Discovering the voice inside you as a writer
Do you have a single or multiple voices inside yourself?
A good and a bad person telling you what to do?
It’s right there, behind the mind, controlling everything you do.
It’s kind of crazy isn’t it?
But it’s actually not as psychotic as it might sound. I’m not talking about split personalities or any of those crazy stories, but rather the soul inside you that influences how it is you write.
Personally, when I write, I like to write short, jumpy lines with a mixture of description here and there.
But this is just my way of doing it.
Could you do it in other ways? Sure.
Would you need to? Absolutely not.
The voice is inside your head for one simple reason.
And that’s for you to use it.
Photo by Etienne Girardet on Unsplash
I know it might seem intimidating when you first start out, but there’s a good reason for it.
It’s still untrained, but that’s going to be a thing of the past.
Many say you need to figure out your voice, your style, and your identity before you can call yourself a writer.
I say it’s the other way around.
You can call yourself a writer before you figure out your voice and identity.
But why?
Let’s take a small journey together and I’ll tell you why it’s important to let your natural voice show.
Why authenticity matters in your writing
You can’t become a better version of yourself before you find the current version of you.
That’s the mindset I have walked into writing with.
It might seem trivial, but instead of chasing the “best” way to everything, I think it’s better to take what you already have and use it to its biggest potential.
Because there’s already so much potential inside of you.
I know, how could there possibly be? You have just started.
I say fuck that.
Yes you have just started, but this doesn’t change the fact that there’s passion hiding behind that starting line.
And if you go out and try to find the best way or a way of someone else, I can just about guarantee that you won’t feel anything but overwhelmed.
Your body has a natural way of doing things and you need to lean into it.
Even if you believe that it doesn’t work, it’ll give you less work in the future.
“Does it have to be perfect?”
Unfortunately, that’s the question most people ask.
But no.
Writing isn’t supposed to be perfect, in fact I’d say that perfect writing is when it’s imperfect.
Why?
Because it shows your flaws as a writer and that’s what gives your book character.
I mean not to shoot you down, but your plot line isn’t entirely new. But the way you write? Shit that’s new.
And that’s why you can’t just skip ahead and take someone’s way of writing.
Writing needs to be you.
It’s the foundation of everything you’re trying to build. And it’s the foundation that’ll help you find your identity as a writer.
How to discover your unique writing voice
If your voice is already stuck inside of you, how do you discover it?
It sounds simple, but it’s actually beautifully complex.
While it might be inside of you, if you have just started writing then you won’t know anything about it before you actually have written a project.
My first novel draft ended at 107,000 words. I was still not sure how I loved to write, but I had found my identity as a writer: long sentences, plenty of descriptions and in-line dialogue.
Basically, a disaster for the reader, editor, but it was a beauty for the writer in me.
Why?
Because it taught me the things I didn’t like.
The long sentence, while great, didn’t appeal to me.
And the in-line dialogue? Well, let’s just say you’d have more luck finding entertainment in a newspaper.
So, what did I do? I wrote another novel draft.
This time it was two short stories of 30,000 words.
The sentences were shorter, yet still with plenty of description, but, and most importantly, the dialogue had its own lines.
It was better and I enjoyed it way more.
I get it might not be apparent how you find your identity as a writer.
But I’m here to tell you:
It’s not by searching, stealing, but by writing.
It’s by putting your words down on paper and actually seeing what the voice inside you wants to produce.
Writing from personal experience: The key to finding your voice
“But Jack, what if I’m stuck? Like hanging head down at the top of a loop – stuck?
Shit yes, that’s kind of soul crushing.
I get that – But you have to remember that you are still new at this.
Take a moment.
Big breath in. Big exhale out
Feeling better?
One of the best things I have done to enhance my writing and help myself find my identity as a writer is to include stories from my own life.
Not in the “force yourself to be a part of the story” kind of a way that’ll bore you readers. Instead take an episode, rewrite it a bit and fit it onto a character.
It’s a guaranteed way to be authentic.
And if you don’t trust me, then trust the guy I got it from:
Stephen King – The super famous horror author? Yes that guy.
Once you start using your own experience, you’ll quickly realize it’s much easier to develop your writing voice by actually using it.
Developing your voice through practice and inspiration
A single simple experience that has had an enormous effect on you can help you build the most powerful stories.
As I said before, take a moment and rewrite it into something that fits the story.
This can be a bit of action, details, or a description that’ll make your reader flip the papers faster than a money counter.
Whatever it is, by using your own experience you’ll automatically find passion behind a scene, because it’s based on a true story.
And let’s be real, there’s no better way to sharpen your voice than by telling a bit of truth.
But if that isn’t enough, then it’s time to consult your new best friend: books.
The more you write the better you get at it, right?
Well, it’s the same with reading.
However, it has a secondary effect.
It helps you improve your vocabulary, is great entertainment, and is a massive inspiration.
The thing with writing, at some point, because you’re new, you’ll notice there are elements that you don’t like. But you don’t know how to get rid of them.
That’s completely normal.
To find your identity as a writer, you need some inspiration from others and I recommend you do it now, because now you actually have something to work with.
You now know what you need to improve, what you want to change, basically you know what your foundation is.
But even with the best inspiration from other writers, there’s still only one way you can develop your writing voice.
Yes, you aren’t getting rid of it.
It’s writing.
You need to incorporate everything you have discovered about your voice – the good and the bad – and mix it with the inspiration to develop your identity as a writer.
Identity crisis as a writer
At this point it’s quite normal to start having some sort of identity crisis.
You have identified your writing style, got some inspiration from others and things are going good.
Maybe even so good you feel ready to get some feedback.
You like what you’ve done – then you plug it into ChatGPT or get your cousin to read it, and bam.
This shit sucks.
Suddenly you allow yourself to follow everything they say, because they are experts, right?
I’m guilty as charged, so I know where you are coming from.
Now, it’s important that you hold on.
You’re already on the right track. You just need to make sure you don’t fall off.
If you are someone who struggle with staying motivated, I have written a post just for you. I struggled heavily with motivation in the start, but that’s a thing in the past and the process is actually quite simple.
If you have multiple things you want to improve on, then it’s better to focus on a few elements that you can help you smooth out the edges in your writing.
This isn’t about doing everything at once.
This is a journey and you’re still new.
Remember how long it took you to find your identity as a writer? The first version.
Yes, it’ll take equally as long to find second, third, and so on version.
Like if you believe your dialogue is trash, then this needs to be your focus and not how to suddenly write characters.
You just need to focus on writing dialogue. Over and over again, until it reaches a point, you’re happy with, and then you can continue until your writing is completely your own.
Embrace your uniqueness as a writer
You have to guard your integrity like it’s your life.
Without it you’ll just become ‘yet another author’ in the sea of writers.
It’s sad, because it’s the easiest road to take.
Because it works after all – right?
No – You don’t want to become “just another author” do you?
Take your why and remind yourself – Why did I get into the field? Was it to be famous or to get some exciting stories out there?
While you’ll find great inspiration (which I encourage you to), you have got to remember to adapt it to your writing.
It needs to be mixed with your current style.
Don’t do like I did and compare your work line-by-line to your favorite book. Figure out what you like about the book and then use the style in a way that actually fits your writing style.
It’s about moving forward and building on the foundation you already have (think of it like you’re building a skyscraper)
You want it to be your logo at the top. Not some lease on someone else’s skyscraper.
It’s a tough challenge, I know.
But if you just focus on your writing and the elements that you don’t like. Then the only thing you need to do is to constantly review and make sure writing feels natural to you.
And if you at any point start to rely too much on resources for your writing to sound nice, then take a step back and find your voice again.
There’s nothing wrong with going back to the basics every once in a while.
Creative expression and personal growth in writing
To truly figure out how to find your identity as a writer you need to be doing what feels natural for you.
That’s what writing is all about doing after all.
It’s not about being perfect, the best or anything like that.
I get everything feels overwhelming at first, but trust me, your voice is there.
Just like your mind changes as you get older, so does your inner voice – Your creative identity.
Yes, you’ll start out blank.
Yes, that’ll be scary, but there’s no need to worry.
You just need to spend many hours behind the keyboard, and you’ll quickly see how much potential you actually have.
And if you do end up feeling stuck, don’t stop.
Just like there’s nothing wrong with asking for help in life, it’s the same with writing.
Inspiration is needed to help you find your identity as a writer. Just as long as it doesn’t become a clutch and take over your writing.
Remember: This is a personal journey.
A personal journey you decided to go on by yourself. A personal journey where you’ll only see growth by putting in the time and write.
That’s a wrap for today.
What’s your current style like? What are some of the elements you have improved or are struggling to improve? Share your story in the comments or send me a mail – I’m here to help.
Until next time – Hope you have a productive and creative day.
Your writing buddy,
Jack