Speak up!

There is a style within writing that is unique to the writer. Unless one is completely mimicking another’s style, who we are as writers leaks into our work.

This is called the voicing of the book. The way the story sounds when read. I tend to write how I would talk, so my narration is relaxed and informal(Third person, not first). This means I use contractions outside and inside dialogue. There is no hard set rule whether or not I can or can’t, so long as I’m consistent and it sounds or reads well.

Everyone has different patterns to the words they use, how they lay it out and how they tell a story. The authors voice is important. Which is why I took the advice ‘tell it how you would say it’ to heart.

There are authors out there that have written books that are very similar, in characters, story line and even settings. But none will be like over another simply based on how they voice the story. I’m not a fan of ‘word nerd’ writing where every other word seems to have been plucked out of a thesaurus or from the list of obsolete words. Unless it’s a historical story, I dislike dusty phrases or words that frankly nobody uses anymore. I’m not an idiot, I know what those words are, and how to use them. However if I can’t imagine someone speaking that way, scrunch my face at the pages when I come across to many in one chapter.

I was told that my writing voice is good, and that it’s clear I’m not attempting to copy someone else’s style and therefore it comes across as natural. This was high praise and it was what made me think more about it. It also made me realize that I have no desire to write in anyone else’s style but my own.

There is a lot to be said about how to write, what’s proper, what’s not, blah blah blah. What it boils down to, is my writing is by me, for me and from me. I write to please myself and logically there should/would/will be others that like it too. I write what I want to read. I like what I write and how I write it. This should, in my opinion, be true of every writer.

My advice about finding and using your own writing voice.
Write from the heart, with your soul and if you like what you write, others will too. The bottom line… just be yourself.

-Sheryl