By: Kenneth Kit Lamug,
on 4/9/2016
Voice is one of those elements in writing that could be a little confusing because it has a different interpretation depending on who you ask. Some people…
The post Finding Your Voice in Writing and Art appeared first on RABBLEBOY - The Official Site of Kenneth Kit Lamug.
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By: Margo Dill,
on 1/31/2013
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| Jayne Ann Krentz/photo by Marc Von Borstel |
By: Darcy Pattison,
on 9/13/2011
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Use discount code: RAP2011
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Last night, I watched HGTV crown the new “Design Star,” Meg Caswell. I had watched some throughout the season and the judge’s commentary always made me think of the writer’s voice.
One of the challenges of the Design Star is to meld entertainment and solid interior design, making information fun. While they are at it, the designers must also find their “voice,” their online persona that will carry the show. Much like novelist, they must find a way to bring their personality to bear on the material.
At one point, the judges warned Karl that his “nervous laugh” was getting in the way of his performance. We have nervous laughs, too.
A common commentary–for the Design Star and the novelist–is to relax and be yourself. Yeah, right. With millions watching you expect Meg and Karl to “be themselves”? With readers flocking to your book, your story, editors expect you to be yourself? That advice is helpful? NOT!
In fact, most advice about finding your voice or improving your voice, fail me. I can’t “dig deep into myself and find things I want to express.” I can’t “let my personality flow out through the pen onto the paper.” It’s too vague. I need something solid, something to try.
Today, I’ll start a series about voice and how to manipulate voice. I approach it not as a mystical thing, but as a matter of practical manipulation of the elements that writers have at hand: words, sentences, passages. We will look at each of these in turn and how they fit together to create the voice of a piece of writing. Join me for the next few weeks to talk about voice.
So, really–did you want Meg or Karl to win?
And–how would you define a writer’s voice?
By: Darcy Pattison,
on 8/22/2011
Where did July and August go?
Computer Woes. First, my server has been wonky for the last two weeks–apologies. If you have any difficulty getting to pages, please send me an email so I can straighten it out (darcy at darcypattison dot com).
Travel. For me, this summer included a great two-week trip to China. Our friend of ten years was getting engaged and invited us to the engagement party. Wow, what a great trip. So much to see and do–and we did all the usual things. Beijing in July was very smoggy. But we had a couple clear days to climb the Great Wall and see the Forbidden City. My favorite part was wandering the streets, as you’ll see in this video of a street vendor blowing a caramel-sugar pig:
Research (NOT!) After China, I did research (NOT!). My friend, Dori Butler won the Edgar award this year for the best children’s mystery for her series, The Buddy Files. (IF you haven’t read them, you need to!) She’s working on a new mystery–duh! And doing research: she’s recently shot a Taurus 380 and a Glock 22.40.
Why can’t I do cool research, I wondered? So, I went and had my throat slashed. Well, technically, they called it minor surgery as they took out my thyroid. But I now have the personal experience to go with Dori’s to write that mystery thriller. Hmmm. Maybe I don’t like research so much.
Back to Normal. But all it well here in the mid-South. And I’m back in the saddle with lots of plans for fall!
Plans for Fall.
Random Acts of Publicity: By Wednesday, I’ll have the complete info posted on this fun week when it’s “All About Your Friend’s Book.”
So, how was YOUR summer? Any interesting trips, research, writing? Please share your good news!
By: Robyn,
on 7/25/2010
Current word count: 12,628
Words written today: 427
Words to goal: 27,372/ 350 words a day til end of September
A writer’s voice seems like one of those elusive things that no one can really truly explain. When I’ve heard it talked about in seminars and conferences, it always seems a bit vague. And that’s because, it kinda is. There’s no one thing someone can point to and say, See that, that’s the voice.
A writer’s voice is basically the style the writer uses. When you read that agents and editors are looking for fresh voices, it basically just means new styles, books that don’t read like every other book on shelves. As writers, eager to be published, we want to know exactly what that means. How do you write a new style? We think there’s some kind of formula, like there are standard plot structures, there’s some key for writing in a fresh voice. Like we can press our version of Staples’ Easy button and have a fresh voice. There isn’t.
I’ve been in two workshops that try to teach voice. In both, the teacher gave us a setting and characters and asked us to write a quick scene. The different ways each of us wrote that scene demonstrates our voice. Demonstrates is the key word. Voice can not be taught. Your voice as a writer, your style is as individual to you as your fingerprints. It might have similarities to other writers, most likely your favorite writers, because you will be influenced by others, but your true voice will be your own.
And it will change over time. The more you read, especially the more you read different authors, the more your writing will be influenced and inspired by them — even changed by them. Think of a painter. Painters are influenced by the great artists, and their work, especially at the beginning, will reflect elements of those artists they admire most. It’s the same with writers. But the more a painter paints, the more he or she will find his or her own style — and that too is true of writers. That’s when we find our own voice.
The Adventurous Writer blog wrote about voice last week in 5 Tips for Developing Your Writer’s Voice. It’s a good set of ideas, but the part I like best in the whole post comes right at the bottom:
Your writer’s voice can’t be learned. It has to be freed.
Free your writer’s voice by writing and writing and writing, by reading and reading and reading and learning the correct ways to write. All of this will give you the confidence to write the way you want to write, to trust in your own instincts as a writer. When you can do that, your voice will emerge.
How’s your writing coming?
Write On!
By: Jason Boog,
on 12/17/2007
The word for the week is "mobile."
Over the weekend, I met one of Reuter's first mobile journalists. These reporters are armed with powerful videocamera phones and portable hardware--a single reporter can create print and video features miles from any newsroom.
The experimental Mobile Journalist Toolkit includes a portable tripod, computer keyboard, a directional microphone, and the Nokia N95 cell phone.
The United States is lagging behind other countries in adapting to cell phone possibilities, but the change is coming.
Last week, the MediaShift Idea Lab explored the slow transition to mobile media, offering ideas for writers interested in using this new medium. Paul Lamb writes: "According to a just released report by Jupiter Research, only 16% of U.S. subscribers are browsing the mobile web. According to the report, the low uptake is due primarily to lack of interest (73%) and the high cost (47%)."
The change is coming, it's just taking longer for Americans. Someday soon, the mobile phone market will be begging for content. The journalists who can figure out how to write for this bitty medium can take their pick of stories.
How will you write and report for the smallest screen of all?
By: Jason Boog,
on 10/30/2007
How should good web video look? Nobody knows. The standards are being invented as we speak.
Over at PBS's Idea Lab, Mark Glaser is exploring that conundrum, analyzing the work of Reuter's reporters who do multimedia reporting with a backpack full of fancy portable technology.
His analysis shows some flaws in the new program, but gives a couple helpful hints that multimedia journalists can follow as they improve their work. Check it out:
"The news service has given reporters a Mobile Journalism Toolkit, including a Nokia N95, a fold-up keyboard and directional microphones. The idea is that reporters could do video, photo, audio and text reports without having to use a laptop ... But if you peruse Reuters' special website to see the early reports from Reuters mojos, they are uneven, with blurry photos and choppy videos with poor sound quality."
While the jumpy, glossy camera lens looks odd on the convention floor, I think it looks pretty good in the heat of an angry toy store protest. Even though the form is still evolving, I tell my students that they should all be looking for jobs like this--blending print, video, and online publishing.
The future journalist will be a multi-tasking crazy person, and we have to start learning these skills. Don't waste all your time worrying about quality. Just start reporting (like Ed Champion and his new experiment), and figure it out as you go.
Excellent point, Margo! And I love that quote as well. Mostly because I think it's spot on--a strong voice is a love/hate kind of thing. You either love a voice or hate it--but you've responded to it!
And as a writer, I'd rather someone remembered my voice, for better or worse, than to say, "Cathy who??"
That's right, Cathy. There's no bad publicity!
Voice is so important! From our interviews lately, it seems like voice is number one thing agents look for in manuscripts.
I also agree with what Jayne said about editors. Magazine editors want a voice that fits with the tone of their publication--that's why they're always stressing the importance of reading it--because if a voice is too distinct one way or the other, they will pass.
I didn't know they taught voice in elementary school. They certainly didn't in my day! That's great, but how can voice be developed so early? I always thought it took years of toiling away at the keyboard.
I took the 6+1 intense training course to teach to the kids at school. I learned so much about writing. It was the first time I'd heard about using the least amount of words as possible to get across the message. Before that, I'd been taught to 'very' my papers to add word count.
In elementary school, voice gets sorta taught. There are scoring guides developed to assess the student's level of 'voice achievement' in their assigned topic assessment papers. They are scored at the state level, at least in Oregon.
This is a level 4, which is a passing score in the category of voice for students.
A voice is present. The writer seems committed to the topic, and there may be a sense of “writing to be read.” In places, the writing is expressive, engaging, or sincere.
Perfect timing for me today. A writer had to wall her/his heart behind a strong force to keep moving forward and to be stronger than the doubt that sometimes bubbles up. Keep the faith.
Ang: I think one of the points of 6 +1 traits is to start using "writer's vocabulary" to talk about writing, and hopefully, some of it will stick with them as they get older. Most kindergartners and first graders' voices sound the same because they don't have that big of a vocabulary or sentence structure to create their own voice. But kids who read a lot can and do start to develop a voice in 4th and 5th grade--it's exciting. And no, we didn't learn this when we were kids. :)
@Rose--I took training, too. I love the 6 +1 traits, and I use some of the tips in my own writing. That's how I came up with that workshop for writers. :)
@brenda--Glad the post helped you. I thought Jayne's quote was remarkable!