Tag: unique voice

Categories
Writing with a Disability (Different Ability)

Find Your Unique Voice

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

Categories
Guest Posts

8 Reasons Why Voice is More Important than Being Original in Writing

Guest posts

Every writer wants to write in an inspiring and captivating way. Whether it’s poetry, novels, personal essays, or blog articles, every writer wants to have a unique writing style and voice. Texts without a voice are empty of meaning and sterile. So, how can your audience sacrifice their time reading a voiceless text? They’ll have no way to associate themselves with the plot or characters.

Defining writer’s voice

What is a writer’s voice? To help you clear your mind, I’ll tell you what it’s not:

  • It’s not the technique
  • It’s not the writing style
  • It’s not the brand
  • It’s not originality

The writer’s voice cannot be measured. However, you can easily define and identify it. The writer’s voice does not entail grammar, structure, or wording. It’s a unique way that the writer sees the world. And how they translate it. For instance, everyone sees an orange the same way. However, everyone has their approach when it comes to describing its taste, color, and texture. According to the literary writer, Rachel Gardner, the writer’s voice is an expression of you.

You are the person who gives life to your writing by offering emotions to characters. Every reader wants to have a connection with the characters. And to see things through them. Your voice is the only door that they can use. Adding voice to your writing involves writing with your emotions, passions, dreams, attitudes, fears, and believes.

Elements of your writer’s voice

As we said earlier, your voice reflects who you are and what inspires you. Your readers should feel your presence as they read your pages. However, you should avoid being an intruder in your piece. You are developing your characters but you are not them.

Unlike technical or scientific texts, your writing needs to be humanized. Your personality plays an integral role in influencing your voice. Your personality needs to breathe out emotions about your topic of interest. You need to trigger the sensations that you want your readers to feel. And you can achieve this goal through your voice.

Tone

Your tone is an important part of your voice. Talking allows you to reveal more about yourself and how you feel. And this happens largely because of your tone. Communicating through writing creates special effects. How every element of your writing connects helps in developing a unique voice. How you say things is just as important as the message you want to share. You can adopt several voice tones in your writing such as jovial, humorous, intimate, ironic, drama, and sophisticated to name a few. The tone that you use will have a huge impact on your brand. You need not use the same tone all the time. You can always adjust it to fit the message you want to communicate.

For example, you can write your blog posts straightforwardly and informally and short stories in a slow-paced and intimate tone. Several factors such as time, narrator, and content influence your voice. The most important thing is being consistent throughout the text and within your writing style.

Rhythm

Rhythm is another essential element of your voice. Rhythm determines the pace of your text. Rhythm is delivered to your writing using phrase structure, alliterations, paragraphs, punctuations, and rhymes. Rhythm is technical, unlike subjective tone.

Mutable writing voice

Writers are versatile by nature. They can write using different styles, delve into one matter or choose to scratch the surface in other topics. They can write short stories, novels, poems, and short articles. Regardless of what they write, their voice is a key ingredient. Unlike other writers who think that voice is created from the ground up, I think it’s inborn.

Writing voice cannot be transmitted because it’s personal. While it’s improved with inspiration and practice, it’s always been within us. Being unique and personal doesn’t mean that your voice is not mutable. You can change the writer’s voice and adjust it depending on what you’re writing about. For instance, writing a story about an incident that happened centuries ago cannot be narrated like something that happened yesterday. The writer needs to transport themselves to the time they are writing about.

These elements don’t make up your writing voice on their own. However, they do as a whole. Each of them affects the writer in one way or another.

Finding your writer’s voice – 8 reasons why it’s important

With high content turnover, it’s important to create and refine your writing style. Being original is great because you don’t want to replicate the findings and experiences of others on your platform. However, it doesn’t guarantee that people will read and enjoy your piece. To succeed as a writer, you need to find your voice.

  • You can use your experiences: When you find your writing voice, you’ll always start with what you know. You’ll have an easy time slipping into the shoes of your characters and immersing yourself in the story. You’ll be inspired by real events, emotions, and people.
  • It allows you to be conscious of your observations: We all see the world through unconventional lenses. However, only a handful of people are aware of the existence of these lenses. When observing people, you’ll start taking note of the dialogue, silences, and interruptions. Your observational skill will determine how you describe events to your readers.
  • Awakens your senses: All readers want to feel something when they immerse themselves into writing. They want to immerse themselves beyond the bare description. To achieve this, you’ll need to awaken all your senses.
  • You’ll start avoiding clichés: Most writers easily fall into the trap of clichés especially during uncertainty and doubt. Since you’ll be using your experiences, you’ll naturally avoid clichés.
  • Your details will be intimate: Intimate details are essential in the enhancement of vivid writing quality. You’ll be specific in describing and characterizing the setting. Subtle movements can help in building the mood of your poem or story.
  • Creates authentic and strong voices: By using an authentic and strong voice, your reader will become submerged in your story.
  • You’ll understand the writing rules: You’ll not be afraid of experimenting and bending writing rules. To find your voice, you’ll need to understand the writing rules completely.
  • You’ll write every day: To master the art of writing, you need to practice. The more you write, the more you’ll be conscious of your writing style and improve on it. Finding your voice will make writing an enjoyable activity.

Conclusion

Writing is a skill. And like all other skills, you can master it through practice and consistency. Don’t be afraid to try new things and bend the rules.

Leon Collier is a blogger and academic writer from the UK who has vast experience working with Topbritishessays and essayontime.co.uk. He loves to take on every challenge thrown at him and has the ability to deliver outstanding work regularly. When he’s not busy writing, he loves reading books and playing tabletop games with his friends. Follow him on Twitter @LeonCollier12.

Categories
Devotions for Writers

Oversize Armor

devotions

“Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

1 Samuel 16:7 (NIV)

The Israelites were trembling in their sandals. Goliath terrorized them by day and haunted their dreams at night. A teenage shepherd told the king he would fight the giant, with God’s help, and, lo and behold, the king agreed. King Saul brought out his personal arsenal for battle, but he stood a head taller than other people (1 Samuel 10:23), and the armor was too big for David. For the full account, read 1 Samuel 17.

How would the narrative have been different, had David done things Saul’s way?

How are our stories constrained by doing things like everyone else?

Just like God equipped a shepherd boy to fight a giant, and one day become king, He has equipped each of us with the tools to write His story.

Exercise:

  • Don’t compare yourself to others. Do look at what God is doing in your life. (Galatians 6:4-5) Make a list of places you have placed articles and celebrate your accomplishments!
  • What has God called you to do, that only you can do (Ephesians 2:10)? Write it down.
  • What specific gifts are in your wheelhouse? 1 Corinthians 12:4-6
  • Is your armor the wrong size? (1 Samuel 17:38-39) What are you trying to imitate instead of adding your personal spin?
  • So many of us suffer with “self issues.” Either we’re too big for our britches or we think the pants are too big for us to fill. (Exodus 4:13)
  • Are you trying to keep up appearances or are you working to obey God’s prompts? (“To obey is better than sacrifice.” 1 Samuel 15:22)
  • How’s your faith? Write out 2 Corinthians 9:8. Do you believe the Lord can do this?
  • Write out Ephesians 3:20-21. What about God makes us think He can’t accomplish what He’s asked us to do?
  • Believe in your calling and persevere. Galatians 6:9-10
  • What do you need to ask God for, today? (James 1:5)

God had the prophet anoint David to be the next king, not because he was a perfect leader, but David was chosen for his heart for God. Is the Lord looking for someone like you?

What gave David confidence? He didn’t place faith in himself, but in God (1 Samuel 17:36-37). So, trust God’s calling and character, and lean in to the job He’s given you. The battle is the Lord’s! (1 Samuel 17:47)

Over 140 of Sally Ferguson’s devotionals have been published in Pathways to God (Warner Press). She’s also written for Light From The Word, Chautauqua Mirror, Just Between Us, Adult Span Curriculum, Thriving Family, Upgrade with Dawn and ezinearticles.com. Prose Contest Winner at 2017 Greater Philly Christian Writers Conference.

Sally loves organizing retreats and seeing relationships blossom in time away from the daily routine. Her ebook, How to Plan a Women’s Retreat is available on Amazon.

Sally Ferguson lives in the beautiful countryside of Jamestown, NY with her husband and her dad.

Visit Sally’s blog at www.sallyferguson.net

Categories
A Lighter Look at the Writer's Life

Hey, you! Can you hear me?

lighter look at a writer's life

The other day in my Interpersonal Communication class, we talked about “acoustic space,” which is the distance your voice carries in a given situation. It was a lively discussion, and I came to a realization.

My acoustic space is the length of the Atlantic Seaboard. My voice is loud and proud, and people tell me my laugh is distinctive (What are they talking about, anyway? LOLOLOL). All the time, friends say, “I knew you were in the store because I heard you!” What can I say? My voice is loud! No getting around it.

I have learned to live with my booming voice and laugh, but I hope my writing voice is just as unique. In my experience, I try to write like I sound. That may be oversimplification, but it works for me.

I approach my writing voice as if I were sitting down with you over a cup of coffee (or lemonade, since I gave up caffeine awhile back). Most of the time I write humor, and, as already mentioned, I love to laugh. So, as in conversation, I am going to break out every witticism, every cliché, every funny thing I can think of to make you laugh as I try to inspire you. I’m wacky that way.

That’s my style, and I’ll stick to it as long as the Lord allows. My type of writing would not work for everyone or in every situation. Imagine if I tried to write a suspense novel. It’s funny to think about, but I believe it would be DISASTROUS if I actually attempted such a work. Not my style, not my voice. I’ll leave the suspense to authors like Ted Dekker and Brandilyn Collins, who have honed and developed their unique voices in that genre (And who probably make a lot more money from writing than I do—on second thought, maybe I should try . . .).

All in all, writing voice is about letting your personality shine on the page or on the screen. It’s quite unusual that I am such an extrovert who is also called to write, but blame God for that—He often uses the foolish to confound the wise. In person, I’m ALL CAPS AND EXCLAMATION POINTS!! I try to pull that back in my writing, but I still want to make you smile.

So grab a cup of coffee or lemonade or even water and get ready to smile for a while. Be warned: you may need earplugs if we’re together in person.

During weekdays, Carlton Hughes sounds like Charlie Brown’s teacher (wah-wah wah-wah-wah) as a community college professor of communication and journalism. On Sundays and Wednesdays, you’ll find him playing games, performing songs with motions, and doing object lessons in his role as a children’s pastor. He and his wife Kathy also attempt to keep up with their two college-age boys, Noah and Ethan.

In his “spare” time, Carlton is a freelance writer who has been published in numerous books, including several recent releases from Worthy Publishing: The Wonders of Nature, So God Made a Dog, Just Breathe, Let the Earth Rejoice, and Everyday Grace for Men. He has been featured in Chicken Soup for the Soul and other publications and is represented by Cyle Young of the Hartline Agency. He contributes regularly to two writing blogs, almostanauthor.com and inspiredprompt.com. He specializes in humorous observations of everyday life, connecting those experiences with spiritual application.

Carlton loves watching classic sitcoms like I Love Lucy, eating way too much chocolate, and rooting for his favorite college and high school basketball teams. He is on the planning committee for Kentucky Christian Writers Conference and a year-round volunteer for Operation Christmas Child.