Writers, even though they are not working in an audible way, spend a lot of time thinking about their voice.<\/p>\n
I want to talk about the writer\u2019s voice. Our voice, when we write (you write too, so I\u2019m including you) is how we sound.<\/p>\n
I personally have worked really hard on my voice. I have a way of writing that expresses my emotion and my personality. I like to bring humor–little nods and asides\u2014into what I write.<\/p>\n
You may notice, I\u2019m also really fond of white space.<\/p>\n
In the solitary space of writing, where I am alone with the thoughts I am trying to convey, I like to pause. For laughter? Maybe. But also for the ideas to sink in.<\/p>\n
I try to introduce ideas that are unusual, a different way of thinking about an ordinary circumstance or situation.<\/p>\n
You know what I don\u2019t like? Repeating myself. Just now I am considering deleting either \u201ccircumstance\u201d or \u201csituation\u201d because they are saying almost the same thing.<\/p>\n
And deleting things that are repetitive means that I write short pieces. I say what I have to say, get it done and we can all move on.<\/p>\n
You know what else I do? I talk about myself. The first person is all I ever talk about.<\/p>\n
Recently I had to write a rather long piece with no first person whatsoever. I was nowhere to be found.<\/p>\n
I found myself wanting to go all A.A. Milne in there, and have asides reaching to the audience. Breaking the fourth wall of writing, to acknowledge that there is in fact a reader, and that reader is in fact reading the shapes of the words on the page.<\/p>\n
I suspect this is frowned upon in circles of people who do not use the first person.<\/p>\n
There are other ways of indicating that action has taken place, ways that do not require mentioning a party who acts or a party who is the receiver of that action.<\/p>\n
Passive voice abounds.<\/p>\n
Mistakes were made.<\/p>\n
I like to write. I like for my writing to be read. I like readers, and I like it when readers let me know they have read what I write.<\/p>\n
The bestseller list confirms that people who read like to read action.<\/p>\n
I will have to learn a whole set of new skills if I am to write without referring to myself.<\/p>\n
Some people are very insistent on that. I understand that removing the actor and the acted upon means the thing written is less likely to cause offense.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s also a lot less likely to engage.<\/p>\n
It might be a new challenge to learn how to be exciting without any action. It\u2019s my voice. I get to use it how I want.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Writers, even though they are not working in an audible way, spend a lot of time thinking about their voice. I want to talk about the writer\u2019s voice. Our voice, when we write (you write too, so I\u2019m including you) … Continue reading