What is writers voice

I find it difficult—even just writing to myself—to let down those barriers and put myself on the page. I'm always wondering what people will think: will I come across too abrupt or rude or immature or. I'm trying to get past this fear of opening myself up, so I am looking forward to your post about excavating and developing your writer's voice!

Talented as they may be, they don't win the contest because they're mimicking rather than using their own vocal cords which may well produce a sound like James Taylor in a unique way. My voice will be cramped and strained if I try to sound like a soprano ANY soprano. My writing will either put people to sleep or grate on their nerves if I mimic someone else.

I like Jane Austen but we already have one of those. So I'll attend to my vocal exercises and let my voice come out. Often it's not so much finding it as it is no longer resisting it. But I pray readers find the "voice" is the same. Sometimes I sing blues. Sometimes jazz. Your voice will come out. Everyday, all the time.

Write about the weather, the funny man on the corner, your boss. Write about that idea where people's heads turn into eggplants. Write articles, diaries, fiction, poetry. But I believe it's even more than that.

During that process, during the peeling and self-discovery we gain courage and self-confidence. This strengthens that voice we're looking for. I'm by no means an expert, but every-so-often I'll find that voice rearing its head through a new character or a paragraph…and it's getting stronger. I believe the voice is an inner connection with the writer's true self.

It really is therapy. I find it occassionally…it pokes out its head and woo-hoo, there is it! Then it disappears for awhile and I'm left scratching my head. I think, my biggest hurdle in letting my voice jump onto the page is I get so entrenched in the "rules" of writing and "writing tight" that I lose some of my voice.

I'm starting to 'get' what a writer's voice is. For a while I wasn't sure if I had a unique voice, and, to be honest, I'm not sure I have it everytime I write, still. But I'm starting to notice when others like my writing. As my husband or critique partner read my manuscript, I notice when they love certain chapters or sections of the story and when they don't love certain sections as much.

And when I go back through those sections, I realize that those chapters sound like… well, me. This goes for blogging as well. I think the blog posts that are an honest portrayal of me and my passions, I hear my own voice.

The trick, now, is to make sure that passion and self comes out in everything I write not just certain sections of it. Her essence, instead of the airbrush reveals her. Then I sit down and write. I don't worry about if I'm doing it right, if I'm breaking rules, etc. Just pure story and characters. I can't read or watch tv or movies during the months I write because I can't enjoy them until I see what happens next for the characters in my head.

In the beginning when I knew nothing about craft, I was told by those helping me learn that I had voice and hook down. And that they could see it all taking place in their minds when they read my work. In some cases it may be a mentor. I feel you are helping out so many of us with every post you write.

You are a blessing for all of us. I feel my writing represents my voice in everything I write. My writing is a culmination of the person I've become through decades on this Earth. My writing represents the people I love and the people I have met throughout my life. I take a little bit here and there and make it a part of my stories.

I only know one way to use my voice when I write and that's to pull down deep from everything I've learned in life through situations I or one of my loved one's have experienced. I would like to think I've already peeled away any layers of false self. I don't hold much back when it comes to being honest and it shows through in my writing. I purposely avoid any strong similarities with anything I've seen on TV or the movies so that there won't be a direction comparison.

The thing that makes voice unique is that we each have made different choices about what we read, watch and remember. We all have a somewhat unique voice, but for it to be unique enough to stand out comes from the attitude of the author.

Then I go back and rewrite until I find a way through it. Sometimes I have to sleep on it. The main thing is that I'm writing from the subconscious and then thinking through what I'm trying to say. I need to discover what I have to say, rather than writing from the top of my head, which is normally nothing but white noise.

I could no more do a book about ideas I am conscious of than flap my arms and fly. That is only an uninitiated plan. Become an actor in your own life. Step into the role and relive your own life in character. Step into the role of your character and live every movement every day every event. Step into the character and live every moment voice will appear like magic.

Its free its on tap and its endless. I love reading your blog because your writing is succint, you sound committed to your profession, and most of all you touch on subjects other lit agents shy away from: the nitty gritty of a lit agent's role as more mediator and not necessarily divine right of placing books with a publisher.

One can sense your inner passion to assist aspiring writers to learn their craft yet retain individuality, and desire to bring forth "new voices"!

Hee hee, I've been told I have a "strong" writer voice, which may be good or bad: who knows? For instance, I have had a half-idea for a novel in my head for a couple of years now, since a scene in an episode of Torchwood got me thinking. And although I haven't started writing it yet, it has helped me refine my voice. When I think about what I want to do with that idea, how I want the main character to be, that's helping me to figure out what I really, really want to say.

And because I haven't started the actual writing yet, it's still unpolluted by the 'What-will-my-dream-agent-think-of-this-scene? This article along with the images is quite in-depth and gives a good overview of the topic.

Absolutely beautiful words here. You are so right. My book was sold on my voice. I don't think I am am amazingly skilled writer with perfect grammar, but I do have a voice and it's a pretty strong one. I think writers forget how important it is to have this come through. A voice is often more important than anything else because it is so rare. Thanks for sharing!!!! Rachelle Gardner July 30, 86 Comments. Rachelle Gardner Literary agent at Gardner Literary.

I've worked in publishing since and I love talking about books! Stone on April 15, at AM. Jonel Ebuen on December 14, at AM. Megan Besing on February 5, at AM. Dee Strange on November 15, at PM. Thank you for this article. Brian on October 30, at PM. A writers voice Writing 12 on October 7, at PM. MaribelHardin on December 2, at PM. Hemmie on August 5, at AM. Claude Forthomme on August 4, at AM.

Anonymous on August 4, at AM. Harriett Starr on August 3, at AM. Barbara Baig on August 2, at PM. Katy Kauffman on August 2, at AM. Deborah on August 2, at AM. John Overman on August 1, at PM. Ashley on August 1, at PM. Raymond Parker on August 1, at PM. Stephanie O. Don Booker on August 1, at AM. David Amburgey on July 31, at PM. Thanks again, very inspiring. God bless. Laura Pauling on July 31, at PM. Julie Hedlund on July 31, at PM.

Great post! Anonymous on July 31, at PM. That, and readers. And publishers. And, oh well. Susie Shaw on July 31, at PM. Can't wait for the next post on voice. Matt on July 31, at AM. Bri Clark on July 31, at AM. Anonymous on July 30, at PM. Laurie P. Anna L. Walls on July 30, at PM.

Amanda G on July 30, at PM. Julie on July 30, at PM. Glad I found you today! Have a blessed day! Tahlia on July 30, at PM. Julie Weathers on July 30, at PM. Rita Monette on July 30, at PM. Madison Woods on July 30, at PM. Kristin W. Ida M. Olson on July 30, at PM. This allows me to go back to work with my voice all warmed up. Lisa on July 30, at PM. Kellye Parish on July 30, at PM. Carrie L. Lewis on July 30, at PM. Voice is, I think, the way a story is told.

Just as how the same piece of music sounds quite different if played on a violin versus a flute or sung by a choir or a rapper , a story that involves that same plot, characters, world, etc, can still change a lot depending on the voice used to tell it. He saw his mother across the hall and took a deep breath. The arrival of his mother and that atrocious hat had been enough to scare Jessica away from him for the rest of the school year.

Almost immediately, it catapults him back decades—to hot Savannah summers, and home-made ice cream, and the year he was twelve, when he tried to kiss Jessica Dowly behind the playground and failed.

His mother was across the hall. Pink hat. White dress. These short excerpts are a bit too short to properly display differences in voice, but I think you can get the general idea! Voice is the lens through which the reader sees the story. But many writers me included! And those are both in third person! When I first started writing, I used to have a notebook in which I copied down my favorite passages from books.

I started paying attention to which stories I loved not just for their plots and characters and such, but purely for the way they were told. And I would write scenes, or stories, or just little snippets in as close an approximation to that voice as I could. It is definitely something that can be developed. However, it is also something that is unique. Great post, Kat! I agree that a writer can adjust the voice depending on the book they are writing. Thanks for posting on a tough subject. Thank you, Kat, for this well written and insightful article.

Older texts tend to use longer sentences, but this is not absolute. It takes time to develop your approach to syntax. This includes placing of commas, and use of speech marks, semi-colons and colons. His use or non-use of punctuation is famous. It therefore guides your readers to show how they should feel about those events too. It may, for example, express sympathy with the protagonists, or impatience.

Tone is important because it brings your own emotions into the story. Everyone sees events in a different way. Your perspective draws on your experience, including what you have read as well as what you have done and seen. It may seem odd to include subject matter in this list, which is very much about the mechanics of writing, rather than the content. However, most writers have a particular genre that defines them, and may also have a specialist subject area.

In the examples, Bill Bryson is best known as a travel writer, and Dick Francis used his extensive knowledge of horse-racing in writing his thrillers. Grammatical voice is a quality of verbs, and can be either active or passive. In the first sentence below, the verb chased is in the active voice, and in the second, was chased is passive:.

The active emphasises the person or thing doing the verb action, and the passive emphasises the recipient. There is more about this in our page Active and Passive Voice. Nobody is born with their voice fully developed, and writers continue to develop their voices throughout their careers.

It follows that you do not need to try to develop your voice. It will come, as you write more, and start to get comfortable with your own choice of expression.