Skip to main content

What is Writer's Voice and How You Can Find Yours

Photo by Jacek Dylag on Unsplash
Writer's Voice is a term that's bandied about quite frequently on writing websites and during discussions within the community. But what exactly is it? The most simple definition is: it is the unique, individualistic style that distinguishes a writer from other writers. Most significantly, as Rachel Gardner puts it so eloquently: writer's voice is an expression of You on the page.

It could be one of many things or a combination of several: use of diction, syntax, description style, dialogue, character development, flow of the narrative, tone, etc. However it goes beyond all this--it encompasses your personal world view. Through your voice you connect with  readers with your unique take. 

It's the equivalent of your signature as a writer. And just like you did when you were young -- practise multiple ways of writing your name to finally focus on a particular signature that  you would use life long -- a writer needs to work on her voice to find the one that she's most comfortable with.

Reading can help you find out the kind of 'voices' that appeal to you as a reader. Do you love those light-hearted, humour-laced stories? Or do you feel comfortable with stories that explore the darker side of human nature? Perhaps you enjoy writing that has a smart, minimalistic edge? The best way to figure out what works best for you is by writing. Experiment with different styles and see what feels natural to you. Your personality, thoughts and take on different subjects will help guide you in the right direction. 

Genre is often one of the easiest ways to find your voice. If you want to write romance or horror or historical fiction then clearly you have a few templates to explore. When you bring your stories to that template, you begin the process of tweaking it by adding elements of your own style to it.

Plot structure and character development are often great tools in developing your unique voice. There are writers whose narrative style is distinctive because of the way their stories unfold. Use of flashbacks and flash forwards - will add your stamp to it. Even if you switch genres - your narrative style is unlikely to alter in a huge way. Though your tone may be different - for instance, the tone for a rom-com will be different from that of a romantic suspense - there are many storytelling elements that will have your own unique stamp when you're writing in either of these genres. To illustrate, if humour is your forte, it would inevitably find its way into your story - through character dialogue or description even if you're not writing a comedy.

First Person narrations are a great way to establish your personal signature on your writing. The reader reads the story from the point of view of the Protagonist -- and the writer can easily project her unique take through the voice of the protagonist. It's little wonder then that some of the most distinctive writer's voices are to be found when they are written in the first person.  In film, this generally takes the form of a narrator/voiceover. 

Different voices It's often practical to adopt different voices for different types of writing. When writing a blog, you would adopt a style that is different from the one you use when you write fiction. But it's always good to be consistent with whatever voice you use. 

I hope you find this post useful. Do share your thoughts and observations in the comment box. Happy Writing!




Labels:

Comments

  1. Reet Singh10 April 2021 at 07:47

    Fab write, Adite. I'm still looking, but the humorous voice insists on being front and centre

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Adite10 April 2021 at 11:04

      Thanks for reading, Reet. You can't go wrong with the humorous voice! :)

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Facing my fear - one Pitch at a time

Pitching makes me freeze up. In fact, the very thought of it makes me wanna run away.  For a screenwriter that's simply bad news. Because no matter what, if you want to get your stories out of your computer and hit the big screens, then you need to get comfortable with selling your story to potential producers and studios. And the first step in that journey is pitching.  My fear of pitching has prodded me to find different ways of overcoming the hurdle. So, for a few years I tried to work with agents in the hope that they would read my book and be able to handle the job of pitching. But soon I realized that agents were not into reading. So, I was just another name in their long list of clients. How that helps them grow their business is a different story, and one that I will perhaps share at a later point when I get around to solving that mystery! But the turning point (life does imitate screenplays!) came when I was called to pitch my book to a prominent OTT channel. This was...
1 comment
Read more

Basu Chatterji's "Balcony Class" Films

Basu Chatterji's Rajnigandha was like a breath of fresh air in the 1970s film universe of Bombay. At a time when the Angry Young Man was beginning to dominate celluloid screens, Amol Palekar was as un-hero-like as you could get. He was the Common Man who traveled in buses, did not have hero-like mannerisms and did not breathe fire and brimstone at his opponents. Basu Chatterji's Middle of the Road Cinema burst on to the scene and surprised the movie-going audience with its everyday situations and storylines that had an undercurrent of humour. Chatterji catered to an audience that he liked to call the "Balcony Class".  Anirudha Bhattacharjee, author of Basu Chatterji and Middle-of-the-Road Cinema writes an entertaining and heartwarming account of the life and work of Basu Chatterji, one of the most under-rated directors of Indian cinema. Recall of Chatterji's brand of feel-good, slice-of-life movies is perhaps highest for his Rajnigandha, Chotisi Baat, Baaton Baa...
5 comments
Read more

'Pure Evil' has been my biggest and most complex project - Author Balaji Vittal

Love them or hate them, you simply can't ignore them. That cliche is perhaps most apt when it comes to the bad men of Bollywood. In fact, some of the most memorable lines of dialogue have been mouthed not by the heroes but by the villains of Hindi cinema. So it is only fitting that these shining stars of the dark world (after all, antagonists are the protagonists of their own stories!) deserve to be spotlighted. Balaji Vittal , the author of Pure Evil: the Bad Men of Bollywood undertakes this onerous task of highlighting the world of these evil characters and how they have come to occupy a special place in the hearts and minds of movie goers.  I spoke to Mr. Balaji Vittal, a National Award winning and MAMI Award winning author of Bollywood books, a columnist for News18, Outlook India, The New Indian Express , a Bollywood commentator and a public speaker, about his journey of venturing into the world of Pure Evil .   Here are some excerpts:   Your book "Pure Evil: the Bad...
Post a Comment
Read more