Finding your own voice...

In so many ways, who you are as a person is a result of the people you have been exposed to throughout your life, so it would stand to reason that your writing voice would be influenced by what you choose to read.
For sure, my voice is influenced by the writers I favor.
I tend to read a lot of first person and some of my favorites have more of an edge (swearing, blatant sexual talk) in their voice then I do (in my writing and in real life), and when I find myself headed in that direction with my writing, I pull back as it just isn't me.

I once found myself using a particular device that Stephen King used in his writing--italicized sentence fragments inserted between paragraphs to indicate a character's random thoughts. I seemed to do it only for one story though, and have since mostly dropped it. For the most part, I don't tend to mimic writers, but I think this might be because I read mostly nonfiction. It's all written in a fairly straightforward way so there isn't really a "voice" to mimic.

I think one just finds their voice through writing, writing, and more writing. I "found" my voice through just writing. It eventually came to me. I see or feel no need to write like somebody else, and I've never wanted to. I just want to write like myself. I realize your "borrowing" process is likely unintentional but scaling back on reading probably won't help, it'll just mean you're not reading much anymore. The more you write, however, the greater your chances of "finding your own voice."

That's my experience, anyway. For the record I never really felt I HAD to "find my voice." I'm pretty sure it was there all along, somewhere.

James81 said:

I am a writer, but moreso I am an avid reader.

The thing that I discover about being a writer who is an avid reader is that, for me, I notice that the more I read, the more my "voice" in my writing is influenced by what I've read. Especially if I read more than one book by a particular author.

It's almost like my own writing voice gets overshadowed by the voices of authors that I have read and it seeps out into my own writing.

My question: does this happen to any of you? Also, do you think it's wrong to let your writing mimic that which you have read?

I mean it almost seems like plaguerism to me (although I know it's not). It's like I'm not stealing words, but I am stealing "tone" and voice.

Is there a way to have my own distinct voice in writing without scaling back on reading? What ways do you "find your voice"?

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I don't know that I found my voice more than I was born with it. I write how I think, and therefore it is uniquely me. As is your voice.

I'm sure there are a lot of writers that sound similar, but there is an infinate combination of words, so plagerism would be very difficult if not trying to copy someone's writing on purpose. Someone's voice is inherent to them. It's not something that can be mimiced.

You have a voice already. Writing more will develop it, and with practice, hopefully you won't ever question whether it's yours or not again

How funny, I was just about to post this very same question. I hardly wrote much at all yesterday (when I'm free the most often), because everything I wrote sounded like Tucker Max.

While falling into someone else's style isn't necessarily a good thing, I wouldn't consider it disastrous unless the author you're reading is a classic bloviator. I've recently immersed myself in the short stories of Joseph Conrad and found his longwinded narrative style creeping into my work--not good when one considers that brevity is essential when trying to publish short fiction these days. But I can't stop reading his works, so I remain on guard.

It takes less than a week for an avid reader to read a book. It takes most authors a year to write one. Now, for your reading to influence your voice in a given novel, either the novel comes out with 52 distinct voices or it takes you a hell of a long time to read a book.

I shouldn't think that my writing voice comes from what I read in any kind of way. The most books I've read in my life are in the horror genre; over the last ten years or so, it's been mostly non-fiction stuff. I write love stories filled with criminals and perverts, not erotica or BDSM though. Although I write love stories, I've never once read a romance novel. My love stories aren't written in a Stephen King kind of way

Samantha's_Song said:

I write love stories filled with criminals and perverts,

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I write memoirs with the same. Wait...what?

Psst, so do I, but my memoir's not going on sale until I'm a famous authoress. Fact is stranger than fiction, after all hehehe

Wayne K said:

I write memoirs with the same. Wait...what?

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I can't wait to be rich and infamous.

Hahaha That'll probably be me too, as I've certainly been no angel.

Wayne K said:

I can't wait to be rich and infamous.

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I don't think it's uncommon to have another author's voice impede on your own if you're in the process of reading their work, but if it happens at random times, I might be a touch concerned. I firmly believe that a writer shouldn't have to work diligently to find their voice, or to regain it when someone else is influencing you. Voice should be an integral part of the writing process.