Find Your Voice

Is there anything more satisfying than reading a piece and being able to picture the narrator, the speaker, or the author? That ability comes down to a successful written voice. Seasoned writers have found their style--the way in which their writing is specific to them. 

One of my favorite authors is Sarah Addison Allen. She writes magical realism within the bounds of women's fiction. What makes her style unique is her use of sensory language. Sarah writes like an ex-food-blogger. She laces scents and sights into her prose like someone used to describing sugary confections. This is also how she sneaks in elements of magical realism. To read one of her novels is to feel like you've stepped through an enchanted bakery only to be met with a cinnamon roll floating its way to you of its own volition.

Anne Lamott is known for her frank writing style. She's everyone's blunt best friend and often the butt of her own jokes. Anne does this with a conversational writing tone. In other words, she writes the way she talks. 

Writers like Elizabeth Acevedo mix Spanish into their writing the way someone who is bilingual might talk to their family--one foot steeped in English, the other planted in the culture of their roots.

Our writing voice, therefore, comes down to word choice, tone, and experience. What are the elements you surround yourself with? The sensualness of living in a foodie paradise like Sarah Addison Allen who resides in Asheville, NC? The sarcasm and self-deprecating humor that accompanies the rough life Anne Lamott has lived? Or the cultural significance of being a Dominican American like Elizabeth Acevedo? The writing style of each of these women cannot be separated from the lives they lead, and neither should yours.

Writing exercise: Finding your voice
1. Describe yourself using six sensory words. What about these words speaks to your daily life?
2. Describe the tone of your writing. Does it change by genre? Is it intentional? Where do you think this tone comes from?
3. What life experiences have been integral to the kind of writing you do? 
4. Lastly, do you think your readers could pick your words out of a line-up? Why or why not? If not, how could you infuse more of yourself into your writing?
​