The Importance of Voice
Use it to set yourself apart from the competition
Voice can seem like an amorphous, hard-to-pin-down attribute in writing. But it’s one of the most important ways to make your book stand out.
Identifying Voice
To understand voice, it can be helpful to think about voice-overs from films or TV. Whenever Morgan Freeman narrates something, his voice is kind but has an all-knowing, godlike quality. Compare that to Sarah Jessica Parker’s voice-overs in Sex and the City. They’re totally different. She’s introspective but conversational and light with some wryness. You would never mix up the two.
Some examples of voice in books are:
Ta-Nehisi Coates: "Here is what I would like you to know: In America, it is traditional to destroy the black body—it is heritage." (From Between the World and Me)
Joan Didion: "We tell ourselves stories in order to live." (Opening line of The White Album)
Kurt Vonnegut: "All of this happened, more or less. The book is based on what I remember. Poor old Edgar Derby, he said. We are here on Earth to fart around. And don't let anybody tell you different." (From Slaughterhouse-Five)
Sophie Kinsella: ‘“Rebecca,” Mum began gently, and I braced myself. “We’re a little worried about your… spending.”
Here it comes. The dreaded S-word. Like a dentist’s drill, or a tax demand, or a call from the bank manager.
“Spending?” I echoed weakly, as if it were a foreign word I’d never encountered before.
“Yes, love,” Dad said, his brow furrowed. “You seem to be getting into rather a lot of debt.”
Debt. Another nasty word. Almost as bad as beige.
I waved a dismissive hand. “Oh, that. It’s just… you know… teething problems.”
“Teething problems?” Mum’s voice rose slightly. “Rebecca, you’re twenty-four years old. Teething problems usually involve dribble and a bit of chewing.”
I shot her a look. Honestly. Sometimes my own mother had no imagination whatsoever.’ (From Shopaholic, this one’s a little long, but I couldn’t help myself)
You aren’t going to mistake any of these fiction or nonfiction authors for each other, ever. And you likely are able to identify a piece of their writing when you see it because of their voice.
But their voice does more than make their work unique and identifiable. It makes it compelling. It makes you want to keep reading. It conveys a message you get in addition to the words they use.
Developing Voice
The best way to develop your voice is to be YOU. Don’t be who you WANT to be or who you HOPE to be. Just be you. Who you are. With your quirks and flaws and unique qualities.
Simple, right? LOL. I know it’s not.
Here are some ways to develop or find your voice:
Journal. Writing as you, just for you, gives you the freedom to be authentic and honest and to write the way you think. You need to do it regularly, though. Here’s a hack if you hate journaling. Become email buddies with a close friend. Send one email a day to them talking about what you’re doing, thinking, feeling. Sometimes it’s easier to write TO someone than to yourself. Look at how you write in those emails. That’s your authentic voice.
Pay attention to voice when you read. Voice is like Justice Potter Stewart described obscenity: you know it when you see it. And in this case, you feel it and hear it too. Keep a file where you save pieces of writing that show voice, especially voice that feels like what yours is.
Write like you talk. I find this is something a lot of writers have a hard time doing. There’s something about sitting in front of a blank Word file or Google Doc that makes people freeze up, become formal, and slip back into their high school social studies report voice. Try this: Get on Zoom with a friend. Record the call. Chat like you would normally. Then get the transcript. Read it and see how your spoken words look when they are transcribed. Try to write more like this.
Read your work out loud. After you write a few pages of your book, read them out loud. Does it sound stilted? Weird? Formal? Does it flow? Pause and try to summarize a paragraph out loud. THAT’S your voice. Rewrite what’s on the page based on what you said out loud.
Talk if you’re stuck. I often have writers tell me they don’t know how to write something. “I don’t know what to say.” My answer is, “Well, talk me through what you want to say.” Then they go on to say it in their own voice. I tell them to copy and paste from the transcript of the call because they just did it. Talk to someone if you feel you don’t know how to write something. Words will pop out of your mouth. Use them.
Be intentional with voice. You can change up your voice and your tone to fit the project. When I write children’s books, I change my tone intentionally to fit my audience. When I write essays, I use a different tone than when I write self-help books or legal content. Once you are aware of tone, you can fine-tune it to fit the project. However, the key here is to still remain authentic to who you are. Think about how you talk differently to your partner, child, parent, coworker, doctor, etc. All of those voices are authentic, you being the real you, but tweaked for the situation.
How Voice Sets You Apart
There’s not a lot that’s new in this world. We also build on what came before us. There are lots of people writing a novel about a coming of age or a woman redefining herself after divorce or nonfiction about how to have a positive mindset or how to improve your career. Yes, everyone has a different take on it and a different slant, but the thing that makes a book stand out from the crowd is its voice.
Glennon Doyle (one of the authors many of my writers look up to) writes about personal growth and authenticity and blends memoir and self-help. There are a million people writing about these exact things, so why does Doyle resonate with so many people?
Here’s an example of her voice: "Being human is not hard because you're doing it wrong, it's hard because you're doing it right."
Doyle is raw, honest, strong, human, vulnerable, certain, direct, relatable, and compassionate. All of that comes across in that one quote. That’s what makes her unique. That’s why people like her books and why she has sold so many.
Unlock Your Voice
Let your real, honest voice come out in your work. Maybe you’re funny, sarcastic, compassionate, spiritual, type A, impatient, systematic, creative, messy, dramatic, dark, etc. Whatever you are, be who you are. Let it come out onto the page. This is what makes you special and unique.
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New Small Publisher Open to Subs
I don’t have any personal experience with them, but wanted to share that I saw a call for submissions from WaterTower Hill. They do fiction and nonfiction, including memoir.
If you do submit, let me know how your experience is.
In My World
I was flattened by a stomach virus last week, which happened to coincide with the anniversary of my dad’s death. Some people say the body remembers.
I’m working on writing some content for a textbook for K-5, which is fun. And I’m developing material for an online class I’ll be talking about soon, so stayed tuned.
Obsessed With…
While I was sick, I read The Rivals by Claudia Lin. It’s a super juicy story about an ice dancing couple and all the machinations of the skating world. If you were riveted by the Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding story, you want to read this. It was sooo good.
I blew through Sirens on Netflix, which was weird but kind of engrossing, although I take umbrage at the way it painted Buffalo. Not cool. #Buffalove
Good Goods
I’m planning for a couple of upcoming trips and one of my go-to packing hacks is this super cheap set of tiny travel containers. They are perfect for creams, oils, foundation, cleanser, any liquid beauty product. They are also great if you need to bring some supplements or pills. They’re about the same size as the super expensive and trendy Cadence capsules ($15 each!), but you get a set of 6 for $7ish. For about a $1 piece, I don’t care if I lose one. They don’t leak, they’re lightweight, and I use them time and time again (I recommend handwashing, though because I melted one in the dishwasher!).
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