I play bass guitar and learned to train my ears to hear the bass lines in music. It was cool when I discovered the ability to recognize not only lines, but certain artists’ styles. (Sting & Clapton are great for that.) I am now hoping to apply that mysteriously astute part of my little brain to writing.
I am currently working through a sizeable To Be Read pile. I recently finished reading The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver. I’m sorry to say I had not read her until now. Her voice hit a chord right from the start (and her first novel!) For some whacked reason, I have a hard time finding books written in a style and voice that interest me. And I KNOW there are tons of really great writers out there—so obviously the problem is with Camille. One author whose voice grabbed me on page one and latched on for the rest of the book was W. Dale Cramer with Summer of Light. So did Sara Gruen with Water For Elephants.
I also just finished reading The Secret Life of Bees, another of those highly acclaimed works I never got around to reading until now. Now Sue Monk Kidd has a smooth, soothing voice and handles touchy, painful topics in a sensitive way. I’m currently reading Lisa Samson’s Embrace Me, and next up is Olson’s Shade, Ingermanson’s Oxygen (again), then Cramer’s Sutter’s Cross and Levi’s Will, and Samson’s Quaker Summer. I await Mary DeMuth's newest series. Right now, I plan to read more of Cramer and Samson in an effort to identify their author voice, especially when each story is told from the view of different characters.
Lisa Samson makes me mad. Her ‘voice’ is confident, knows when and how it may break the rules of writing, and brings such a rich hue to the story. I don’t mean to compare my work to hers (good grief, I may be green, but I’m not
stupid) but I can’t help noticing the freedom of speech with which she writes and how glaring a contrast it is to my reserved, rule-strapped little writing voice.
For now. I am an obsessed student of this writing craft and I WILL learn to free my voice, even if it kills me. :)
Maybe all this reading will shed a wee bit of light on the whole “author voice” mystery and help answer the burning question you and I and are dying to ask these authors: how do you, as a writer, keep your wry wit, polished profundity and organic originality intact while following the Rules of Great Writing . . . or at least giving them a reverent nod in passing?
Dare me to ask them?
ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE MYSELF. . . .
8 RANDOM FACTS ABOUT ME:
I wrote a NOVEL (more about it at the bottom of the page . . . keep scrolling).
I've been writing stuff - an actual literary term - all my life, but now, I'm serious about being published. Or pubbed, if you like. (It's so cute how writer people have all these enigmatic little code-names for things)
I love action movies and Jane Austen. (she’s dead, I know. I found that out when I tried to get her to endorse my novel)
They let me play Bass guitar and sing in a worship band.
I can produce 4 dozen homemade cinnamon rolls in less than 2 hours for a crowd of drooling young adults.
I have a Harley A 2002 Sportster 883. Chrome, black leather. Ram Horn handles. No sissy pink stuff.
I hate shopping (Yes, I'm aware that I'm a girl)
My ringtone is the theme from "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly"(whoo-00-oo-00-oo, waa waa waa)
I speak 3 languages:
1. Sarcasm, fluent
2. Teenage ghetto-girl slang: actually, I'm just learning. It's a difficult language to grasp as it changes without warning and involves complicated neck, hip and finger snapping motions that are often dangerous for middle-aged white people.
3. My native tongue: English with an Oregon dialect, which is much more pronounced with caffeine. Just sit in any Starbucks in Portland an listen fer a while, or head tord the mountn, you'll know whudumean.
I WAS THERE:
I was there during the brief Sonny & Cher period of Modern American history. (Anybody remember? Babe---I got you Babe---) AND the Belushi-Ackroyd years of SNL.
PROFESSIONS THAT I'VE HELD PROFESSIONALLY:
I have experience (meaning actually receiving cash) in numerous professions including a Preschool Teacher, Administrator and a Church Administrative Assistant. In these, I have conducted myself in a flawlessly professional manner. Truly.
I also have over 10 years experience in the honorary profession (meaning no cash, besides the sticky coins that turn up while cleaning the crevices between the seats in the car) of stay-at-home mom.
In addition to these, I also know how to do an unbelievably large number of random, useless things. Like greasing the hubs and changing the oil in a '56 International Harvester Scout.
MY BIGGEST PET PEEVE:
Stinkin over-achievers.
MY ROOTS:
I've lived in Oregon all my life, grew up in several towns/cities including Eugene, Springfield, Reedsport, and Smith River. Which is not really a town, but a river, about 70 miles long, a tributary of the Umpqua River in southwest Oregon.
Although it's not a town, it is a community with a strong sense of pioneer history. It's cool to say you've lived there, especially if you lived there during the days when you had to take a boat to school. No joke! The old farmhouse my grandfather and my mother grew up in still stands, nestled into a narrow, pasture carpeted valley, complete with a swimmin' hole and its own 'crick'. It's going in my next novel.
As a child, I lived for a year in Gardiner, Oregon, across the road from a Weyerhauser paper mill and spent that entire year thinking the noxious odor I smelled every day was coming from my brother's bedroom. (I'm still not entirely convinced it wasn't.)
One last root worthy of mention: there's a longstanding rumor that my ancestors had some connection with the Mafia back in Sicily. I used to fantasize during school about a big black limo with tinted windows pulling up and whisking me away.
Ahhh. THAT'S why I'm having so much trouble conjugating my dangling participles now.
Love Worth Fire - a Contemporary Women's Fiction with Romance
There was a natural, familiar bond that had developed over time. A bond that, until now, Ian had thought he shared with a wise, stout, tender-hearted little spinster nearing middle-age . . .
His his mind worked frantically to reconcile the Emily he knew from the letters with this one, and to accept the fact that this woman, this very lovely young woman, had been his pen pal for the past two years . . .
All widower Ian MacLean wants is peace. And a farm in the lowlands of Scotland should be the perfect place to find it. But he's too young for the life of a recluse, and he’s constantly plagued by an obstinate, mischievous grannie, bitter regrets, mislaid faith and worst of all—an ache for something he’ll never have.
Emily Chapman is a devoted caregiver to her frail great-aunt and lives a quiet life in a remote community in central Oregon’s high desert. Emily has also suffered loss and longs for a sense of belonging, of family.
When Ian travels to the States and meets his kind ‘old’ pen pal, he is surprised to find a lovely, tenderhearted young woman who shakes up what little peace he has and stirs up something in his heart he never thought possible.
But just when Ian and Emily’s dream of a life together is within reach, Emily discovers a devastating secret that crushes their hope for a future. Ian must relive the painful nightmare that scarred him once already. Can his heart withstand a second blow?
While Ian examines the strength of his heart and his renewed faith, Emily must decide if she has the courage to face her worst fears and truly leave those she loves in God’s hands.
****************************
CHAPTER ONE
Ian MacLean nearly escaped.
He made it to the edge of the lamp-lit street with only four hard strides bridging the gap between him and his freedom: Maggie’s farm truck. Even in the pallid streetlight, his grannie’s old rattletrap never looked so good.
“That’s far enough!”
A low growl rumbled up from his throat at the sound of Claire's voice, but instead of stopping, he sprinted across the road, digging into the pocket of his jeans for the key. He reached the truck and behind him, a car spattered up rain from the pavement, blaring the horn as it passed. At Claire, no doubt. Some things never changed. He had to be the only man in Scotland whose older sister still trailed him like a bullet if she thought he wasn’t sharing. Didn’t matter what it was.
With a sigh he turned, leaned against the fender and lowered his gaze to meet hers. Her eyes, usually dark like his, flickered with bright little sparks.
“You’re not leaving until I know what happened to my husband—that’s a dead cert!”
The top of her head didn’t even reach his chin, but that made no difference to her. Never had. He folded his arms loosely, hoping to hide his growing tension.
“What . . . you’re not happy he’s back then?”
“Are you daft? Of course I’m happy!” She frowned, but her voice softened. “This is where Davy belongs.”
“Good.” Ian shoved off and reached for the door. “That’s all that matters.”
“Nnnno . . .” She shot in before he could reach it and pressed her back against the handle. “I want to know how you got him to change his mind, Ian.” Claire gave her arms a brisk rub.
To the west, the lights of Glasgow cast a golden glow against the night sky, but the warmth of the sun had long since faded. Ian’s damp clothes took in the chill, pulling heat away from his skin.
“So what did you say to him?” Claire shivered, still rubbing her arms.
He shrugged. “I don’t remember.”
“Ah! How can you say that? Do you know how hard I’ve been trying to get him to come home?”
As she stood there with fists planted on her hips, Ian’s eyes fell to the spot in the middle of her belly, right about where the door handle would be. Her arms poked out on either side like the handles on one of Maggie’s blessed teapots, almost begging him to toss her out of his way.
“Nothing I’ve said has made a bit of difference, Ian. Whatever you did . . . you just saved my family.” Her eyes filled with tears, but her voice fell to a low tone. “And you don’t remember how you might have done that?”
His gaze snapped across the street to her second-storey flat, to the home she shared with four remarkable kids and one lucky, blasted fool. He had to fight back the ache that rose in his chest.
“We talked about . . . loads of things, Claire.”
“Aye. I’m listening.”
Ian sucked in a deep, cool breath. What he had said to his brother-in-law had not come easy. The words stung then, and they would sting now; swift and sharp, like a cold blade to an old wound. He searched her face, hoping for a weak spot. She didn’t flinch.
23 comments:
Beautiful, well-written post. I, for one, like your voice. Just remember, I was one of the first to discover you! Write on!
Developing your voice is just a matter of time. First learn to write, which means learning those pesky rules. At some point, your voice will emerge naturally. Let it.
You asked me what I thought was the key to unlocking an author's voice... In my view, voice emerges from an author after (1) a lot of experience writing, (2) good training from other writers, and (3) enough life lessons to have something to say. A writer's voice is simply the expression of one's personality onto the page -- it can't be rushed, can't be forced, can't be faked or readers will sense it. -Chip
It took me over thirteen years before I "found" my voice. It all came at once, surprisingly. How?
I wrote a column that my mentor read. She wrote back: I think you've found your voice. Then my agent asked me a question about my childhood. I wrote a quick email back, explaining something. He said something like, "Man, you can write." It surprised me because I hadn't intended to write the email well, but what I wrote was very, very me. That's when I knew I nailed my voice.
But it took thirteen years.
And it's why I have confidence today, particularly when I'm edited. I can take some critique when it resonates, but leave other pieces of critique when I feel it's messing with my voice.
And I fear less about people stealing my ideas because even if a writer "stole" a plot from me, I absolutely know he/she couldn't write it in my voice.
I copied this from my blog post of June 9:
Let's start by identifying a few things voice isn't. Voice is not style. It's not technique. It's not branding. It's not a decision to write in first or third person.
So what is it? To me, your writer's voice is the expression of YOU on the page. It's that simple—and that complicated. Your voice is all about honesty. It's the unfettered, non-derivative, unique conglomeration of your thoughts, feelings, passions, dreams, beliefs, fears and attitudes, coming through in every word you write.
Voice is all about your originality and having the courage to express it.
Sounds simple, right? Then why is voice so hard? One of the most common problems with fiction by new authors is the lack of a unique voice on the page. How is this possible? You are unique. You can't help it, you just are. You aren't exactly like anyone else. How, then, are you failing to express that on the page?
I think it's because most of us spend our lives presenting to the world anything and everything except who we really are. We present images of who we want to be. We show the world what we want them to see. We expend lots of energy upholding our facades, and in the process, we can lose touch with our true, unique selves. Many of us are afraid of real, total, gut wrenching honesty.
I also think one of our biggest problems is that we've been media consumers since the day we were born. When I read fiction that doesn't have a "voice" that captures me, it usually feels derivative, i.e. similar to other works of fiction rather than striking me as fresh and coming from life. Instead of truly creating stories and characters of your own, you may be unwittingly regurgitating stories and characters you've read and seen in thousands of hours of reading and TV/movie watching in your life. This means you are not being your unique self, but a composite of many other selves who are not you. Admittedly, it's a big hurdle for all of us to overcome.
So how do you find your voice? You can't learn it. You can't copy it. Voice isn't a matter of studying. You have to find it. And the only place to find it is within you. (Yikes, sounds like I'm going New Age here!)
It's a process of peeling away the layers of your false self, your trying-to-be-something-you're-not self, your copycat self, your trying-to-sound-a-certain-way self, your spent-my-life-watching-television self. It's like going to psychotherapy, delving deep and allowing the real you to emerge, only in this case you want it to find its way on to the page.
For me "voice" is "how I hear it in my head." I think that takes a kind of courage. Randy's right, you have to know the basic rules of writing, however, once that becomes second nature, a bass-line if you will, you're free to add your own voice in lead guitar. And the drums, the cadence of your writing, is supremely important. Think Bonzo, John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page, baby!
It takes time, but if you're a decent writer, I think it takes more guts than anything else.
I think I found mine more along the lines of what Chip said. I worked ahrd, learning this craft of ours. I have the world's best crit partners (and the world's toughest ones ;))
I also happened to read a good book on finding your voice and what the author of that book said was what happened to Mary.
All our friends tell me they wait anxiously for the latest year's Christmas letter. That got me to thinking, and I went back and read all the fun Christmas letters I'd written over the years. Stories I'd made up about our fmaily, incorporating the real life events and embellishing them to make them more entertaining.
I finally let that voice come out in my fiction, and I can tell you this: it's freeing and much more fun to find it. :D
One of the ways I discovered my voice--though I think it's still developing--was at critique group. After five years with the same people, I could tell you who's written a piece in one paragraph. Maybe even one sentence.
I began to see how I differed. What I chose to describe, the storylines I ran with, the rhythm of my sentences ... it all felt right.
Now, I do think that the second book will tell me much more about my voice. ;-)
Forgetting about voice and telling the story the way you see it is the trick. When it just plays out and you record it, then your imagination has been expressed in print. No one else thinks exactly the way you do, so there's your unique voice.
But listen to the experts; I'm just a newbie!
I read somewhere that writing is easy. You just have to get past the first 500 pages of terrible writing. Then you'll find the good stuff.
I think I have more than 500 pages of terrible writing in me, but I'm still aiming for the good stuff someday.
And it helps to keep reading people who have fantastic voices themselves. I'm a big fan of Cormac McCarty, for instance.
I appreciate all the valuable feedback on this. I hope to share this with other writers.
Thank You!
Your voice is how you tell your story. You’ve heard that there are only 6 different plots in the world…well, that’s basically true, but HOW that story is told is all about you and your voice. Your voice is what will cause an editor to put down their cup of coffee and lean into the story. What will make that coffee eventually grow cold. Your voice is your creativity, your prose, your style.
How do you find your voice? That’s another article, but here’s a few hints:
Ask: What books do you like to read and who are your favorite authors? Often, their voice will mimic your own.
Ask: What turns of phrases do you like to use, and what kind of dialogue draws you? Keep a journal of vivid scenes and compelling dialogue you read or hear to help you get a feel for the kind of cadence and flow you like.
Try it out on the page. (You can always delete!) Experiment with voice. Do you like it? Why? Why not? Figure out what kind of writing you enjoy…and keep doing it.
Voice is probably the hardest thing for an author to find – because it comes with confidence in your writing, in knowing what you’re doing it right, and beliving in it. And that only comes with learning the rules, solidifying your storytelling and believing in yourself.
Great discussion!
Susan May Warren
www.mybooktherapy.com
Camille, Great information here from some of my favorite agents and authors. Who knows if I've found my voice, but I think I have. It's my life experience, years and years of reading great books and books that I couldn't stand so I knew what NOT to do. Mostly, I'm just me. No pretty packaging. I write about the ick as well as the unusual. But I also love to write about the really great things people do, the small things people do that make them everyday heroes.
My voice is the way I string words together, and I suppose that spills over into my characters. When I'm writing characters who are nothing like me, I play tapes in my head of people who I've known or seen in film or on TV and let them have their say.
Rules, yes. Confidence? I'm getting there, and you will, too. I love what you said about Lisa S. and so glad that she replied here. Yes, she writes with abandon, and I love that.
My "voice" is telling me to shut up before I get redundant or take a rabbit trail :-)
This is something that all authors want to get a handle on/ask about.
I think a great example is the Girls Write Out blog by Kristin Billerbeck, Diann Hunt, Denise Hunter and Colleen Coble.
I get their blog by email often before I read it on site. It comes without who wrote the post, so I play this game of guessing who wrote the post before checking it out on site.The photos are generic bucket photos, so even that doesn't tip the reader.
Every time I've been right--and I think it's because I've read all their novels and know each "voice." They even write blog posts with their own "voice." Could you pick out who wrote what if you didn't have the byline?
When Stephen King wrote novels under his pen name, critics screamed that he was ripping off Stephen King! That is a strong voice.
To "get it," you have to do like Lisa Samson has said here--be authentic as you write, but also as Chip has said, write a lot. It's something that I have to comment about in manuscript reports to editors, so it is part of the process in narrowing down manuscripts.
That's all I have to say about that!
I found my voice by accident. I was writing a couple of middle grade books where the main character was essentially my one son. I had great fun writing about the hero, a kid who did as told but inside was standing up and screaming as loudly as he could. When I went back to my adult stuff, I took that same freedom with characters with me. I took the self-deprecating humor, the inner rebellions, the duality of character. In other words, I took the freedom to write the characters as they were, not as I thought they should be based on other stuff I'd read and seen. In other words, I wrote as me, not as I thought I was supposed to be writing.-Gayle Roper
Great topic, Camille. I've enjoyed reading all the answers. Voice has always thrown me for a loop as well.
So, I'll just keep pressing on...maybe it'll trickle out of me some day, right?
Have a great day!
Thanks Camille (and all the commenters). There's a lot here to process. A couple things that especially stood out to me were Lisa Sampson's "how you hear it in your head" and Susan May Warren's "what voices do you like to read" ... there's lots of other good advice here too.
Camille, your TBR list includes more W. Dale Cramer but doesn't have my favourite: Bad Ground.
I've just read John B. Olson's "Fossil Hunter" and there's a voice I like. Christy Barritt's Squeaky Clean series has another one.
I like Susan's theory that the writers you most like to read are the ones whose voice mimics your own. That's what I like to think about my writing anyway. Rachel Hauck and Tamara Leigh are just mimicing my voice. ;-)
I'm still trying to figure out my voice. And I'm still learning the rules of craft. So we'll see what happens.
But one of the things I find helps me is writing everything by hand for my first draft. I know, I'm old-fashioned, but if I try to write while I'm sitting at the computer, I get distracted. I'm pretty ADD, so my email and facebook and blogging and all those stupid internet games distract me.
But if I just sit and write, the words flow pretty naturally, and I can focus a lot better. Then, when I transcribe onto my computer, I can fix the glaring craft errors as I go but still keep my voice more or less intact.
Thanks for the discussion!
I like your voice too, a lot.
My historical and contemporaries sound different, I think, so I'm pretty sure I haven't found "it" yet. :-)
I loved your post, C.
Here's a tip on finding your voice:
Write the way you think.
We censor ourselves in writing, especially early on. Whether it is in earnest to write right, or due to feeling vulnerable at the exposure, or because we believe mannered writing is what we're supposed to (and don't learn until later that mannered writing is just that--mannered and not realistic), we hold back.
But when we think, we don't censor. We just think. And that means we get the dimension and depth that brings in the physical, emotional and spiritual aspects--the whole of us, and the whole of our voice.
That's not to say that you won't go back and delete the excess. It is to say that the writing won't be superficial or mannered. And I'm certainly not saying anyone's is that way. Just a tip I've picked up after reading a lifetime and writing since capable of holding a pen.
Write like you think. :)
Blessings,
Vicki
Vicki Hinze
www.vickihinze.com
Just popped over from Glynnis' blog where she shared your Christmas wish for a new heart. Count me in on the Mr. Linky of that one!
Thank you for reminding me of what's truly important.
Your post has really brought forth a great discussion on voice!
Thanks to everyone for sharing their thoughts. Voice is probably the biggest struggle for most writers, so I'll be pointing this out to as many as possible.
Wow, what great advice from so many noted authors and agents!!
This just reiterates to me that voice is such a complex concept to understand, that I better just concentrate on finding my own.
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