Clearing Your Throat
Ahem. *Cough.* Ahem (again). (Can you hear me?)
Sometimes before speaking, I need to clear my throat, just so my voice comes out clearly. A kind of warm-up activity. Okay, it may not be the best metaphor, but when you’re finding (or creating) your writing voice, a lot of what you’re doing is practice–it’s a warm-up activity, kind of like clearing your throat.
Think of a few of your favorite authors. The first names that come to my mind are John Steinbeck, Kurt Vonnegut, and Milan Kundera. Now, think of the books you’ve read by your favorite authors. They differ from each other, right? Not just in characterization or plot or any of that, but in writing style. If I pick up a Steinbeck book, I’m not going to mistake it for a Kundera book or a Vonnegut book. All three are recognized as skilled writers, yet they are very different. They all have well-developed and distinctive voices. Your writing voice is distinct as well. It should be.
Finding Your Voice
Most of us experiment with who we are and who we want to be. We try different hairstyles or new fashions. We eschew certain trends or embrace them. Some of us stay within our comfort zones to do so, and some of us test boundaries of style and social conventions. We notice if someone wears or says or does something “out of character.” We each have our own personality quirks and characteristics.
We all have different (speaking) voices, too–different inflections, different volumes, different word choices. We have different ways of approaching people to ask them for favors or pay them a compliment. We have different ways of starting a conversation or introducing ourselves to strangers. All of these differences, of course, are what make us unique and interesting as people. How boring would it be if we were all the same? (Very!)
Well, each person has a unique writing voice, too, whether they’re writing creatively, professionally, or academically. Each person’s writing has its own personality, its own way of being. This includes word choices and turns of phrases. It includes sentence structure. It includes humor or lightheartedness (or an opposite tone).
Different Voices, Different Perspectives
If you think back on essays you may have had to write in school, you might think that it’s impossible to detect large differences in people’s written voice, especially if everyone is writing about the same subject (e.g., in a classroom setting). In the writing classes I’ve taught, when teaching students how to write summaries, I always stressed the idea that if there were fifteen students in the class, I would expect fifteen different summaries, even if all the students are summarizing the same article and even if all the students are expected to include basically the same information. That’s because each student should be writing in their own way, with their own voice–expressing themselves differently from the person next to them.
Teachers notice these differences in voice, even if they’re not noticeable to the individual students. And if there’s an abrupt departure in voice in a paper (or if the voice in one paper is drastically different than the voice in another of the same student’s papers), teachers may suspect plagiarism (which, of course, is not a good thing). So, finding one’s voice is not only about developing it, but it’s also about becoming comfortable with it and understanding what it is. How does one do that? The easy answer is this: practice. You have to write. But how does one practice? Below are strategies that have helped me as I have developed (and continue to develop) my writing voice, both as a professional/academic writer and editor and as a creative writer.
1. Freewrite.
Sometimes I feel like a broken record. I’ve mentioned freewriting before in other posts. I’ve mentioned writing prompts before, too. And I’ve repeated over and over again about writing being a process. And here it is again! I can’t stress enough the benefits of freewriting (especially in conjunction with writing prompts).
The idea behind freewriting is that you write without censoring yourself or thinking too much about what you’re writing. Because you’re not censoring yourself or worrying about grammar or organization or such during freewriting (or, at least, you shouldn’t be), you’ll use words and phrases that come most naturally to you. You might also use clichés or unwieldy sentences (both of which you generally want to avoid in writing, depending on the overall context), but those are aspects that can be fixed during the revision process.
First and foremost, freewriting is about the ideas. How you express them doesn’t matter. That said, you will likely find that there are words and phrases–or, to be more specific, types of words and phrases–that are characteristic of you. If you freewrite using relatively simple vocabulary (nothing wrong with that!), generally speaking, you won’t want to change that simple vocabulary to complex synonyms or highly technical language that isn’t natural for you to use. In other words, freewriting can help you pay closer attention to your word choice and what words “sound” like you.
It’s important to note that your word choices might change over time. I encourage you, in fact, to use and try new words and phrases in your writing. You can expand your vocabulary and develop/refine your voice.
2. Read and paraphrase.
Read. But don’t just read. Analyze what you read. Notice the word choices and phrasings that are used. Think about whether you would have written that same idea in that same way or if you would have expressed it differently. Rewrite passages in a way that only you would write them. As with freewriting, you don’t need to show these writing exercises to anybody–it’s just practice. (This technique of paraphrasing–taking what you’ve read and writing it in your own words–doesn’t just help you in developing your voice; it’s also a strategy that can help you with reading comprehension. Furthermore, it’s good paraphrasing and/or summary practice for academic writing.)
3. Emulate others.
Practice writing like other people. Follow their sentence structure. Follow their organization. This might sound contradictory. On one hand, you’re trying to sound like yourself (and not others), but on the other hand, practicing writing like other people (especially writers that you like to read or would like to write like) will help you develop new ways of expressing yourself, which, incidentally, leads to #4.
4. Experiment!
This is my favorite. I’m a writer, but I’m also a self-taught artist. Most of my artwork came into being via experimentation, through trial and error. Some techniques work; some don’t. Through a lot of practice and experimentation, I’ve found painting techniques that work for me and which reflect my artistic “voice.” Writing is not so different.
In fact, I’ve done a lot of research on experimental fiction. In my own creative writing, I’ve experimented with form, ideas, and–most recently–syntax. For a lot of people, it can be scary to try something new, and if you’re already feeling uncertain about your writing ability, you may shy away from trying something that’s too outside of your comfort zone. I’d urge you, though, to not shy away–to, instead, embrace it. For me, it wasn’t until I tried my hand at experimentation that I really felt as though I was developing a strong and unique creative voice–and this was after many years of creative writing practice.
When you’re experimenting, you might write a lot of crap. It happens. Your experiments might not work. But remember that nobody needs to see this writing–it’s practice (because, like I’ve said, writing is a process)! And, besides, you also might write something you love, in a way that you love. You might hear compliments like, “Oh, I love your writing style!” Such compliments will help you know that you’re on the right track.
5. Write, read, and listen.
Listen for it–your voice–to emerge. Read your writing out loud and ask yourself if it sounds like you or if it sounds stilted or unnatural. (This is sometimes difficult to discern–my best advice is to trust your intuition.) Keep in mind that different types of writing will sound different–your poetic voice may be different from your prose voice; your fiction voice will likely be different from your academic voice. These voices are a lot like personas. For example, when you’re in a formal setting, you’re likely dressed differently than when you are in an informal setting. Similarly, you probably act a bit differently in a formal setting than in an informal setting. Your writing voice will also change based on circumstances and context, but it should still sound like you.
So, go ahead and clear your throat. Then, speak up. Make your voice heard!
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