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December 10, 2007

Voice and Tone: Writing to reflect your personality as well as your message (Part 2)

This is a waveform of me reading the title of
this entry. Our written voices can be as unique
as our spoken voices.

When I first broached this topic in October, I wrote about tone. Today, I'll focus on voice, that certain aspect of writing that conveys the personality and/or style of the writer. Unlike tone—which is geared to your goal and audience—voice is about you, the writer. Just as your speaking voice remains recognizable under different circumstances—whether you're reading stories to small children or arguing about the gift return policy at the mall—so, too should your written voice.

What exactly defines my voice or style?

Your voice and style reflect patterns you use in crafting sentences and paragraphs. Just as you recognize your handwriting by the shapes you make in lettering, you'll recognize your written voice by sentence structure, vocabulary, punctuation and other ways you present ideas. My writing often includes examples, metaphors or analogies—especially my fiction. I also have a habit of using em dashes for parenthetical remarks. This is a habit I acquired back when I was writing ad copy. The passive tense is one for which I sometimes have a predilection, as is my frequent use of the word "one" in place of he or she—to avoid those pesky gender issues. I could go on, but I think you get the idea. The English language allows for a great deal of latitude when it comes to developing a voice. Yours can be as unique as your fingerprints.

Why should my voice remain constant? Shouldn't I adapt it to circumstance as I would tone?

Your voice is part of your brand as a writer. As you use your voice it becomes familiar to your readers. This helps them know how to interpret your prose and what to expect from you in the future. The voice you use today can offer clues into how you should be read tomorrow. If you changed the nature of your voice with each blog entry or paper, readers could get confused and misinterpret both subtle nuances and seemingly obvious statements.

Your voice also guides the hands that type. If you've developed a comfortable style, the sentences will pass from brain to keyboard more smoothly. If you are constantly reinventing your style, this won't happen. Instead you'll spend more time reworking your sentences, forcing them to fit into the mold of the moment.

A well-developed voice serves both writer and reader.

What if I get a job that requires me to write in someone else's voice?

There may be times when you have to write for someone else, for example as a speech writer, or to ghostwrite the autobiography of Thomas Pynchon. The latter will obviously never happen, but as you become familiar with the nuances that make up your own voice you can also learn to pick up on the traits of someone else's. This will make it easier to craft that speech or memo for your boss or client. If you ever got caught forging a note from your mother in order to skip school, you'll know this is a skill that takes time to develop.

How do I find my voice? Won't it just come naturally?

One finds one's voice through reading and writing. By reading omnivorously you are exposed to a variety of styles and will learn which you prefer. By writing frequently you can fine-tune how you adapt such styles for yourself. I think much of this does come naturally. Everything you've experienced—from the conversations you heard as a child to the classes you took in school—contributes to the way you arrange words—both orally and on the printed page. But developing constancy requires practice. Just as a chef must both taste and cook a variety of foods to learn how ingredients will interact, so must a writer read a diverse sampling of literature and practice putting words to paper to understand how words flow together.

Writer's must also adapt to the well-intentioned comments of their readers, be they teachers, friends, publishers or others. Our readers all have styles of their own and will usually be happy to give us input when we ask. Sometimes their ideas will bring new light to a murky paragraph; other times they may suggest change for the sake of change. By reading enough to be familiar with many styles—and writing enough to be familiar with your own—you'll be better able to judge which ideas are which.

While researching this I read a variety of conflicting opinions on how to develop one's voice. Some suggest mimicking the styles of others, while others say to focus only on your own voice. You may have to experiment to find what method works best for you, but the following resources may give you some additional ideas.

Voice and Tone Resources

• 5 Tips For Developing Your Writing Voice
• Finding Your Voice
• Individual and Appropriate Voice
• Putting Voice into a Paper
• Ten Steps to Finding Your Writing Voice
• Write Away: Finding your voice

Stumble It!

Posted by: Heidi Cool December 10, 2007 09:37 PM | Category: Content , Heidi's Entries , Writing

Posted by: hac4 (Heidi Cool) December 10, 2007 09:37 PM | Comments (2) | Trackback

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