One of the things I look forward to about attending a writer’s conference is meeting new writers and hearing about what they write, their passions, and their hearts. It’s fun meeting writers from different parts of the country and even the world!
This year as I talked to another writer with a disability, I remembered my days in rehabilitation. I was fortunate enough to be at one of the best rehabilitation hospitals in the Southeast and people came from all over the region to get help. It was here that I first heard the saying that each brain injury is different because each person is different. There are no cookie-cutter recoveries. Perhaps you’ve experienced this within the writing community.
- We each sound different.
- Have different experiences.
- Develop unique perspectives.
- Write different types of writing.
During those months of recovery, I learned to listen to others’ stories and journeys. I learned it’s okay to make mistakes and not have all the answers. It’s a lot like a writer’s journey, it will be different for each of us. Regardless of the path we are on, it is sure to give us a unique voice.
Your Voice!
A writer’s “voice” is an important tool in their toolbox. A unique writing voice is a sign of good writing. It is one of the distinctions that set writers apart from one another. It helps a writer stand out from the crowd. Take the time to learn and polish your voice. Below are a few tips to help you find yours:
1. Determine your point of view. Before embarking on a new creative writing project, ask yourself: Why am I writing fiction or (nonfiction) in the first place? People pursue the craft of writing for different reasons, and understanding your intentions will help you develop a strong voice and your style.
2. Pick a consistent voice for your narrators. While plenty of famous fiction writers toggle between first-person and third-person narrative voice, you can help establish your writing voice by picking one style and sticking to it.
3. Think about sentence structure and word choice. Adopting specific policies about word choice and sentence structure will further establish your voice as an author.
4. Find a balance between description and dialogue. Some authors layer their novels with long passages of description—they describe actions and emotional responses through the narrator’s voice and use dialogue to reinforce the narration. By contrast, other authors let dialogue drive their narrative and only interject narration when dialogue simply will not suffice. Picking one of these styles and committing to it is yet another way to establish a specific and unique voice.
5. Right all the time. Finding your voice takes time. Experiment with different voices and writing styles.”1
In college I majored in English. My instructor’s number one pet peeve was writing that didn’t stand out. She encouraged us to find what we’re passionate about, and to write about it in our unique way.
I can still remember struggling to find focus in my writing and praying for inspiration and clarity in my craft. I wanted to be able to make a change with my writing. But I felt like my voice was lost amongst the other aspiring writers.
Then, I had an accident and lost part of my brain. Along with it I lost my unique way of talking. For the first month after my accident, I spoke in a monotone like Tom Hanks in the movie Forrest Gump. The craziest part is, I didn’t even know it.
Know it!
The only way I could learn how to talk with my normal voice was to spend hours listening to the greeting I recorded on my old answering machine. The more I listened, the more I heard the differences in tone my voice made with certain vowels and consonants.
I had to remember how to change the volume of my voice with different emotions and feelings. Nowadays, I hate listening to it when it’s recorded, especially on my YouTube videos. But, I understand the value of having a unique voice in life. Once others know it, it gets harder for them to forget it. Our unique voice gives us instant recognition into our: personality, character, and culture.
Below are a few tricks to help your writer’s voice be unique and distinguishable:
Listen – This means reading what we’ve written out loud.
Remember – Re-reading things we’ve already written.
Repeat – Copying the pattern and style of previous work.
In the rehabilitation process, patients do a lot of repetitive movements to create muscle memory and help retrain muscles and the brain to function as close to normal as possible. The same principle can be beneficial for writers struggling to find their writing voice.
Martin Johnson survived a severe car accident with a (T.B.I.) Traumatic brain injury which left him legally blind and partially paralyzed on the left side. He is an award-winning Christian screenwriter who has recently finished his first Christian nonfiction book. Martin has spent the last nine years volunteering as an ambassador and promoter for Promise Keepers ministries. While speaking to local men’s ministries he shares his testimony. He explains The Jesus Paradigm and how following Jesus changes what matters most in our lives. Martin lives in a Georgia and connects with readers at MartinThomasJonhson.com and on Twitter at mtjohnson51.
1 https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-find-your-voice-in-writing#5-steps-to-find-your-writers-voice
