It’s Day 30 of 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes, and today we’re writing on the prompt, VOICE.
My personal series this month is on 31 Days to Telling Your Story.
Click here for more posts in this series.
I have two confessions to make today:
1) In hindsight, I should have scheduled this prompt earlier in the series. It’s a little late in the game to be talking about writing voice after all the material we’ve covered so far — so, sorry about that! If I ever do something like this over again, I’ll know better next time; and
2) “Finding” or establishing one’s writing voice, in my opinion, can be one of the trickiest aspects of developing a thriving writing life and growing as a writer. It has taken me a long time to even come close to figuring it out, which means I’m definitely not there yet.
Here are some examples to back up what I mean:
1) I can identify what I consider to be a “strong” voice in other writers’ work, but I can’t seem to identify or define my own.
2) Just the other day I sent out an email to my subscribers and my husband read it when it landed in his inbox and asked, “Did you really say that? That doesn’t sound like you at all? Who are you trying to sound like?”
So here’s the rub: If you can identify or even admire someone else’s writing voice, it doesn’t mean you have to (or necessarily should) seek to emulate them.
If nothing else, just be yourself.
Having said this, I would recommend that you try to be consistent as you “be yourself.” In other words, over time readers will come to expect a certain style from their favorite authors or bloggers.
What style do you want to give them? What voice are you hoping people will hear as they read? What tone do you want to portray?
Think of some of the more popular bloggers you follow. Whether it’s Ree Drummond from The Pioneer Woman, Chip and Joanna Gaines from Fixer Upper, or Ann Voskamp, when certain names come to mind, you know what to expect, right?
Today, take some time to think about what you want your readers to expect from you — then seek to begin establishing that voice as you write.
RECOMMENDED RESOURCE:
Writing Down the Bones
by Natalie Goldberg
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Affiliate links to Amazon used in this post
For more posts in this series, 31 Days to Telling Your Story, click here.