The Elusive

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So over at Agent Kristin’s she posted this tidbit….

And plot can be fixed. Voice can’t. You either have it or you don’t.

Someone commented that it was like saying a painter needs an eye for color.  Which I didn’t quiet get–lots of folks can paint, that doesn’t mean they’re GOOD at it.

As a reader, voice will win me over okay writing every time.  But the bigger question is, how do you teach voice?

Because as someone else said over at Agent K’s, some people will never have an interesting voice no matter how hard they work at it.  And in that same vein, no one’s writing voice works for everyone.

Again how do you teach something that is supposed to be so innate.  How can you even teach by example when everyone’s voice is different?

Okay, lets make it simpler.  How did YOU find your voice?  Me?  I said, “fuck it, I’m writing this the way I want to.”  So, throw it out there.  While keeping in mind I might use this for an article someday.

11 thoughts on “The Elusive

  1. I’m with you. After years of changing my voice to fit what professors want, I couldn’t wait to write the way I wanted to. Now I just write. I’m writing for me and I hope that people like my voice because it’s me, but in the end I don’t care. :ohmy:

  2. Voice is SO important but being told you have a great voice while getting rejected can be so tough. It’s a fine line to walk to develop a great story that lets your voice shine through.

  3. Honestly, I couldn’t comprehend the concept of voice no matter how much others tried to explain it to me. I figured if I couldn’t carry a tune even to save my life, I’d never have a “voice.” Then I realized the best I could do was letting loose, not holding back, baring your soul and making yourself vulnerable. Live vicariously through your characters. So I wrote and figured at least someone out there might like what I did. I never thought much about selling my stories, so I was surprised when I did sell one. And even more surprised when a few reviews mentioned I had a “unique voice.” 😆 I was like “I have a voice?! Uh… okay.”

  4. Tempest I think that’s my point! Because it IS so elusive, it’s not really something you can teach. I think sometimes as writers we want concrete, we want to be taught things we can understand, tangible things we can hone and sharpen like grammar and punctuation and pacing.

    Voice is something you can talk about but it’s not something you can teach–I think you’re right. I think it’s something you’ve just got to LET go of and just BELT it out and refine. And FWIW I think you have a great writing voice 😛

  5. I say “fuck it” too, and just start writing. It’s the only way I know how to do it. And congrats on getting into those older jeans!! I had a pair of jeans I called “the jeans of doom”, that I used to measure where I wanted to me. Those jeans were seventeen years old when I threw them out last year. Talk about unrealistic!

  6. I say “fuck it” too, and just start writing. It’s the only way I know how to do it. And congrats on getting into those older jeans!! I had a pair of jeans I called “the jeans of doom”, that I used to measure where I wanted to me. Those jeans were seventeen years old when I threw them out last year. Talk about unrealistic! :yell:

  7. I don’t think you can learn voice. I think you can become a better writer, but I equate voice with things like personality traits. It’s something you’re born with. I do believe that it takes some time to figure out if you have a natural voice and if so, what it is. That’s what I think most writers struggle with…identifying their voice.

  8. I just taught a month long workshop over at Access ROmance on Voice, and how to find it. LOL

    It wasn’t the easiest thing I’ve done thats for sure, but I do think a writer CAN find their voice. And I think it takes excercise and learning to get past the fear of ytour stories not being perfect. Liek many said above, when they finally said FUCK IT, thier voice started to shine through.

    And yes, I do agree that not everyone’s voice is what every reader will love. But I do think having it, and knowing if it’s a strength or weakness of yours, is important.

  9. Sorry Amie, I’ve been in edits and house/lawn equipment nightmares, I missed this post :heythere: But I wanted to comment that I wrote many, many books before I found my voice. Having said that, I didn’t call it that until I had (iffy)editors trying to contort it. I recognize it no matter which name I write under or what genre, by my pace and word useage. I go off the deep end when I get in that situation where someone inserts lines, passages or words into my work that disrupt the flow, like hitting pot holes when I read it over, or when their weak words- and words that turn me off jump out of the text at me. I’m not a happy camper then, and less likely to be passive about it now, as I was when I first started. Voice is so much about how you phrase things, even your humor- and the length of your sentences and paras. To this day I can pick a word out of 100,000 in my books that I didn’t write, and it makes my teeth gnash.