Tag: Writer’s Voice

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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

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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
Writing with a Disability (Different Ability)

Your Voice

Last month I mentioned the ultimate goal of every writer, whether experienced or a beginner—we want our audience to take away a particular idea or concept from our writing.

While that may be our reason for writing a particular prose, it is influenced by how we say it. Otherwise known as the elusive author’s voice. Everyone has something to say and a unique way to say it.

It’s part of the art of communication, how we express ourselves to others makes us unique and it is a result of many factors. For the sake of time I want to focus on four factors, particularly the last.

  • Situational: the situation we’re trying to express ourselves in.
  • Developmental/education: our education and how we process information.
  • Environment/culture: the circumstances and our surroundings.
  • Physical/abilities: how we best express ourselves or are able/disabled

Yes, even people with disabilities have a unique voice.

Voice?

I think our actual voices are something we take for granted every day. You never know how important it is until you lose it. After I had my accident, I literally lost my unique voice. When I talked, I spoke in a monotone voice like Forrest Gump. I couldn’t hear it at first, but after listening to my therapist’s recording, it was clear as a whistle, I only had to listen.

Fortunately, I had recorded the greeting on my answering machine. My therapist’s treatment involved listening to that greeting over and over until I got used to my distinct voice characteristics. I would’ve never have known my voice had been lost, if someone hadn’t pointed it out to me.

The same principle applies to an author’s voice. After blogging for a half decade, I never really heard my voice until Christian author DiAnn Mills listened to my writing and shared her thoughts with me.

After years of writing about my struggles of being disabled and single, I had developed a transparent and vulnerable writing voice. It’s ironic; my strength in writing is in knowing my weakness.

At this point, I should confess that there are many other authors and professionals who can explain voice better than I can. I am still new to this, that’s why I write for Almost An Author.

I do know most writers struggle to develop a unique voice and often confuse it with what they think “their” voice is. Other writers know what it’s not:

  1. Your angle.
  2. Your delivery.
  3. Your platform.

Your voice is unique to you and your personality; it develops the more you write. Christian literary agent Rachel Gardner puts it this way, “Your writer’s voice is an expression of YOU on the page.”

When you write, your audience should hear your voice, kind of like the greeting on my answering machine in college.

Hearing?

Each time I write I try to focus on what I am trying to say to my audience and I try to visualize them. I think about how I can best communicate an idea in my own personal way.

It may not be perfect or the most intellectual prose, but it will be my words and hopefully they will hear my voice. Gardner continues:

“It’s a unique conglomeration of your:

After living with a disability for over 20 years, I’ve learned its okay to be different—to be me. I don’t have to be the next Jerry B. Jenkins, C. S. Lewis or Francis Chan. They have their stories to tell and I have my own narratives, ideas and beliefs to share in a way only I can.

The same goes for you. As you write, think about who you are, what you’ve been through and how you feel.

Over time you will find your voice.

Martin Johnson survived a severe car accident with a (T.B.I.) Truamatic 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 Spiritual Perspectives of Da Single Guy and on Twitter at mtjohnson51.

Categories
Craft Writing with Humor

More Is Caught Than Taught: A Fun Way to Develop Comedic Voice

Click to view: More Is Caught Than Taught: A Fun Way To Develop Your Comedic Voice by Jean Wilund via www.AlmostAnAuthor.com

More is caught than taught.

This truism haunted me as I raised three impressionable children. Now it inspires me as I seek to improve my humor skills.

It also gives me a great excuse to go out or stay in. Going out to the latest comedy now qualifies as needed research. Hunkering down at home with an amusing book is necessary study time.

This is not to say that all is caught and none is taught. Even if we were born with a comedic gift, writers need to examine the various forms and styles of humor such as epigrammatic, ironic, and farcical humor.

But not today.

Today we’ll focus on a less technical and more fun way to develop comedic voice. I suggest we watch and learn from the pros.

Grab your favorite witty book, blog, or magazine and a pen. Mark the lines that grab you. Then after you’re done laughing, study them.

Or watch a comedy and note the moments that stand out. Study those moments.

As I’ve done this, I’ve noticed a pattern emerge of the type of humor I prefer. This in turn reveals a course of study for improving my own comedic voice as I emulate my favorites and study their specific styles.

One of the blogs I study often is Jon Acuff‘s. He offers helpful and inspirational articles about career development in an entertaining manner. His sense of humor draws me in every time.

In his article 3 Reasons to Give Someone A Book For Christmas (12/15/15), Jon opens with the following:

Do you know when I realized I was an adult?

When I got luggage for Christmas and was excited.

I got a new suitcase and was thrilled/depressed. I was thrilled because it had a tri-fold department that would keep my shirts from getting wrinkled when I flew. I was depressed because I cared whether shirts got wrinkled.

As part of my studies, I watch a lot of comedies and comedians. Michael Jr. is my current favorite. He tells everyday life stories from a unique perspective with excellent timing. He’s helping me learn to stop and see the humor in life from a different angle. His take on being Jesus’ little brother is great study material.

My all-time favorite author to read and study is C.S. Lewis. I’ve never heard anyone call him a comedian, but I find much of his work not only insightful but quite humorous. The opening line in his book The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is one of the best first lines ever written.

“There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.”

What about you? If it’s true that more is caught than taught, which authors and comedians will you begin to study? Share your suggestions in the comments.

[bctt tweet=”More Is Caught Than Taught: A Fun Way to Develop Your Comedic Voice #AmWriting #Authors #Humor”]

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Craft Developing Your Writer's Voice

Writer’s Voice Questions Answered for 2016

DDA3Jan16I’ve received several questions concerning how one recognizes their writer’s voice. For those of you who discovered your voice early on, it’s hard to understand why others struggle with this issue. To those who are still wandering in the writer’s desert, seemingly voiceless, it is indeed frustrating.

So let’s start this New Year off by addressing a few of these questions:

  1. What is the first thing to do when searching for my writer’s voice? Since starting this column I’ve offered many tips on this subject. Some of you have written to me saying your voice was much clearer after reading through my suggestions. Others said your voice is still illusive. My answer for you is to write, write, write, then read, read, read! Read what you’ve written, out loud, and listen to the tone of the pieces. Your voice will be recognizable after reading and comparing numerous pieces of your work. You will hear yourself coming through the words; the essence of you, and that is your voice.
  1. How can I be sure I’m using my voice and not someone else that I have patterned? I believe we read the authors whose writing we enjoy, and in doing so, we often pattern ourselves after them, at least somewhat, with our first attempts. As you settle into your writing style your unique voice will emerge. I read a lot of authors whose books were set in the Appalachian Mountains where most of my stories are birthed. My voice developed a flavor of its own with just a soft coloring from those favorite writers.
  1. Does my voice change when I write in different genres? When writing fiction, my voice shines through loud and clear. In other genres I still hear hints of my style. I am sure if I were to write technical articles my voice would be shelved…a reader would not care to hear my warm and fuzzy discussions of, lets say, heating units.
  1. Will someone else be able to tell me my voice? Other writers will often hear your voice in your work. Asking them to share their thoughts on your voice could be a great help, especially if you ask several people and their opinions are similar.

Please share your questions on discovering your writers voice in the comment section below. We will address these as time permits.

“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.”

Edith Lovejoy Pierce

 

I wish you a happy New Year filled with wonderful writing opportunities.

 


 

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Developing Your Writer's Voice Uncategorized

Christmas Newsletters and the Writer’s Voice Within

DDA3Dec15There are two schools of thought about Christmas newsletters we receive from friends and family. One group loves them, and the other dreads seeing them tucked inside glitter-frosted cards.

I enjoy them immensely.

Although the newsletters come quickly, like ants filing out of anthills, they are, for me, a way to catch up on the happenings of loved ones every year.

Many of my newsletter-loving friends are writers, making theirs especially enjoyable to read, as you can’t help but “hear” their writer’s voice. One author gives beautiful descriptions of her home’s Christmas finery as she does in her book’s settings. She writes cozy novels and her newsletter seems to be an extension of her character’s warm and fuzzy lifestyles. Another writer friend’s letter hits only the high spots of her family’s holiday festivities. It lacks warmth and it’s not fuzzy in the least, a reflection of her bare bones writing style.

For practice in discovering your voice, write a Christmas newsletter. Let the words flow; remember this is just a practice exercise. When you finish, read the letter with fresh eyes and see if you recognize your style. In one of my earlier columns I suggested you read your older diaries and journals; this is another opportunity to examine free writings for glimpses of your unique voice.

Do I send Christmas newsletters, you might ask? The answer is no, simply because I am usually wrapping gifts until a Santa sighting is broadcast over the evening news report. I did, however, join you in this attempt, and my style and voice was easily recognized among the descriptions of holiday wrappings, tree decorations and the aromas of family dishes passed down through generations.

I hope this was a pleasant way to unwrap your writer’s voice.

Praying your Christmas is blessed beyond measure and that you, dear writer, find peace and hope among the most beautiful words ever penned…”for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11 (KJV)

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Developing Your Writer's Voice

How A Dinosaur Can Help Your Writer’s Voice

tyrannosaurus-855188_1280Is it possible for a dinosaur of technology to help define your writer’s voice? I say yes and say it with gusto!

First, I admit I’m old-fashioned in many areas of my life but there is one dinosaur in my writer’s toolbox that I use often on my writing journey—a tape recorder. While writing my first novella I recorded every chapter. Oh, the mistakes I discovered listening to those tapes. I would hate to see the total times I used my weasel word just per page. I also heard far too many sentences beginning with I.

The main reason I taped the chapters was to check if my writer’s voice was consistent. My books are set in Appalachia and a slip from my character’s voice and my writer’s voice are very evident. I plan to continue to use this device with each of my writing endeavors. I feel new writers in search of their voice will benefit greatly from this practice.

A lot of writers use digital voice recorders. These recorders are small enough for them to carry anywhere, allowing them to quickly record a thought, character name and profile, a plot point or location for a story. Now with smart phone apps, the digital recorder, I’ve been told, is threatened with extinction.

I have a digital voice recorder, and was recently given a smart phone, but my dinosaur-like recorder will continue to sit on my desk, ready for, if only in my mind, my next masterpiece.

“Technology presumes there’s just one right way to do things and there never is.”  Robert Pirzig

Do you have a favorite form of technology that you use to record your work? If so, please share in the comment section.

Categories
Developing Your Writer's Voice

How Passion Influences Your Voice

“Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.”

– William Wordsworth

The breathings of our heart, our passion, dwell in the deep places of our soul. It is from this passion in which we write—in which we find our voice.

Passion is defined as, “the intense enthusiasm you feel for something.”

Do you feel intense enthusiasm when you write? If so, then your voice will eventually begin to emerge when your pen hits paper.

Delve deep and see what ignites a spark, what causes your heart to leap. Out of this soul-searching you will then write from your characters soul; feel the character’s hurt; rejoice in their happiness—sense their fears—then write from that place.

We can’t always write what we love, what we are passionate about, but we can love the art of writing. Even shaping words into a technical article can bring us a sense of satisfaction.

Use the exercise below to see if your passion is easily recognizable.

Pick a subject that is meaningful to you and write a short piece on this topic. Don’t hold back, dive into the soul’s well and then set the piece aside for several days. Ask these questions after reading:

  1. Would a reader find my passion evident? Was an emotional tug felt, a sense of indignation, did joy shine forth?
  1. Did I get caught up in the skill of writing? Did my concentration on writing skill suppress my words thus stifling my passion?
  1. Did I follow a story formula? Did the formula keep my words from flowing freely?

Did your passion resonate? If not, rewrite, keeping in mind the above questions.

Your writer’s voice will benefit from Terri Guillemets’s advice: Renew your passions daily.

What’s one way you renew your passion daily?

Categories
Developing Your Writer's Voice

One Way to Discover Your Writer’s Voice

Can Stock Image

“Do you have a unique voice?”

It’s one question agents and editors often ask writers during one-on-one interviews at conferences.

A “deer caught in the headlights” look passes over newbie’s faces while their tongues cling to the roof of their mouths. “Voice, what do you mean by voice?”

It’s been said that finding and developing one’s writer voice is at the top of the list of things aspiring writers find most intimidating.

There are many definitions of what constitutes a writer’s voice. I believe it’s a combination of syntax, style, dialogue, diction and tone. It is the very essence of you that springs forth from the pages.

[bctt tweet=””Do you have a unique voice?” #amwriting #author #novel” via=”no”]

My writer’s voice came quickly, which was not the case for the bane of my existence—the matter of show versus tell. We all have issues!

Each post I’ll share a tip on developing your writer’s voice along with advice I’ve gleaned over the years from seasoned wordsmiths. Hopefully, tackling this issue in small bites will make it easier to digest.

Today’s tip: Read. Read a lot. When you find new authors or revisit old favorites, try to determine what drew you into their story world. Listen for their voice. Read other books written by them to determine if you would know it was their writing, their voice, without seeing the writer’s names. This lesson might seem elementary but trust me; it will be a helpful exercise.

Consider this post for a moment. What is the voice of this post? What is its personality? Is it cozy, formal, or aloof?

Please leave comments concerning your struggles with voice with suggestions of how this blog can best serve you in the comment section.

I hope you come back to visit often.