When I started writing I had visions of what my voice would be like; something like the examples below.
“I have dreamt in my life, dreams that have stayed with me ever after, and changed my ideas; they have gone through and through me, like wine through water, and altered the color of my mind. And this is one: I'm going to tell it - but take care not to smile at any part of it.”
― Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights
Everything about her was at once vigorous and exquisite, at once strong and fine. He had a confused sense that she must have cost a great deal to make, that a great many dull and ugly people must, in some mysterious way, have been sacrificed to produce her. He was aware that the qualities distinguishing her from the herd of her sex were chiefly external: as though a fine glaze of beauty and fastidiousness had been applied to vulgar clay. Yet the analogy left him unsatisfied, for a coarse texture will not take a high finish; and was it not possible that the material was fine, but that circumstance had fashioned it into a futile shape? - Edith Wharton, House of Mirth
Sadly, that is not my voice. My voice is short sentences, plain, simple English with very little flowery prose. Not what I wanted my voice to be so I tried to write emulating the great writers that I admired. Forcing my voice to be what it was not made writing a chore and my work hard to read.
I learned to embrace my voice, which has been compared to that of Nicholas Sparks, and am much better off for it.
I hope you have all found and embraced your voice.
Happy writing!
Short sentences, simple and plain, are modern, and people like narratives to move along. Sometimes I think that each book could have a different voice depending on the story and the characters. If writing in first person the age, class, educational and mental state could also alter the voice.
ReplyDeleteI know I need practice when taking this into account.
Great blog and thoughtful.
Welcome back. I was so disappointed that when I wrote freely and enjoyed it my voice was not like that of Edith Wharton.
DeleteI agree that the tone of each book and the voices of the characters change but my style of writing stays fairly consistent through out. Voice probably wasn't the right word. Now that I wrote that it is really more my style. Oh well too late to fix it now and come up with an alternate v option. :)
Plain sinmple English and shorter sentences is what I also like as well. I have to be me at all times and want my writing to reflect my personality, my voice. Your post content is worth pondering with its valued points. Thanks for visiting me earlier.
ReplyDeleteNice to see you again Michelle. It turns out I am plain and simple but that was not the writing I held dear. Which caused me to struggle in the beginning trying to be something I was not.
ReplyDeleteIt is important to write in your own voice and not force yourself into someone else's mould. I find that my voice developed quite easily, as I just ... well, I just wrote. :-)
ReplyDeleteVisiting here for the A to Z Challenge.