A question I had to ask even in starting this blog.
What do I want my voice to be?
I want it to be genuine. I want it to have a dash of my humor and a splash of my passion and healthy dose of my creativity.
At least that’s my voice here. At The Write One Blog.
But in a novel I want to add in my…
character’s voice, no matter WHAT that voice is. Whether I would befriend this person or not. WHETHER I AM this person or not. I wish to speak authentically in that voice, as I see it. For instance in my novel The Buzz the protagonist Ebony is a narcissist. A person that most would find hard to tolerate. Ebony thinks LIFE revolves around her and she’s very ‘in your face’.
What comes up, comes out personality.
Unapologetic.
I wrote Ebony’s voice to be one that would evoke an emotion in a reader. I had no idea the varied emotions that would follow. I’ve had people tell me they despised Ebony, while others said they were rooting for her all the way!
What will your voice make your readers feel? Here are some ways to begin finding your voice.
If you’re not ready to jump head first into a novel, try these fun ways to help find your voice. If you’ve completed a novel, use these ideas to compliment you on your writing journey.
Blogs. Blogs force you to write and get in tune with your VOICE very quickly. It’s something about a blog that seems to force you to use your AUTHENTIC voice.
Poems. Carry a small notebook and jot down your thoughts during the day. A friend and I would tag team our thoughts during the day and shape them into poems. It was amazing some of the poems we created!
Lyrics. I really enjoy WRITING lyrics. For me its like poems to the second POWER. Music brought LIFE to my words.
Short stories. If you’re not ready to commit to writing an 80,000+ word novel, what about a short story? I actually want to do more short story writing. Every idea doesn’t have to result in a novel.
How did you find your voice? What are your challenges in finding your voice? Post your thoughts below and this article might help as well. Salon.com – A reader’s advice to writers.
This is great advice. Blogging is really helping me get over my shyness and find my voice. I also write poetry and carry around an "everything" journal where I write down everything that comes to mind, everything i read, everything i see, hear etc that I don't want to forget. Writing is my savior. I have not explored creative writing yet, I mean fictional but I plan to when my focus moves more in that direction. Everytime I write, I try to be more honest, more raw, more insightful and like you said – unapologetic.