Voice. A dirty word?

A voice varies from book to book, author to author. It isn't something tangible or specific. And I certainly can't see how it is limiting. You can have a very strong voice, where the narrator be it in the first person or not is very present. You can have an almost invisible seeming voice, where the reader only notices the story itself. You can be funny, sarcastic, wise, confused . . . as many voices as there are people out there.

Personally voice is very important to me. There are certain books that no matter what the plot is I just love the author's voice. Some people know here that I am obsessed these days with Naomi Novik and her Temeraire series. I love the voice in that, which though third person is basically that of her MC. Upright, and noble. Just fab. Then there is my patron saint Douglas Adams who has such a irreverent fun voice, and is the reason really I love his books as I do.

I myself have a very distinct voice in the current series I am writing, and I have eavesdropped on my editor promoting my book at the BEA where the big thing he was pushing was just that, the unique voice. In fact I find my book a difficult sell because on the surface it seems like something you have read many times over, a treasure hunt. But it is the voice that, at least I like to think, makes it unique.

Point is, I bet you have a voice that is your own, you just don't know it. Some people cultivate a voice, some people purposefully change their voice book to book, others "just write", as in the voice that happens just happens and they don't really think about it. But it isn't something to be scared of or worried about, but rather something to be embraced and have a heck of a lot of fun with!

Voice isn't a dirty word at all. It's just very hard to quantify in such a way as to give advice on how to improve or strengthen your voice. It comes out in things like sentence rhythm, paragraph length, and word choice.

As you write you'll find both your personal voice and that of the piece you're writing.

You already have a voice. Now you just have to find an agent who loves it.

To me, a voice is everything that is about the writer -- it's very specific to the writer alone, and is unique. It's not just one thing, but all things combined: the word choices, the cadence, the sentence structures, the rhythm, the thought processes, the way how something is expressed, the style. We can talk about plot, characters, dialogue, etc. etc. and learn these skills, but voice remains personal and that is what set a writer apart from another. When my publisher says I have an unique voice, it means exactly that -- no one else writes like I do, even if we all write the same story.

Barbara Samuel does an online workshop on finding your voice, I believe, and it's reported to be excellent. If you Google her, there might be more information at her website.

A lot of authors, at least in the beginning, stifle their voice. It's there, but we're a little timid and so aware of what we're doing that we stomp on the uniqueness, instead of celebrating it. Personally, I started out trying to write serious woman-in-jeopardy suspense stuff (seemed appropriate, given my legal background), and I'd go off on quirky detours, and it took me a couple years before I figured out that the quirky stuff was part of my voice, and I should forget about doing anything too serious, because I really wasn't interested in serious. When I finally got out of my own way, the voice came through.

JD

When I think of a good strong voice I think of the kind of book that makes me take a really deep breath when I reach the end. And then, for maybe a few minutes or hours, I see the world around me a little bit differently. I hear the voice in my head, seeing my world, instead of just me seeing my world. It's a rare feeling, I get it less and less as I get older, but when it comes it is wonderful.

If one person ever says that about my voice, I will go from just a writer to a successful writer in an instant.

Every book has a voice, but I think it's rare to find a strong, interesting and distinct voice.

If it's your voice, great, roll with the punches. If you are walking in someone else's voice, it will show.

Just an interesting aside, but I saw a post recently on a writer's blog by an editor saying she could always tell a new writer who's relied too much on critique groups and writing rule books, because her voice was gone and she sounded just like everyone else.

All "voice" means to me is the way a story feels when you pick it up. Someone could post up a bit of Dickens or Lovecraft or Melville and people will immediately recognize the "voice." Some people can mimic a voice of another author---which is how the old Nancy Drew books, and the current Robert Ludlum books are written. Notice the new Ludlum releases and you'll see a
™ after his name. "Robert Ludlum" is now a trademark since he's been dead for years. And he has a specific "voice" that needs to sound the same to the readers, book after book, even if the words aren't really his. Brian Lumley did the same thing with the Cthulu mythos, adopting Lovecraft's voice at first, before finding his own.

Write as it feels right to you. That's your voice, and it'll eventually be unmistakeable to your readers.

Manat said:

Just an interesting aside, but I saw a post recently on a writer's blog by an editor saying she could always tell a new writer who's relied too much on critique groups and writing rule books, because her voice was gone and she sounded just like everyone else.

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Similarly, I find a difficulty in editing is that I can have a tendency to edit my voice out of my work... my first drafts always seem to me to have a quality I like, though a little raw.

Also I wonder if we sometimes have an odd tendency to write naturally in one style, perhaps the one that inspired others to say that they like our work, but then a different one when we perceive that it will be viewed more "seriously", such as for submission for publication. I've sometimes seen blogs or little anecdotal posts here that I think are brilliant, by unpublished writers, and it's crossed my mind.. "I wonder if they try to be too polished or slick when attempting more serious work?" Purely because I think I can lapse into that.

Voice is combining what you write and who you are. I don't know how else to put it. The closer you can get to the two, the better your writing. It's you writing; it's you writing you.

Doesn't use of voice also have to do with POV and character attitude? Or am I confusing myself?

She_wulf said:

Doesn't use of voice also have to do with POV and character attitude? Or am I confusing myself?

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Technically I'm not sure, but intuitively I've always felt of voice as being, irrespective of POV or characterisation in a specific work, the underlying style of writing that uniquely identifies it as being mine. Almost the way a friend's audible voice would immediately identify them to me when I heard it.

The character's voice is different from the author's voice. Sometimes when an agent/editor says they're looking for a unique "voice," it's the unique CHARACTER'S voice they're looking for. Which makes it all that more confusing and frustrating for us writers...

All I know about voice is that I have yet to find an agent to "fall in love with" mine.

akiwiguy said:

Technically I'm not sure, but intuitively I've always felt of voice as being, irrespective of POV or characterisation in a specific work, the underlying style of writing that uniquely identifies it as being mine. Almost the way a friend's audible voice would immediately identify them to me when I heard it.

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sounds good to me.

maestrowork said:

To me, a voice is everything that is about the writer -- it's very specific to the writer alone, and is unique. It's not just one thing, but all things combined: the word choices, the cadence, the sentence structures, the rhythm, the thought processes, the way how something is expressed, the style. We can talk about plot, characters, dialogue, etc. etc. and learn these skills, but voice remains personal and that is what set a writer apart from another. When my publisher says I have an unique voice, it means exactly that -- no one else writes like I do, even if we all write the same story.

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What the Maestro said.

Voice is how you write, how you tell your stories. Some writers have a distinctive voice from the first words they put on paper, while others take years and much writing before they settle comfortably into their voice.

If you try to write "like" someone else, you can short-circuit the process of finding your own voice -- and yet, your unique voice may very well be a blend of the bits and pieces of other voices you read and love along the way.

Don't try to force it. Don't even think about it. Just write.

Voice

I think many avoid talking about voice because they don't know what it is, and confuse voice with style. Voice what you write about, what you have to say about what you write about, and the way what you write about sounds when read. Anyone reading a story that has authentic voice will ever after know that writer without looking at the byline. Voice is important. Voice sells fiction. Or stops fiction from selling.

Style, on the other hand, is what you use to achieve voice.

Yes, style may change from genre to genre, from story to story. When I write contemporary horror it's in a different style than my thrillers. But my voice doesn't really change that much. I think many of us confuse voice with style for a reason -- they "sound" like the same thing, but they aren't.

Nothing like a good bass-baritone I say!!!!

davids said:

Nothing like a good bass-baritone I say!!!!

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I'm a soprano/mezzo soprano, personally.

Voice is a dirty word to a lot of today's musicians, you know, with all that shouting, growling, and rapping...XD

Anyway.

I've always thought "voice" was unique to the author, and then that voice would be modified for the character the author's writing. Like "*Author* does *Character*". Like when a singer covers a pre-existing song, or an actor takes on a character previously played. It's the same thing, but with their twist, their voice, how they would have sung the same song or played the same character had it been them originally. That's how, I believe, an author is with his/her characters. And that's what voice is. :3

Toothpaste said:

...But it is the voice that, at least I like to think, makes it unique...

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Tis that.

I just finished the book last night. I wouldn't normally take that long to read a novel, but I have about six on the go at once. I'll try to only read one book at a time in the future, but there are so many good ones out there!