Epic Advice and Encouragement (EAE)

Advice 9 ☼ Voice and Style

Hi! It's me again, can't you tell? Maybe? No? It's me, Star!

Many of you have probably heard that a writer needs to create their own voice, to develop their own style. It is something that every writer needs, but it is one of the hardest things to pull off. Why is it so important? Because the voice and style of a writer are like a thumbprint; it is different than the others around them. The differences can be extreme like J. R. Tolkien and J.K. Rowling, or it can be one rather similar like most children books. Either way, there is still a small difference in the voice and style of each writer.

Now, there are some of you who might not know those writers and, thus, do not know what point I am attempting to make. So let us try something else, something that we all know: essays. Scholarly writing is far different than story writing. It is factual, authoritative, informed, and hopefully intelligent. It is different than the laid back, engaging, flourished writing of a novel. The styles between these two has to be different, even if we do not want them to be.

You all might be asking "how can I develop my own style?" The answer is not going to be one you like but one you have heard a million times. Practice. Yes, you need to practice. There really is no other way to develop it. It is actually going to be something that you are going to create without even realizing it, you are not just going to wake up and have miraculously have it. It is going to be something that just develops so be patient and keep writing.

Now, there are a lot of you who are like me and writing multiple POV's. Can I just say, this is awesome! As a multiple POV writer, I find this to be incredibly entertaining and a high challenge. Why? Because the voice and style need to change based on the character. If your character is a child, you are not going to use vulgar language, technically you would not even use the word vulgar, but you would write with a very innocent, hopeful voice. If your character was, on the other hand, a sailor, then it would be highly expected to slip out a swear word here or there or everywhere. There would be no filter, just the character.

The point is to write different, to be able to fluctuate the way you write, the voice you use, and the things you focus on. The best way to explain this, to succeed at this experience, is to put yourself in the character's shoes. Learn about the things that are important to them, understand their wants, their thoughts, their love and hate. Get to know your character better than you know the back of your hand and then write them. You would be surprised as to how different the voice and style comes off as.

Star~