We talk about voice a lot as writers. Editors and agents exalt its importance. But what is it, exactly? And how do we find it? For the first two years of my writing journey, I revered voice. I extoled it as the Holy Spirit of writing. This mysterious entity that dwelled inside me. This shapeless, formless thing that would emerge effortlessly as soon as I figured out how to surrender to its power.
I read stuff about voice. It all amounted to something like: To find your writing voice, you must write. Write and write and write. Don’t sensor yourself. Don’t edit. Just write. Pretty soon your natural voice will emerge.
Desperate to find my voice, I tried it. More than once. And each time, I ended up with this mass of….well….word vomit. I would blink at the words on my monitor and worry. Worry that maybe I didn’t have a voice. Or worse, maybe the rambling word vomit was my voice.
Yet, I’ve been told I have a strong voice. I’ve been told my voice is fresh, even captivating. And not from my mother either, but from objective readers. Professionals in the industry. So how can this be? If voice is this natural, inherent thing, and my natural, inherent inclination is to produce humdrum writing, how then, can I possibly have a strong voice?
Here’s my opinion on the matter:
Voice is anything but natural. Anything but inherent. It’s not this magical component of writing that I’ll find if only I write enough. I could write all day and continually produce rambling messes of wasted computer space.
Writing fresh, finding my voice…it’s hard. And time consuming. It doesn’t magically flow from my fingertips as I peck away at my keys. Read my first drafts and you’ll know what I’m talking about. My first drafts are filled with cliches, passive verbs, boring, unoriginal descriptions. This voice readers have praised, this voice readers have commended as strong….it doesn’t come effortlessly. It doesn’t come naturally. It doesn’t come at all. I have to chase it. I have to pull out the pliers and dig so deep into the recesses of my mind that my cognitive fingers come out cramped and slimy. Chasing after my voice, finding a fresh way to write, is exhausting. Even painful.
But oh so worth it.
Take heart when you read something filled with voice. Remember that it probably didn’t just come out that way. Especially not the first time around. It probably took a lot of hard work. Because usually, the writing that’s easiest to read, is the writing that was hardest to write.
Questions to Ponder: What are your thoughts on Voice? Do you agree or disagree with my take on this mysterious component of writing?
You said it,Katie. The stuff that seems so seemless are always the toughest to write. I find that reading helps keep my juices flowing. I suppose in a sense it is research, right? Cos when you read and open your mind to other writers' words, you pick words and expressions you'd usually not think of using.
I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who finds it tough to get that easy-flowing voice
Great post
Empi
Voice is such a mysterious object to find sometimes. I think it's made up with our word choices, the way we structure sentences, our points of view coming out in our writing and our personalities we develop our characters from. I can recognize other writers' voices once I've read their writing enough, but I still have a hard time recognizing my own.
Hey — Found you through Jody Hedlund's blog! Voice is hard, because it's one of those things you can only learn through DOING. But practice makes perfect! On the days when it doesn't come easy, sometimes I know that's when I need a break.
I think I'm going to agree with you, too. I'm finding it so exhausting that I'm taking a sabbatical now from "finding" mine.
I really like this quote of yours: "the writing that's easiest to read, is the writing that was hardest to write" So TRUE!!!, at least for me it is.
Even though I'm a bit of an introvert, my voice tends to border on rambling some times. My sentences are long. My editor is always on me to shorten certain dialogues. This can be done without losing the personality of the character.
Example: action scenes should have shorter sentences. Bam. Right to the point and keep moving. Dinner scenes however should have longer sentences. A guy doesn't want to sound short and choppy while tring to impress a girl.
Stephen Tremp
I'll sort of agree with you. LOL
I think everyone has a certain way of telling a story that is unique and is therefore their "voice". And it definitely develops and gets better and better with more writing. But I don't know if it is establishing a voice that is hard or whether it's just plain writing that's harder. 🙂
Thoughtful post!
I really like your point here, Katie.
There are days when my voice comes easily and I LOVE drafting.
Then there are days when I'm not "hearing it" quite as much. Those are the chapters that take a lot more work.
It's encouraging to remember that as you say, voice can be edited IN to a piece as well as out of it. 🙂
I've been thinking about this recently too. I was started off when a singer I know said she spent many years trying to sing like people she admired and then gradually realised she was singing like herself.
I do think that voice can take years of experimenting – and like your point about first drafts not always being the best examples of your voice. Voice is one of those things you have to fix in the edit, like fluency and imagery. Just because you've found it doesn't mean it's not hard!
But I think you know you have found your voice when you can read someone else and fall for their voice – but not feel you then have to erase your own.
You are all so wise! I love having this conversation, because Voice is constantly something I'm trying to wrap my mind around. Reading everybody's take on things helps me shape my own understanding.
I think right now….I'd describe voice as:
Something inherent, but raw. When I write, my voice finds ways to emerge. But it takes a whole lots of rewriting and honing before this raw voice turns into something fresh and fun to read.
THanks for all the input!
I think people who become comfortable with writing do find their own voice. However, I don't think a strong voice will do you much good if you don't have anything important to say. It's analogous to hiring an actor, say Morgan Freeman, with a great sounding voice for your commercial and then having the commercial be nothing about your product. You've got a great voice but you don't have it focused on what you find compelling.
I so agree. Voice is one of those elusive things we writers are striving to improve. The problem? It's not like there's any rules or anything. I too, think voice comes from writing and writing and writing, but also from reading. You can develop a voice, even if you don't have one.
I agree! It's a lot of work!
Great post! You just shifted my voice dichotomy today. lol I've often thought the way you did, that it's something that will just naturally come out of me. And to an extent, I think that's right, but I agree that with each round of editing, more and more voice comes into the piece I'm writing.
Thanks for this post. I've been thinking about voice a lot lately because everywhere I turn, someone has wrote about this topic. I've been worrying that I don't have a voice- or that it isn't fresh. This gave me new perspective. Thanks!
I kind of feel like once we try to use our "voice" we lose it. The whole point is that it is true and real, that is why people relate to it. So, once we start trying to too hard, it becomes a little boy in his father's suite. 🙂
Katie, welcome back from your hiatus! I hope all went well.
I agree with you, too. Voice is something not altogether easy to come by. I think once you've found it, pulled it out, it's easier to once again get it front and center. But it's a process we have to come around to.
I can't find my characters voice until about 20 or 30K I don't mind going back and re-writng to make it sound like it should. I'm not certain why but this has been the pattern for me.
In my writing I like to sound natural and conversational. I don't try overly hard to be pompous or overly erudite in my writing and I want to avoid being overly vague in what I say.
Usually I like to stick with my first draft and just polish it and edit it–primarily because I try to put a lot of care into what I say from the outset.
I've only read one Stephen King book, but in that one I really liked the natural, simple flow of his voice and I can see why he would be popular.
Faulkner or Cormac McCarthy have unique voices that can be difficult to get into, but once I do adapt to the rhythm and style I am totally caught up in what they are writing. The focus of their writing voice creates a clarity and flow.
Scholastic works–like many philosophers or scientists and their writings — become so ambiguous, convoluted, and intellectually intimate that they lose me because I'm so involved in trying to interpret what is being said that I can't focus on that author's voice and don't hear the message. I like to think, but I don't want to delve into an authors thought process unless I'm doing a specific study on that author.
For me, an author should create a voice that creates and nourishes a relationship between me and that author.
Love your thoughts! Voice feels like the Holy Spirit in writing. Deep, deep within.
I agree that writing crap is the best way to find, writing consistantly proves helpful in speeding that process too.
Voice is the most beautiful part of writing, it makes each writer distinct.
This is so interesting! I was always of the belief that voice is more or less inherent. For example, your blog has a clear YOU voice, and it's not remotely word-vomit. Maybe it's more an issue of translation: you have a natural voice, but you sometimes struggle to find the right way to express that clearly to others through the language of fiction.
Katie,
This is one concept that I don't understand, except I do know this:
After a semester reading my students' essays, I could identify them by their comments on my teacher evaluation. Voice.
I glance at a Monet. A Picasso. A Hopper. Know it by the fingerprints in the brush strokes. Voice.
Have someone read me bits of Dickens that I haven't read. Know it is he. Voice.
Voice is your writer identity. Your blood.
Can be enriched with good food, proper care. So part genetic. Part discipline.
Does that make sense?
Did that sound arrogant? Sorry.
Ask me this question after I've published three books. Then I'll tell you about acheiving voice.
I agree, and I disagree, Katie.
Voice doesn't just happen, or it would spring from "luck" rather than hard work.
Conversely, if we try too hard to wring it out of our souls, we exhaust ourselves. And end up with word vomit.
I know I'm in my voice when what I write is beyond my natural ability. I look at the sentence and say, "Wow. I'm not that smart." Then I know it's the Holy Spirit musing through my pea brain.
However, I spend oodles of time reading, listening, practicing writing, so I can be prepared to write in my voice.
Balance of effort and trust in the Lord. Not that I've acheived it–I just recognize it when I'm there.
Katie, what an awesome post. I have agonized over this thing called voice. And you're right. The writing that's easiest to read, is the writing that was hardest to write. As a matter of fact, I don't think I've ever heard that put more powerfully, that the way you said it right there.
I have searched like you. And people tell me that my writing voice is strong, creative, and crisp. And I say, "say huh?" Because I didn't even know I had found it. And I'm still not sure.
But I do know one thing. It sure is nice to know that someone I respect as much as you is wondering about voice too. It gives me courage. Because I was thinking that I was the only writer that had such a hard time finding her voice. And I was also thinking that maybe since I had a hard time discovering it, that maybe I wasn't cut out for this. Now I am feeling so much better. God put this on your heart to write, so folks like me could be comforted. YAY!
And Katie, over at my blog on Friday, you asked if there was anything besides Christopher's health that you could specifically pray for. YES! Could you pray that God would give Christopher a clear direction for his life as he matures into manhood? I feel God is calling Christopher to speak at Christian camps to tell his story and to bring young people into a relationship with Jesus. Katie, thank you. I am so grateful to have you in my life. And so very thankful for your prayers. =)
I truly think voice is the expression of all the uniquenesses that make up each person. There are so many things that go into it, just like there are so many things that make up my personality. In some ways, I even think voice is simply our writing personality. The more I learn about writing and myself as a writer, the more clearly I can express that personality, so that readers hopefully can see it too.
I do agree with you. It takes a lot of work and I am still looking for my voice. I read my first draft and –yuck–I have so much work to do. I am o.k. with this because I am learning and I will get there.
Great post!
I agree with Gwen.
Thinking of a singing voice… you can have a good one that sings way off key. I guess I think of it as the TONE… not the pitch. Then you get voice lessons, practice, and work those vocal chords hard, and you get more on key.
It DOES take practice and hard work. It isn't easy by any means.
Voice is one of the key reasons I'm likely to buy a second book from an author. I love reading about it. I love writing in it.
I'm going to have to think on your take more. I wonder if it is like singing. Someone can have an exquisite voice without lessons, but with lessons they become that much better.
But I do believe there is something rooted in an author that causes them to be able to communicate a strong, fresh voice with skill. It's the skill part I think you are honing in on.
~ Wendy
I've given up trying to figure out voice. I figure I need to write the best book I can and if I have a unique voice GREAT, if not, then hopefully one day it will show up. lol
Great post, Katie! I agree that voice needs to be honed, but there's a certain "you" on the page that does come out…even in word vomit. (heehee). I think we just need to wade through the blah blah to hone the voice within.
God bless this week!
You know what? I think I'm going to agree with you! I think when we write and write, it's like we've dug out a huge hunk of rock, but when we go through our writing and work at it (like you said) it's like we're taking that misshapen, jagged-edged rock and chiseling it down to the gem beneath.
This is such a good take on voice. I haven't heard someone really come out and say this but it's great!