About voice
I've been thinking about voice. One of Bootcamp's goals for blogging is developing our voice. But what, exactly, is voice? And how do I know when I've developed mine? Is voice something I'm even capable of recognizing in my own writing?
To me, "voice" means a distinct style of writing unique to the writer. When you read their writing, you know it's theirs without being told. They maintain that style no matter what they write. This doesn't mean they can't write different type of articles, stories, or whatever. But, then I wonder, how do you keep everything from sounding the same?
The more I think about voice, the more I confuse myself.
posted by dawn @ 7:47 AM
5 Comments
5 Comments:
I agree it's a bit confusing. What is meant by voice specifically? I suppose Kai is about to share that with us in the weeks to come. That is if she feels well enough to teach us. ;-)
I am certainly no expert, so we will wait to see what our expert Kai has to say, but I happened to be reading Strunk and White's Elements of Style earlier this week. He (they?) says, essentially, that voice comes naturally. Nail down the mechanics, refine your word usage, write with clarity and voice comes shining through. I like the idea. I am sure that's not the end all, but I like to think that having a voice, a unique way of seeing the world that comes through in writing, isn't the problem. Its being able to express that voice so that people really understand.
I think voice and personal style overlap a lot. I find that after I've read enough work by someone, I can recognize the voice even if there is no "byline." I've tested this with my students as well as with editors and writers that I work with over time. Sometimes students forget to put names on papers, but I can usually identify who it is by the way they structure sentences and the order and context in which they use words (and in many cases by the mistakes they make...). With editors and writers that I've worked with, I recognize voice more through word choice/order, phrasing, point of view, and verb tenses. It isn't any one element that makes a voice recognizable to me, but the combination of elements that is specific to the writer. And it does seem to cross genres, though I hadn't really considered that much before now...
I wonder if anyone else can describe our voice when reading our work. I guess voice is a certain 'feel' your work has to it? Dunno. :)
Not an expert here but I think a voice is like how a writer writes...their words...phrases..tense, etc. Look at Shirley's books and then read another romance author, they have different styles in their writing. Granted I could be very wrong here.
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