Finding Your Voice

Something I’ve noticed over the years of both writing and critiquing is that beginner writers tend to fall into over-eloquence. I did. There’s an unspoken code that I think is easy to fall into without realizing it: you’ve got to sound like an author. And sounding like a writer means being fancy.

Aspiring authors plunge into drafting their dear tales with grandiose words, a refined and quaint flair, as if the dreaming child (for as such one must view them in the land of authorship and Story) were from the motherland of England, with literary giants such as Lewis or Tolkien as their patriarch.

See what I mean? Have you read something like that in a published book? Probably. Especially the older ones, maybe one of the classics. Have you read something like that in a beginner’s manuscript? Have you written something like that yourself? I’ve got to admit, writing that last paragraph was fun. I felt like C.S. Lewis. But I’m not. And any of you who’ve read my blog posts for any amount of time know that’s not how I talk. Or at least write. Who knows if I talk like that on a regular basis? I might. <.<

The problem with writing so eloquently is that eloquence is not the only ingredient that can make you a good author. A good writer has their own unique voice. Their own style. Not only that, but their characters have their own tone as well.

So, when I see multiple writers who are just getting into their craft take off in a stream of Tolkien-ishness (that should totally be a word), it makes me think they aren’t playing with different narrative styles. They’re writing how they think they should write. They’re trying to sound like a “writer.”

I think most nerdy people would agree that Mark Twain is one of the greatest authors to have lived. An’ his work, ain’t in no way by my reckonin’ elo- elo—we’ll I ain’t much on learnin’, an’ how t’ spell that word is just an apple over my persimmon. Like I were sayin’, Mr. Twain weren’t one fer fancy words, but he made it just fine as a writer man.

Mark Twain didn’t depend on fanciness to be an author. He wrote in the way that best sounded like himself and his characters.

When I wrote my first book, I struggled with over-eloquence, especially considering that my main character (MC) was an inner-city black teen in the 1960s. Look at Tim’s narrative.

1^st Draft:

Sam’s words pierced my heart, but I was afraid. I was too fearful to not join, and to see myself fulfilling my dreads. That is, I was too afraid to not prove to myself that I could be something different than I was. But I made up my mind. I shook away my guilt.

Too fancy. It neither matches Tim or me.

3^rd Draft:

His words stung my heart, but I was terrified. The idea of not joining and seeing myself rot away as America’s idea of a typical negro scared me. I was too afraid to not prove to myself that I could be something different than I was. I needed discipline and structure—something to force me to be more than the man I was spiraling down into becoming. But wasn’t I ditching them, like Sam said? I shook away my guilt. It was too late to change my mind.

That second example can probably still use some work, but it’s far more natural for both Tim and me.

Be careful not to fall in love with a word so much that it throws off the naturalness of your flow. I love words like valor, camaraderie, and noble. But depending on the story I’m writing, the overall style of the prose, and who the words are coming from, it might be better for me to use words like brave, friendship, and honor. It’s less exciting, but the important thing isn’t the word. The important thing is what the word is pointing to.

Don’t be afraid of the way you sound when you write like yourself. It will come out naturally. It will be good. And as cliché as the following phrase is, it will be unique because it’s you. As you get more practiced, have fun playing around with different styles to match the tone and personality of your characters, as well as the setting of the story.

Good writers don’t sound exactly like their favorite author. Good writers sound like the combinations of all the authors they love, of the people around them, and of what’s inside them. Good writers sound like a combination that is uniquely themselves.

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“The mark of a writer who has found their voice is simply that they sound like themself.” – Don Pape

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