Discussions

Developing A Voice or Personal Style

Posted by wehireu • 9/11/08 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: books, reading, style, voice

I have found plenty of writing help focused on grammar, structure, and similar things. I have spent a decent amount of time reading up on this kind of material.

However, I was recently told that I was rather boring in my writing and I really did not have a personal voice which grabbed peoples attention.

What good books are there on developing a voice and a personal style in writing are there. How do you do this? Where are the good sources of advice?

This is often what is missing in many blogs I have read.

User Comments

9/11/08

satijournal

Good topic. Many artists, when they're first starting out, emulate other artists and then their own style kind of evolves out of that. I read an interview with Eric Clapton and he claimed that the way he formed is solos (this was in the 60s) was he took some Freddie King licks and some B.B. King licks and the way he joined them together was what made up his style.

I think you can do the same thing with writing. Find a writer you like, or several writers, and practice writing in their style. Then add some of your own personality to the style and eventually you'll have your own style.

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9/11/08

voodooKobra

You have to know the rules before you can break them. That's part of the reason I'm currently enrolled in the most boring, pro-jargon English Composition course my college offers.

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9/11/08

timethief

Blogging is built on relationship building and relationships are built on two way communication. I believe that imagining you are writing for a particular person or small group of people can be helpful when you go about writing. IMO this article is a good one 5 Tips For Developing Your Writing Voice www.aboutfreelancewriting.com/articles/howtosample/voice.htm

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1. 9/12/08
  
  melindaville
  
  @timethief--Those are some excellent, concise tips! Thank you for posting it.
2. 9/12/08
  
  timethief
  
  @mtyler77
  You're welcome.
9/11/08

CreativeJunkie

I am an avid digi scrapbooker and consider journaling one of my strongest suits. I basically transferred my journaling style into my blogging style and it's worked great for me.

My style is very informal and casual with lots of run on sentences. My grammar is not always perfect. My blog "voice" is very much like my speaking voice ... when people read it, I want them to "hear" the way I typically sound when I speak.

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9/11/08

Anniepooh

My brother has mentioned many times that he feels that I write like I'm 'talking to people' and not just writing. I don't notice a style as much as I notice the mistakes after rereading my posts a year later

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9/11/08

DrowseyMonkey

Just be yourself, as if you're talking to someone.

I don't think you can find that in a book somewhere. I'm a big believer in "just do it" ... and I thought that way before Nike or whoever made it into their motto, lol.

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9/11/08

jackpayne

Jiss be yoself, an let all them chips fall where they mite.

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9/11/08

annz

I don't consider myself to be a good writer, in fact I find writing to be difficult, but I do feel like my voice has begun to develop better through blogging. I started out by looking at blogs whose authors had a style that I enjoyed - not necessarily to imitate their style, but to think about what I liked about how they wrote, and think about how I might tell the same story. And then I made myself write a lot on my blog. Eventually, some time in the last few months, something like a voice has started to assert itself. Writing hasn't become any easier, though.

I agree with CreativeJunkie and Anniepooh, my style more closely resembles the way I talk, which isn't with perfect grammar, at all. I notice mistakes all the time after I publish posts. Even if you don't want to have a writing voice that is close to a spoken style, you might want to think about some of your favorite phrasings, and the ways that you inject humor into situations and see if there's a way to introduce those into your writing.

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9/12/08

Arcticulates

Write what you feel! Your passion, I can always tell when someone is writing about something they have a passion for.

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9/12/08

wehireu

I understand all the write what you feel, but I think part of it is must be like character development in a story where you are building a persona in fiction. I sometimes wonder if it is not like a stage presence in acting. Blogs must have some characteristics of style which make them more readable than others.

Most books and instruction manuals I have seen are about grammar and structure. They are not about putting forth an argument or getting your point across in writing. I see books about logic for example, but very little about logic in writing.

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9/12/08

earthlingorgeous

Write with feelings. Write as if you are intimately talking to a close friend. Write as how you are telling the story.

Use pause and breaks not just make a whole big bunch of non-breathable long sentences and paragraphs.

Experiment on your writing different styles and genre then you will realize where you are more comfortable at.

Read different writing books especially compilation of essayist books like Modern Essayist there are different versions every year . You will see a writers style. You can try imitating a style or combining some styles. Practice makes perfect. Your writing style and character will develop in time.

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9/12/08

kirat92

Forget the complications.
Try to get your point across in the shortest possible way. This is afterall a blog and its all about expressing your views but in readable and non rambling way.

Th rest comes on its own.
Ideally, the style and tone shoud vary depending upon what you're talking about. It could be outrage, just an opinion, sarcastic or caustic!

Let your words run riot!

kirat92.blogspot.com

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9/12/08

Hangingonahyphen

I love to write short stories, and there
are no hard and fast rules what voice to
use. But normally, I make a choice whether
the story I wish to tell is a story of plot
or a story of character.

If plot is the underlying consideration, it
is more effective to write from the viewpoint
of a narrator, a person other than myself.
If on the other hand, my story is a story
of character, one where inner turmoil and
emotional crisis is the underlying theme, I
usually write from my own point of view.

But this is not always the case.
It all depends, really...

Examples:
In "My Rain Dancing Days", I used
a first person point of view. It is a
story of character.
But in "Of Flies and Lions", I
used the third person (narrator)
point of view.

(I don't claim to have done a
good job though...)

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9/12/08

wehireu

Do you people want strong feelings or opinions? Is that part of what you are looking for?

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1. 9/12/08
  
  DrowseyMonkey
  
  You're never going to enjoy blogging if you blog for other people...in my opinioin.
  
  You have a great concept, it's obviously one you're passionate about - so just go with that. You don't have to develop a character as you said above because "you" are the character - just be yourself. Visit other blogs, make comments, build relationships with other bloggers that way, add your blog to a social network with like-minded blogs (I'm sure there's lots out there) ... have fun - that always shines through the writing.
9/12/08

ThriftShopRomantic

I think style solidifies the more you write. Read a lot and examine what you like, and why you like it.

Ask yourself why it works for you? This makes you more self-aware of your own writing.

And it can really help you set a tone for yourself.

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9/12/08

aningeniousname

I think it's very easy to get caught up in the craft and subtle technicalities of writing. It's like most people have said, the only way you can get better and develop a "voice" is by writing. I'm sure all the writers we now class as greats all had these same worries at the beginnings of their careers, it's as much about having the courage to go on as it is about having talent.

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1. 9/12/08
  
  ThriftShopRomantic
  
  Yup, listen to the intelligent aardvark.
2. 9/12/08
  
  melindaville
  
  I think you are spot on. For years, people have told me I should write a memoir of my experiences. I think my ability to finally write it is due to the courage to do it more than anything else.
  
  Dig deep into yourself, write about what you know and what you are passionate about. If you have a passion for what you write about--it will come through in your blog. If you are passionate, you will inspire that in others.
9/12/08

lotusb

I'm always told that my writing (and I am NOT tooting my horn here) is fun to read. I had a VERY good writing teacher and mentor to whom I attribute this. My best advice for you is to try just as an exercise to write just like you talk. Do you say anthing a lot, like "I mean" or "You know"? Throw that in there, let your personality become the color of your work instead of your vocabulary so much. Sometimes the funnest thing to read isn't chuck full of words someone found in the thesaurus, it's just full of that persons weird querks.

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9/12/08

hiljohn

Okay, I just visited your blog ... and yeah, it's a bit "dry."

But, quoting you:
"What aspect of myself attracts other people to my writing?"

What aspect of YOU attracts other people to you? If you don't know, ask those who are close to you ... those with whom you feel safe. Then let that aspect speak to us through your words.

Another quote from today's post:
"Later in the morning, I do some more weeding. It is more tedium that needs to get done. I will be doing it every single day until I am done with the 300s which is basically all of social science."

Forget the tedium. Don't tell us about the tedium. Tell us what gets you excited about books! You are obviously passionate about books, otherwise you wouldn't plow through the tedium. But we readers want to see and hear your passion, not your tedium.

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9/12/08

Scribblerchick

There's a lot of good advice here. I can't add much, but this. Make sentences short and to the point, whenever possible. Use active verbs - try to use "is" and "was" sparingly. Think of better verbs. Try to think if terms of colorful images in the reader's minds.

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9/12/08

Theresa111

Try writing a story the way you would tell a story to someone sitting on the sofa, listening to what you had to say. Sometimes, let your conscience be your guide, or your dreams, but especially, your imagination.

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9/20/08

wehireu

I have been reading about personal style recently. I am enjoying The Sound On The Page by Ben Yagoda. I think my style is changing slightly. At least, I hope it is, or I'll end up with a blog with a headstone and a dancing skeleton eventually. I would like to continue doing this.

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10/12/08

AkiraSabine

What I do is being unique, though it's not always on purpose. It's just me telling the truth and telling exactly what I'm experiencing and things from my point of view.

I feel that my originally hobbies sharing blog is drifting from it's purpose toward personal stuffs. Anyhow, I still wish to write on my interests in acoustic guitar playing, tennis, the butterfly swimstroke, languages learning, travelling the backpacking style and the wonders of the World Wide Web.

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