Getting "Real" with your Story--the Importance of Voice

When I first began writing I figured I'd have to sound like a great writer to be one. What I didn't realize is that I just needed to sound like myself.

But what was that?

Photo by: Daehyun Park, courtesy of Flickr

At first I didn't know what my voice was. I didn't know what it sounded like. Sure, I used it every day to talk with people, but I didn't have a clue how to use my voice in writing. I didn't know where to start. 


Voice is an interesting thing. It's something that comes from inside you and it's something that someone else cannot teach. Yes, they can give you writing exercises to bring it out, you can read all about "voice" in books and you can take writer's classes with some pretty heavy discussion about what "voice" is, but until you experience it yourself, your writing will never take on the glow you have imagined for it.

Voice is especially important when you consider your characters. But it is equally important as you describe setting. What does your reader hear when they read your words? Are they re-reading them or are they taking them in? And if they're re-reading, is it because your words are full of depth and meaning, or because the reader is confused?

Photo by Nick Piggett, courtesy of Flickr

Sharing your heart is a bit like putting it out there for folks to take a look at. Like a t-shirt that says, "Got Milk"? your voice will either draw the reader in to take a drink or leave them languishing in the wilderness for a drop.

Voice comes with time spent at the key board. It might not visit you in that first short story, or even your first novel, but one day you'll feel it when it comes to you. Suddenly, it's as if the words are falling to you from the sky; your skin prickles and you know what to type without even thinking about it.

That's when you know that your voice has found you.