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Discussions of voice tend to begin with one question: Isn’t voice just the way my characters sound? The answer: “Yes…but…” Yes, each character your book has to have his or her own individual voice: Wilbur can’t sound like Charlotte and Charlotte can’t sound like Bart Simpson. Each character does need a distinct voice and personality. But the larger discussion of “voice” isn’t about differentiating characters from one another. It’s about differentiating you–the writer–from the pack of writers already out there.
Every book a writer produces should clearly reveal that writer’s unique sensibility. Every book must turn the writer’s psyche and brain and life experience inside out and say, “Hey, world! Take a look! This is what I’m all about.” Each of you has a special way of viewing the world, interacting with the world, and acting in the world. That unique viewpoint is not just based on your DNA. It’s infused with every single experience life has brought you. That revelation of that viewpoint in writing IS voice.
As an editor, the most common problem I see in the work of beginning writers is a generic (rather than a particular) voice. In fact, generic writing has no voice. It is mundane and pedestrian, and it offers no unique point of view to the reader. The editor sighs and says, “I’ve seen this a bazillion times! Why don’t I ever get any submissions that make me think, ‘Wow’! I’ve never seen this before!’”
Don’t get me wrong: Almost every fledgling writer begins with generic writing. The beginning writer often (consciously or unconsciously) writes in the style of a bestselling author who is currently in the limelight or a beloved word-crafter whose style got embedded in the brain during childhood. That’s okay. In fact, that’s great! You’re writing, you’re putting words on the page, you’re beginning to understand what a plot is and how to develop characters, and you’re on your way. Keep at it! But don’t stop at generic writing…and please, oh please, don’t send it to an editor. Before you submit, move beyond generic writing to your own voice.
These four steps will help:
Posted on: June 30, 2014
Tags: faculty guest post, getting started, voice, writing tips