Have you read or heard the poems and short stories by the American writer Edgar Allan Poe? His writer's voice is often lyrical and scary. Poe was a master at conjuring up frightening images. The bleakness tumbled out of his prose. Now contrast the writer's voice of Poe with that of another American humor writer and Pulitzer Prize winner, Dave Barry. These examples are at opposite ends of the writing spectrum. If you're familiar with their prose, you'd never mistake one for another. These men have distinctive writing voices; you do too.
The idea of a writer's voice may be a new concept to you or one you've worked to find for some time. A writer's voice is the way you put thoughts and creative ideas together. It's the way you alone impart information, knowledge, entertainment, and/or inspiration.
Keep in mind that the writer's voice you hear initially will probably change through the years. Times have changed along with the writer's voice of a friend. Today the words she chooses are simpler. Her writing is casual. With the word casual, I don't mean careless. It doesn't mean she strings together phrases and unintelligent words hoping someone will say, "Wow, what deep meanings."
The casual writing voice I enjoy writing and reading is everywhere. Today's writing supplies information and entertainment in an easy-to-understand form. It's along the lines of the writing you'd find in the newspaper and hear spoken on television and the radio.
Many writing teachers suggest that those who are new to the creative field shouldn't try to discover a writing voice. I disagree. It is part of the process. We must notice what's happening in our heads and listen to those sounds with our ears. We can hear our words and examine the images we create and from this, I believe, our writing voice comes to life.
The idea of a writer's voice may be a new concept to you or one you've worked to find for some time. A writer's voice is the way you put thoughts and creative ideas together. It's the way you alone impart information, knowledge, entertainment, and/or inspiration.
Keep in mind that the writer's voice you hear initially will probably change through the years. Times have changed along with the writer's voice of a friend. Today the words she chooses are simpler. Her writing is casual. With the word casual, I don't mean careless. It doesn't mean she strings together phrases and unintelligent words hoping someone will say, "Wow, what deep meanings."
The casual writing voice I enjoy writing and reading is everywhere. Today's writing supplies information and entertainment in an easy-to-understand form. It's along the lines of the writing you'd find in the newspaper and hear spoken on television and the radio.
Many writing teachers suggest that those who are new to the creative field shouldn't try to discover a writing voice. I disagree. It is part of the process. We must notice what's happening in our heads and listen to those sounds with our ears. We can hear our words and examine the images we create and from this, I believe, our writing voice comes to life.
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