Voice is a hard one for many beginning writers. What exactly is a writer’s voice, and how do you get that unique one that all of the agents and editors are looking for?
One of the biggest roadblocks to finding your unique voice is the feeling that you “should” sound a certain way: you should write like a professional, or sound like an expert. You should use big words to sound educated, or short sentences to give more impact.
The actual fact is that you should sound like yourself.
The goal is to have your writing read, and the best way to do that is to sound completely natural and genuine. Write like yourself instead of trying to be what you think someone wants you to be.
Here are some writing exercises to help you find your unique voice:
- Write a love letter – pretend your airplane has crashed on a deserted mountaintop, or that you’re floating at sea in a life raft, and that you’ll never see your loved one again. Really ramp up the emotion on this exercise, and you should find a unique voice in under 500 words!
- Try on different personas – write a scene (200-300 words) from the point of view of vastly different personas. Try a priest, a murderer, a small child, and an old man. Try whatever you want, but try to be authentic to each persona. When you’re done, write the same scene in your own point of view, in your “normal” voice and see how different it sounds.
- Talk to your best friend – write down what you’ve done this week as if you’re telling your best friend. Take 200-300 words and find your voice.
- Describe your personality – what adjectives would describe you? Write 200-300 words and try to make your writing sound like those adjectives.
- Write a letter to yourself – make it something powerful that you need to tell your inner being, or something from your future self that you need to know now. Whatever it is, make it emotional.
- Try different moods – write a scene in different moods (happy, angry, mopey, etc.) and see which one flows better for you.
- Mix a metaphor – if your writing style was a drink, what kind would it be? Would it go down as smooth as fine brandy, or would it be spicy like a rum toddy?
- Have a conversation – write to just one person, not to an imaginary crowd of readers. Imagine that person vividly. You can even give them a name to help you picture them.
- Put yourself somewhere else – picture yourself writing in a different environment and see how different your voice sounds. Perhaps you’d prefer the excitement of writing in a crowded coffeeshop or in the mall courtyard. Maybe you’d feel better in a secluded wood or on a tropical island. Experiment and see which voice you like best.
- Read out loud – yes, actually read your work aloud. Pretend you’re talking to your best friend, or to that one imaginary reader you’ve invented. See if your writing sounds the way you’d talk to them, and change it if it doesn’t.