 For Authors: January 06, 2010 Issue [#3483] |
  For Authors
This week: Edited by: Cubby  
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Hello, everyone! Welcome to this edition of the For Authors newsletter.  This week's topic is focused on finding your voice, but first off, I'd like to share a few quotes with you. Enjoy!
Quotes:
"Don't think and then write it down. Think on paper."
~ Harry Kemelman
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"You have to write a million words before you find your voice as a writer."
~ Henry Miller
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If you do not breathe through writing; if you do not cry out in writing or sing in writing, then don't write."
~ Anais Nin
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"Successful writers are not the ones who write the best sentences... They are the ones who keep writing.
~ ~ Bonnie Friedman
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"We write because something inside says we must and we can no longer ignore that voice."
~ Sheila Bender
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"When your writing is unselfconscious, when it comes from your heart, that's when it's powerful."
~ Sandra Cisneros |
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Finding Your Voice in 2010
Why not take your writing a step further this new year and concentrate on bringing your skill to the next level? One suggeston would be to find your voice, if you haven't already.
So... how do I find my voice? Where do I look?
Your voice has always been with you. Recognizing it is the hard part. Don't try to cover it up. For instance, allow your writing to reflect from within. Relax. Write natural. Don't think because so-and-so has a best seller that you have to write exactly like him. It's okay to be different. Readers like that. Trying to write like someone else can be a good exercise, but find your own voice. It's there waiting for you to discover it.
There's nothing wrong with going to workshops, writing groups, taking classes, etc. There's nothing wrong with reading articles about writing, or books on how to improve your writing. All these things can be very helpful and great tools to polish your skill. They can also inspire you to take your writing to a higher level. But they will not tell you where your voice is hiding. You won't find your voice anywhere else but from within.
It's easy to get caught up into reading about writing. And it's far easier than writing itself. But you need to actually move on to the next step if you are serious about your writing. Think of each writing tool as a key. Once you've gotten something out of it, unlock the next door and enter. Keep going. Don't get stuck. Eventually your voice will emerge, if you allow it to.
Flavor your writing with your own style. Write how you talk. Let your words fall onto the paper directly from your brain. You can rework them later if you find errors. Don't get hung up on trying to sound perfect. Your words should read naturally, not stiff and lifeless.
A few helpful tips to finding your voice are:
 Relax. Be yourself.
Allow your words to flow naturally, not forcefully. Be yourself.
Write how you talk. Be yourself.
Write your own words and keep writing them. Be yourself.
Do you see a pattern there?  
You might think your voice is playing hide-and-seek with you at times, but perhaps it's just a bit shy yet because it's not use to being in the spotlight. Maybe it has stage fright. The best way to cure that is to get out there and... Be yourself.
Here are a few links for further reading on finding your writer's voice:
http://tumblemoose.com/finding-your-writers-voice/
http://efuse.com/Design/wa-voice.html
And a few books to check out:
Finding Your Voice: How to Put Personality in Your Writing
by Les Edgerton
Finding Your Writer's Voice: A Guide to Creative Fiction by Thaisa Frank and Dorothy Wall
Writing the Mind Alive: The Proprioceptive Method for Finding Your Authentic Voice
by Linda Trichter Metcalf
Now for a prompt... Without any hangups at all, sit down and write your heart out! Don't worry about editing or anything else. Just write!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May you have an inspiring week and an exceptionally inspiring year!
Keep on Writing!
Cubby ") |
Featured Items
~by WDC Members
Submitted Items by Members
Michael finds himself face to face with the Devil. But Hell is not what he thought.....
Hello,
This is the first chapter of a novel I finished recently. It will be serialised online starting Jan 2010 at http://www.hellboundthebook.com
I'd love any feedback you might have.
Kind Regards
Tim H |
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Thank you all for the wonderful feedback!