Identifying and sharpening your writing voice

[B.B.Fortunatus]

I’ve been working on a trilogy for about half a year. I have all three books outlined for my story. My first book is near 80k word count but is at its first draft stage. I have zero literary education. I just can weave a tail that is deep and masterful with lore and heart. Putting it to paper is difficult on account that my hand can’t keep up with my mind. My daughter has given her opinion and can see the promise of my work but is dismayed due to my third person omniscient approach. The majority of my work, I’d argue, is more third person deep than omniscient. I guess at its core what I’m struggling with is the idea of a fantastic story that I am not able to put to paper. Im not asking to disregard literary rule, just wish it would prioritize formula over joy of writing and reading. If that makes sense.

 

[Karlin]

I rarely think consciously about the technical sides of my writing. Though I do catch myself at times doing something that will cofuse the reader. Nor did I study literature past high school, besides reading hundreds of books.

Did your daughter enjoy what you wrote? Irrespective of voice etc.

 

[Diana Silver]

You've got 80k words on paper and if I understand you correctly, that manuscript's first version is done. That's an absolute milestone and a testiment to your joy, heart and tenacity in writing.

You've had one reader say that your choice of perspective, or maybe the style, wasn't quite to her taste. That can be a matter of taste, or it can be an indication of what you should change in the second draft; what skill you should hone next. That's part of the game. As a writer, you're never done learning.

Have you had a beta reader who could give you feedback supported by in-depth textual comments? A broad statement of 'I didnt't like the perspective' can in many ways feel more disheartening than helpful. Maybe what you need is some direct, textual advice from a more experienced beta-reader. (You can definitely find some on this forum!)

The thing I'm struggling to see is the idea that 'can't put a story on paper' - as you're literally telling us that's what you just did. Sounds to me like you're doing great work!

 

[pmmg]

Well, the good news is...nothing you write today cannot be fixed tomorrow.

All POV's can find their home, and have. But generally, omniscient is not favored. The trendy thing today seems to be like GRRM, where every chapter gets one POV and we see things only through one set of eyes.

I fear I dont get it. I dont know what this means, it did not make sense to me.

I guess at its core what I’m struggling with is the idea of a fantastic story that I am not able to put to paper. Im not asking to disregard literary rule, just wish it would prioritize formula over joy of writing and reading. If that makes sense.

What do you mean, put to paper, and prioritize formula?

I do get that the brain moves faster than I can type. To me, that leads to a lot of typos, and words I think are typed actually not even being there and its very vexing.

Anyway...the meat of the post.

You intro with voice.

The good news is, your writing voice is naturally innate in you. It will come out whether you like it or not.

The bad news is, this is not always an asset, and without knowing it, cultivating it, practicing it, it will more likely throw readers than be clear to them. For myself, I have been cultivating my voice for more than twenty years, and I am very comfortable with it, but...that was not true for the early years of my writing. Maybe there is a shortcut to cultivating it, but I dont know one other than practice.

If you ask me, the fastest approach to getting better at writing, is to review the crap out of other people's stuff. In doing so, you will see a lot of what does and does not work, and in trying to explain it to others, you will really learn it for yourself. I say that often, but I am not sure how many actually do it. But it is the fastest way.

I consider my writing voice to be one with an epic, and ancient tone. In my head, I imagine the voice of Mako from Conan speaking to the screen. I repeat things a lot, and many times have a strange word order. I do not encounter this often, but I have seen it from others. I think Robert E. Howard wrote in this way.

The voice I see most often is what I call, 'Competent Librarian Voice', which is one that does not have a lot of flair. Its kind of just narration that is trying not to draw attention to itself. Essentially it succeeds best when it is invisible.

Often when I am reading stories, I can tell which writers have a bit of poetic experience, cause they understand how to squeeze the most out of every word. This is not infrequent. Many people here write in this way.

Another style I have seen, is just a stream of consciousness type style. I am not really a fan of this, but it works for some. Pretty much its just whatever comes to mind put to page.

There are probably some others, but I've not made it an ambition of mine to learn them all, I just focus on the one I use. (Which is why I hope I better not die before I finish my tale, I dont think anyone else could write it in my voice).

If you can identify your voice, knowing the style may help you to research others who use it, and help you to cultivate it yourself. Everyone's voice carries a bit of overlap into other voices, but one becomes the most prominent.

The hard truth though, is learning voice takes a long time. I consider it a third or fourth tier level of mastery.

One piece of advice I can give, if the question is between getting voice, or having clarity, go for clarity. Make the story clear first, and spend your editing time figuring out how to keep it clear, and then in voice

And last...you want to be a writer. Get ready for a long lonely effort with little praise, less money, and a lot of critics. Its just how it goes.

 

[Penpilot]

IMHO, you identify and sharpen your writing voice by simply writing and revising.

Finding your voice is kind of like going out and finding yourself as a person. When you're first starting out, you'll try on lots of different hats. You'll be influence by what you read, by what you see, etc. You'll have large swings in how you present yourself, going from one thing to another.

But then, you get older. You gain more experience. You start to understand yourself as a writer better. You have a pile of funny hats that you'll rarely if ever try on again. The swings get smaller, but each time, it's like brushing a little more dirt off something buried in the ground. Eventually, you'll get to a point where you'll have a clear, but not perfect, view of who you really are as a writer.

Through this journey, you've gain understanding of why there are certain guidelines in writing, and you've internalized much of it. You've taken what's useful and have discarded the rest. You continue to do so, because the lessons never stop, but you're no longer overly concerned with how you present yourself. You are who you are. Those who accept it will be along for the ride. Those that don't, won't.

Now, you don't put on that funny hat because it pleases the popular crowd. You put it on because that's how you roll.

my2cents

 

[El_d_ray]

First draft is a great achievement on its own!
I kinda think the first draft is too early to show other people. Let it sit for a week or two, then re-read it yourself and work on the second draft. This is a good place to look for your voice and how you want to say things you want to say. I'd ask myself, what kind of books do I like. And what you write is what you want to see exist, this should be something you wanted to read in the first place.

 

[Diana Silver]

If you ask me, the fastest approach to getting better at writing, is to review the crap out of other people's stuff. In doing so, you will see a lot of what does and does not work, and in trying to explain it to others, you will really learn it for yourself. I say that often, but I am not sure how many actually do it. But it is the fastest way.

I'm going to give this one a bump up. I'm glad you say it a lot, cause it can never be said enough

 

[SamazonE]

You will always be interested in improving. That all comes down to what you prefer. Walk do not run. There is a certain flair that is important in a writers repertoire. They talk of things like they are on another level when met with comrades or kindred. It is different for each art form. You could call it artistic licence. That is in defence meant to preserve sanity or imagination. Probably if you are looking to improve you will, but expect the brainstorming to be bittersweet until you improve.

 

[Mad Swede]

The answer, for me , is simple. Write. Write a lot. Write short stories, write long stories. It's the only way you find your own style, your voice if you like. Personally I'd write a lot of short stories and use these to experiment until you find a style you are comfortable with, simply because
short stories don't usually take as long to complete.

 

[B.B.Fortunatus]

For clarity’s sake I figured my POV style is more of a Third Person Deep. My daughter had suggested I use a more First Person POV to keep with the current trend. Her suggestion and frustration over my stubbornness is meant with extreme love as to not see me plowed by disappointment if my work isn’t well received. I don’t feel ill towards her suggestion, her approval means a lot to me since she is the most bookwormed person I know. I just want to wow her with how deep and how vast my world is, at the same time you can lead a horse to water but can’t make them drink. I still steadily move forward! Thank you for you kind words and encouragement.

 

[pmmg]

If the difference between your daughter liking it or not is whether its in First or Third person, then I think she missed it on the depth of the world building and story.

If you only have one POV character, then first person is a choice, but it does mean you type the word 'I' a lot.

I would not change it, unless you strongly agree. Its a real pain to change that much of a story. I would need a really good reason to do so. My story is in third, and features multiple POV's. I could not imagine it another way. I did not even consider it when I started typing, that just how it came out.

My daughter disappoints me a lot. She does not get the depth of my story, or see the connection between the meaning of one event and how it builds to another. But, she still likes the story. What am I to do? Maybe some other readers will get it in time.

 

[skip.knox]

Given how long publishing takes, aiming for the current trend is one step beyond tilting at windmills, it's tilting at the foundations of a vanished windmill.

As for reception, prepare yourself: odds are extremely high very few people will read your work. That's simply how the market is currently working. If you get, say, a hundred sales, you might get ten reviews, and of those most will be positive, one or two might well be negative, but nothing meaningful in either direction. If you get a thousand sales, you'll get more reviews but with similar distribution. At which point you'll be able to point to some reviews and say I told you so, and your daughter will point to other reviews and say I told you so, and you'll both wish the marketing worked better.

As for wowing, find yourself a couple more beta readers. Ones you can wow. My own daughter makes polite noises and claims she reads all my books, but one has one's suspicions. <g>

As for your writing voice, take the advice from others. Don't worry about it. You have a voice. It's yours. You can sharpen your writing, and you will as you write more. You'll improve because you care about this world you've created, and the people and events within it. You will want to do justice by them. With every story you complete you will instantly see how it could have been done better, and so will launch another story with that resolution.