Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Writing Gem #13: Finding Your "Voice"

Hello Retro Readers!

Does that work? Can I call you Retro-readers?  It just seems fitting, especially considering all the retro-awesomeness that's happening around here. 

Anyway, here is my latest Writing Gem.  It's on finding your "voice" as a writer. 

"Wait!" you say?  "I haven't lost my voice, so why do I need to find it?" Well, we aren't talking about your speaking voices, silly Retros.  We are talking about writing voices.

"Huh? Writing voice?" You ask.  

Yes. Writing voice.  But don't despair; your confusion is 100% warranted.  I'm pretty sure "voice" is the enigma of the writing world.  It's such a hard thing to define, and no one seems to know how to teach it. As a matter of fact, I've heard countless professors say that voice can't be taught. Either you've got it or you never will.  Unfortunately, I sort of agree with them--not about the "you got it or you never will" part.  I agree that no one can teach you your voice; you have to discover it and learn to use it on your own.  That's right, like so many journeys in writing, finding your voice is a solo trip.  But there's something pretty fantastic about that, isn't there?

Hopefully this Writing Gem is just the map you need to get started. 


Happy Trails!




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