one's voice?

Nadja

1. I just started a new WIP. It was so refreshing to write that I fell in love with writing again.

2. A year ago. I've been writing novels for two years. After frustrating edits for both me and my beta, I got tired and decided to start a new manuscript. One that I spilled all of my emotions and energy into. It was so draining that it took me a month to perfect four pages. The result? My beta sent back her crit, with only the words, "Good gracious, girl, your writing is really good."

3. Yes, because I loved how I didn't have to fake a "mask" on over what I really wanted to say. I used to try and copy Lisi Harrison--unfortunate, since her 200-page books have ten actual pages of plot and 190 pages of rich-brat rants.

4. Start a new WIP--maybe not for publishing, but for fun. Write it on the subject you are most passionate about. The passion really shows through. Don't force yourself to adopt a certain tone, or think a way of writing will please the agents better. There is no one correct way. Lastly, let loose. Your voice is the most bare-bones part of your writing, and to achieve that, you write for only YOU. Not to seek the approval of peers or parents. You write so that a part of YOU is fulfilled.

[semilargeintestine]

I started writing ballades and rondeaux. :D

[Beware_of_Italics]

[quote=RiseBeauty;3434952]

How did you find your voice as a writer and know it was your voice?

Through writing, writing and more writing.

When did you make the discovery?

After finishing my third book.

Did finding your voice ease the writing process for you? If so, how?

Not really. Writing is always a little difficult for me. I hope that over time that will all change.

Lastly, any tips for finding one's voice?

Make lots of mistakes. :tongue Don't be afraid of them. Embrace the little buggers and try to learn from them.

[Blue Sky]

My voice came whenever I wrote about something I was passionate about. As I wrote a lot, a lot of it in email plus one book (not yet published), my voice came to stay. Years ago, I noticed how people tend to read what they want to read. Based on peoples’ comments and questions, I worked at writing with the goal of ever clearer, more accessible communication.

After awhile I felt and saw my writing as mine. Comments from readers who liked my voice confirmed my feeling.

Does one’s voice ease writing? Hmm. I’d say that being comfortable with myself helped ease the writing process. When I had nothing to share, I didn’t write. Now I feel full to bursting with things to share, so I write. I second the advice to visit Uncle Jim’s thread for inspiration and instruction. I started a novel after finding the thread. I found his advice and the community inspirational. Yes, it’s worth the hours of reading, if you haven’t already done it.

In order to find your voice, write a lot, as so many have suggested. We already “have” our voice. We are our voice. It’s us. The challenge is to show oneself on the page for all to see. Exposed! Perhaps if you show as much of yourself--your passion--in print as possible, your voice will come more quickly?

Enjoy!

[Summonere]

I don’t know what sort of voice I have at all*, but I certainly know that the less I think about my writing, the more it apparently sounds like me. Which reminds me of something one of my writing teachers used to say, which may prove useful to you, and it was this: Write amorally. Your job is to catch that story and pin it down with words. Don’t write as if someone is looking over your shoulder, and certainly don’t write while second-guessing yourself. When you’re cruising in the dream and the words come easily, naturally, when they flow without effort or aforethought, then you’ve got it. The words on the page are your voice.

That said, putting those words on paper is sometime like chipping them out of granite, but if they are your words resulting from your choices, then there’s your voice once again.

--------
*NOTE: I’m lying, of course, because I at least have an idea, but I also don’t think it matters.

[bsolah]

Interesting thread.

I agree with a lot of what people have said; it'll develop slowly and continue to develop.

And of course, just keep reading and writing.

In my case, I began writing inspired by Stephen King and whether consciously or not, I wrote stories immitating King. They probably weren't that good.

When I started reading other writers, I guess I tried to imitate them too, and so there was a meld of imitations, and I did this until I slowly grew to realize writing didn't have to be written the way they do it, just do it how I do it, as long as I stick to some basic rules, so I guess I like that Gaimen quote.

One way I found my voice that comes to mind is blogging. Writing prose always has me trying to do it how someone else does it, whether I like it or not, and I'm slowly learning not to, but from the start, I blogged in my voice because there isn't a character to take on, I'm just writing how I'd write.

[SaraAnn]

Here are my questions:
How did you find your voice as a writer and know it was your voice?
When did you make the discovery?
Did finding your voice ease the writing process for you? If so, how?
Lastly, any tips for finding one's voice?


1. I just wrote. The particular piece I found it in was first person, and I read over it. When I read it over I though to myself "Well, this sound like an actual person, and not some robot via pages.". I notice in other wiritngs I have it's the very same.

2. probably aboutt.... Early October. (Halloween stories are fun xP)

3. It didn't change generally. My voice if how I write naturally, but it did make my stuff more fun to read aloud. (:

4. Mine came out prominantly in first person, so maybe write something in yourself in it? Meh, idk, I just found it was natural.

[semilargeintestine]

Oh, I didn't realise there were questions to answer. I'm not sure how I missed that. It's funny that this thread popped up, because I just realised I had a voice about three days ago.

1. I wrote a bunch of different stuff, but everything felt like I was trying to sound like someone I admired. I really enjoy poetry, but I was trying to write the more modern stuff; everything sounded forced and not so good. Finally, I tried some stuff with form and rhyme, and I could really express myself with it. It sounded like me, and people actually liked it. :)

2. This weekend, actually. It's really cool, because now I feel like I can go ahead and just write a whole bunch of stuff.

3. It makes it easier because I don't feel like I'm trying to fool anyone. It's actually made prose a little easier to write, as I just apply my voice in poetry to prose.

4. Just write and experiment until it pops out. It may be gradual like a lot of people, or it may happen suddenly as with me.

[lmz]

You know, I didn't realize I had a "voice" until I got on here, and people were commenting on my posts, saying, "I like your voice", and I was thinking, "What the heck is that?" Then it clicked; my writing style that is mine and only mine and cannot be duplicated. It reflects my personality, my interests, my humor, and my bad faults. It's all there in my writing, my "voice", if you will. When you find it, you'll know. Your words will flow on the page, and you'll read it, and think, "Da*n, this is good".

[Dreir]

Thanks, RB, for this great thread. I was just about to ask exactly the same questions here, but decided to do a search first and found this thread. Reading it through has given me a lot of hope and encouragement.

The worries I've had about not having my own voice had become so bad that it almost made me give up altogether. I would start things, stop after a few pages and grow very frustrated at not seeing where my writing could be unique and represent 'only me'. Now at least I know that I might have been looking for the signs in the wrong way - or in fact, that I shouldn't really be worrying myself about it at all. In this sense, I think finding your voice (or rather, discovering that you do have a voice) is a big help in making writing easier, because it gives you belief in your writing and tells you that, yes, your stories matter. Once you have this belief, I think, no matter how difficult the actual writing process for a specific story is, you would always enjoy it.

Apart from the advice to write and write a lot and not to worry about the voice, I also like the suggestion, I think first put forward by tilt190 and then others, about how writing about something passionately might make you find your voice faster. I've written blogs and written emails with some fierce passion before, but I've never linked that to 'my voice'. Which is kind of silly now that I think about it, since as somebody pointed out here, finding your writing voice is sort of like finding your talking voice (or maybe 'thinking voice'), so it stands to reason that you already have it. At the same time, though, I'm a bit apprehensive as to how my particular voice would affect a heroic fantasy story. What if it turns out that I don't like the voice, after all?

- Dreir -

[Eric San Juan]

Write. Write a LOT. In time your voice shines through. Don't worry about it, don't question yourself. Just keep writing. Read your writing out loud, listen to the inflections in your voice.

For me there came a time when my writing was consistent in all the different genres. It's my voice, my style but I had to keep at it. Just keep writing.
This is it. This is the answer.

WRITE.

There are no tricks, or exercises, or secrets, or anything of the sort. You just WRITE.

And know, understand, and accept that it will take years. It's not going to happen overnight, it's not going to happen in just a year or so, it. Will. Take. Years.

In the meantime: WRITE.

You'll reach a point where you think you've got it, where it has finally clicked for you.

You will be wrong. You won't be there yet. Time to WRITE some more.

It will eventually come. You won't even know when it does, you'll just look back and realize you got there somewhere along the line. Your work will no longer look like your favorite author's (only not as good). You'll feel comfortable in the skin that are your words, and when you write it will be very natural. No more waiting to be "inspired" (a crutch, that), because you know how to do it, you CAN do it, and when you sit down you just ...

WRITE.

[backslashbaby]

...I think finding your voice (or rather, discovering that you do have a voice) is a big help in making writing easier, because it gives you belief in your writing and tells you that, yes, your stories matter. Once you have this belief, I think, no matter how difficult the actual writing process for a specific story is, you would always enjoy it.

...finding your writing voice is sort of like finding your talking voice (or maybe 'thinking voice'), so it stands to reason that you already have it. At the same time, though, I'm a bit apprehensive as to how my particular voice would affect a heroic fantasy story. What if it turns out that I don't like the voice, after all?

- Dreir -

Your stories matter the second they interest you :)

My email voice and thinking voice is not nearly as polished (or clever, hopefully!) as my writer voice. When I write, it's as if I'm subconsciously stealing from other authors, yes, but an enormous combination of MY favorite things that they did.

It's about what sounds best to you, whether that comes from stopping mimicking someone or putting on your writer persona and allowing your inner Voltaire out - whichever direction your problem is. (I was afraid of sounding too 'confident' in a way, but that is my voice, like it or not. It's what my particular combination of likes brought me to!)

What if you don't like your voice? It's the way I'd do it, so innately I like it to a certain degree ;) Do I think other folks want to hear it? Ah, that's a different story :) Do I want to read my work all the time? Nope, I like funnier books than mine!

Hope this helps, and hiya :)

[motormind]

I don't understand all this fascination with "voice". To me it's just a a practical, short way of describing someone's style, choice of words or preferred sentence structure. There is nothing magical about it and nothing you should consciously strive for. Try to write a compelling story. That's hard enough as it is already.

[RandomNotes]

No, I think I can understand the concept of 'voice' and there is something magical when it comes. Like the toll of a bell, or the high strung drag of a plectrum on a guitar string, each book does have a tone for me, an overriding sense of how it should be... Yes the story needs to be compelling, but I think, at least I believe that it's the integral 'voice' which holds the whole thing together, stopping it from appearing as montage of ideas that create plot, character and story.

It's taken me many books, many many short stories and a lot of broken dreams of ideas to find the voices with which I write. It's still hard. I still love everything I write, then I hate it, then I work on it until I hate it less.

Once you have a voice with which you can feel comfortable, with which you can grow and learn, then writing a story becomes a little (but only a little) bit easier.

[motormind]

If you define it that way I think I found my "voice" early on. At least, I can't remember that I ever had any trouble with my own style. I never tried to copy another writer and always simply jotted down the words the way I saw fit. I guess it has to do with my conviction that, as an author, you have to step aside while writing, i.e. you never should get in the way of the story you're trying to tell. There are some favored sentence structures that annoy me at times, but it's nothing that can't be fixed during revising. So, this "trying to find your voice" strikes me as a futile endeavor. Just write and see what happens.

[RandomNotes]

I wasn't trying to define anything really, just saying how it is for me. But your advice is good, although it could be shortened to 'just write', which is one piece of advice that always seems to make wannabe writers jaws drop to the floor...

That's the real secret to writing.... Taptaptap, or scribblescribblescribble if you prefer.

Without the words on the page, without something to bite down on, everything else is just intellectual masturbation.

[Izz]

Personally, I don't think an author's voice is all that relevant in fiction. Different stories require different voices, IMO, and at times an author's love of his own voice can ruin a fiction piece.

I'm probably in the minority on that train of thought, and I acknowledge it's definitely harder to pull off different voices in novel-length works, but i do think a story told in its own voice is always better than one told in the author's voice.

[RandomNotes]

No I thnk you are right. Remains of the day was brilliant because of the voice used, but Hold me Close sucked for the same reason.

[Eric San Juan]

Just write and see what happens.
That is the very definition of finding your voice.

I'm probably in the minority on that train of thought, and I acknowledge it's definitely harder to pull off different voices in novel-length works, but i do think a story told in its own voice is always better than one told in the author's voice.
Just as they say you can't effectively break the rules of grammar until you've mastered them, I believe the same holds true of voice. You can't effectively switch gears and write in different voices until you have a good handle on your own.

[PoppysInARow]

How did you find your voice as a writer and know it was your voice?
It's hard to say. It just progressed as I wrote more and more. When I started out, I didn't write to look good, or try for any style or anything, I just wrote because I had a story that needed to be told. And the more I wrote, the more my voice continued to shine through.


When did you make the discovery?
It was when I started researching and taking classes on writing that I discovered what it was. However, I think what really made it evident was the fact that if I read a really good book, there were so many things thar I wanted to do differently that I would end up frustrated and never finishing the book.


Did finding your voice ease the writing process for you? If so, how?
Not really. Nothing changed. I just started to take notice more and more of what I was doing as a writer.

Lastly, any tips for finding one's voice?
Read and write. Reading helps you to dicover what it is other people are saying and lets you think about what you want to say. Take notes on what syles of writing you like from certian authors, and what you didn't. Try and write in different tones and voices until you find one that's right for you.

[Quip]

I believe Chuck Palahniuk has been most influential upon my style, or "voice." When I write a story in first-person, it tends to be sarcastic and facetious in nature. It changes when I switch to third-person, though. I guess you can alter your "voice" depending on the circumstances and the emotions you're trying to grasp..and as for learning how to do that, as they say, practice makes perfect.

[bsolah]

Quip, Palahniuk influenced my voice too. He has such a strong, snarky voice that it's hard not to get obsessed with it.

[Quip]

I agree. The man is brilliant. :)

[Stijn Hommes]

Here are my questions:
How did you find your voice as a writer and know it was your voice?
When did you make the discovery?
Did finding your voice ease the writing process for you? If so, how?
Lastly, any tips for finding one's voice?

Nadja
I found my voice by looking in all the potential hiding spots around the house (no better way to go about finding something). I found him last night, hiding in the laundry basket. I knew it was my voice, because I know what he looks like. He didn't make writing any easier. He complains when I write something that's not to his liking. I'm thinking about sending him on summer camp with my inner editor.

[lostwanderer5]

I am still quite confused about mine. Sometimes, I think I have a voice. At other times, I am not too sure. It would be easier if it was easily identifiable ... though I think once you write a lot, you do pick up certain things that remain true to your style, regardless of what you write. For example, in my writing, the kind of humour I use remains similar regardless of the genre.

[WriteOn85]

Like the previous post, I do have certain aspects that I can't really shake off no matter what I write. In my case, it's a colorful, extensive vocabulary, a sense of humor that Jekylls-and-Hydes from sharp, droll wit to dark, vulgar, broad comedy to Dennis Miller-style metaphors and references (i.e., using "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" as a verb to describe something undergoing a vast, distinct change in style), and a penchant for doing something different than what's expected in a certain genre (especially with fiction, granted many others before me have done the same and many after me will too).

As for finding a voice...well, that's a little tough. I do have a voice, but sometimes I fear that what I say through writing won't be understood because it's too "intellectual" or "it crossed the line". BFD (big f**kin' deal). It's my voice and the only way it's going to change is through a painful, awkward puberty (which is odd, considering I'm not a teenager anymore) featuring unexpected body hair, unpredictable hormone shifts, and more hideous facial acne than any high school chess club you can name.

Oh, I don't believe we've met. My name is Candy (username: WriteOn85). I'm a struggling author looking for a publisher (and maybe some friends who are into writing like I am).