Voice is simultaneously the most elusive and the most essential tool in any writer’s toolbox. To succeed in the publishing industry, an author needs to not only know her voice inside and out but also how to use it effectively on the page.
This in-depth blog series will cover everything from defining the different types of voice to techniques for identifying your unique voice to tips and tricks that will make your voice sing.
Are you ready to dig in?!
Why I’m Writing About Voice
A few years ago I was asked to present a workshop on Voice at a writer’s conference. I was, in a word, horrified. Voice is one of the most feared and revered terms in the writing world. Everyone has heard of it and we all know that having one is good.
But does anyone really know how to define it?
In panel after panel at writer’s conferences, I’ve heard agents and editors say they’re looking for a strong voice, that voice is essential, and that—much to the frustration to everyone else in the room—it’s kind of indefinable. It’s an “I know it when I see it” element of writing.
Which does not give us writers much hope in finding and developing our own voices.
So instead of shrugging and telling that room full of writers that “voice is elusive and indefinable”, I pushed past my fear and dug deeper. Sought out useful definitions of voice. Broke it down into its component parts. And developed some exercises to help you identify your voice and make it stronger.
Because if there is one thing agents, editors, and ultimately readers (through their book-buying choices) can agree on it’s that a strong voice is a critical component of successful writing.
And now I apparently have a lot to say about it.
Why is Voice so hard to define?
The first step to gaining control of your author voice is to understand exactly what voice is.
Why is it so hard to define? Why do even industry professionals, people whose job it is to identify and nurture strong voices, have such a hard time putting it into concrete terms? Well, there are a lot of reasons.
It Isn’t Visual
One reason that voice is so very elusive is because it isn’t visual. Our visual skills develop earlier than our verbal ones, and earlier still than our written ones. We learn to draw and paint before we learn to write.
Even if we live a literary life, we see far more visual stimuli in a day than we read written words.
In short, we are better at visuals. We can look at paintings and pretty readily identify different styles. Different color palettes, different shapes, different media.
It Requires Expertise
Another reason is that identifying the different elements of written voice requires a high level of technical understanding.
In some ways, I think this is similar to music.
I can listen to a piece of music and probably tell you the genre and the tone, but I couldn’t tell you why. Someone with the background and training could tell you all of the instruments involved, what chords and notes are being played, why a given combination of elements makes a piece unique or derivative or just plain bad.
The same is true in writing. There are levels of reader. From the casual reader who reads only superficially and doesn’t see the flaws that a more experienced reader would to the sophisticated reader who can identify the unique word choices, sentence structures, grammatical manipulations, and rhetorical devices that define a piece of writing.
It takes a highly sophisticated reader to break down all the component elements of voice.
It Depends on the Reader
Another reason is that writing is the only art in which the audience plays a creative role in the consumption of that art. I’m going to call it the Reader’s Voice.
When we look at a painting, listen to music, or watch a movie, we are mostly receiving and interpreting visual and audio signals. Our only input is our mood, mindset, or experience.
But when we’re reading a book, we are essentially using the author’s words to create the story for ourselves.
Depending on our age, experiences, reading habits, and any number of other factors, we subconsciously choose how we hear the characters and how we picture the world. We, as readers, add our own voices to the story. And that is unique in the creative world.
Which adds a layer to the definition of author voice that means it can change somewhat from reader to reader.
What, then, is voice?
Before I give you my definition, have a read at what other writers have to say about it. (In their own voices, heh-heh-heh.)
Author and writing coach Holly Lisle:
Voice isn’t merely style. Style would be easy by comparison. Style is watching your use of adjectives and doing a few flashy things with alliteration. Style without voice is hollow. Voice is style, plus theme, plus personal observations, plus passion, plus belief, plus desire. Voice is bleeding onto the page, and it can be a powerful, frightening, naked experience.
The queen herself, Grammar Girl:
Voice is the distinct personality, style, or point of view of a piece of writing or any other creative work. Voice is what Simon Cowell is talking about when he tells “American Idol” contestants to make a song their own and not just do a note-for-note karaoke version. Many musicians have played “The Star-Spangled Banner,” for instance, but there’s a world of difference between the Boston Pops’ performance and Jimi Hendrix’s, even though the basic melody is the same.
In other words, voice is everything.
It’s what you say, how you say it, and why you’re saying it.
Now that we’ve defined voice, we’re ready to talk about different types of voice. Stay tuned for the next installment in this series on Voice.
Essential Writing Elements: Voice
- Voice: What Is It? (this post)
- Types of Voice (coming soon)
Check out these other articles on writing that you might like:
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