Oriental Writer Cutting His Pen by Benjamin Gerritsz Cuyp (1640).

Well here is a blast from the past.

I haven’t written in the series for awhile. Sorry for anyone who has been following intently on my advice. It’s a good thing that this isn’t a university course. On the other hand, you get what you pay for.

I’m not certain where we left off in my advice for young writers. But I want to address something a little less concrete today. For this How to, I’m going to talk about something a little more personal.

Today’s How to will be all about discovering your voice.

I’m going to be perfectly honest here and tell you the inspiration for this post came from my current project. As of this writing, I’ve been going through a number of my prior works and in looking them over I started to notice a few common threads. There’s a shared tone and theme across a number of my stories and this reflects on me as a writer. It’s the sort of thing that you discuss in English class over long dead artists and it was a little strange to analyse my own work, even as fleeting an analysis as it was.

My first reaction was to think that maybe I was being a bit stale. But on further reflection I realised that this is what I offered as a writer. We all have our own unique perspectives and experiences. This helps shape us as individuals and provides that intangible quality as artists which separates us as writers. My interests are not the same as Georgette Harriet and, consequently, my stories are nothing like hers. Which is good, of course. We wouldn’t want all our artists to be the same, now would we.

But voice isn’t just a difference in content but also how one approaches it. I strive to tell something with my stories. These aren’t just little tales of fantastical worlds. Personally, I like to create strong characters who come across as believable. This often means presenting flawed individuals with perspectives that I often don’t share. It’s creating characters who are both honourable and ignoble while presenting them in situations that are rarely clear cut. It’s this struggle in morally grey situations with imperfect individuals that really intrigues me. The most I can do is hope that others are interested in those kinds of situations as well. From a business perspective, this helps define my niche and allow greater levels of discover-ability amongst content distribution platforms.

Or something. We’re still working out the marketing angle.

At any rate, I feel it’s important to find and hone your voice as a writer. Unfortunately, while a technical skill, this isn’t an easy one to develop. I think the first thing to do when trying to find your voice is to practice some mindfulness. Look at your own work. What is it that you like to write? What are commonalities amongst your characters or plots? Are you someone who likes to explore society’s outcasts? Perhaps you’re more intrigued by individuals who are torn between dualities like the expectations of their positions against their personal desires or morals. Maybe you’re a big fan of the underdogs who triumph over impossible odds and insurmountable opposition.

Perhaps, however, you’re not certain your stories share any elements. You can always examine your favourite stories or art by other artists. Think about what it is about their work that inspires or draws you to their words. Applying a critical eye to your own entertainment consumption can help with your writing.

Course, just identifying what you like doesn’t mean you’ve got a handle on your voice. You’ve done the groundwork but honing this into an effective portion of your writing will take more effort. Gathering information is an important step but now you need to apply it effectively. First, finding shared interests in your work and your favourite writers can simply lead to copying if you don’t take your interests into a new direction. Copying effective techniques from successful writers is good for honing skills but not great for sharpening your voice.

You need to take your interests and explore them. This should, in theory, be the easy part. Or at least it should be an enjoyable part because you’re examining things you naturally like. This is where your own personal experiences can help and the old adage “Write what you know” is truly applicable. Personally, I try to explore these story elements that I enjoy in as many different ways that I can. Just because I like a certain characteristic in my heroes doesn’t mean I can’t look at whether these attributes are inherently good. I can cast characters that I normally like in a negative light. I can change their situation or background and find if it has appreciable changes. There’s some usefulness in learning that characters operate the same in different circumstances. But if you like a certain theme, like the success of underdogs, then you can also try playing with that theme in ways you haven’t seen or tried before. Perhaps make your villains the underdogs or come up with stories wherein the underdog protagonists aren’t necessarily so clear cut in the right.

Small variations on themes can lead to quite a bit of variety. And while you practice and explore these similar characters and themes you start to find more effective ways of communicating them. Writing is an iterative process so the more you focus and rework a similar vein, the stronger and more efficient you become on it. And since these are all things you naturally enjoy, your enthusiasm and enjoyment can keep you focused and on track whenever you run up against adversity.

So, to find your voice you must first fine what you like. Look at your old work and identify commonalities. Pay attention when reading others about what naturally draws you to certain themes and attributes. Then practice, practice, practice. Your work will take on a life and identity of your own. You will find your voice.