Comments on: Finding a Voice: Who Is That?

By: http://www.jamesfoster.info/

http://www.jamesfoster.info/ — Wed, 24 May 2017 11:54:29 +0000

Wow, I have seen better GCSE projects.Ok, its a nice simple design and its purity gives it a certain attraction. I’m gonna go and make one myself in the workshop after work.

By: Josh

Josh — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 12:34:04 +0000

Yeah, that personal voice idea is important, especially when we’re writing non-fiction. Why would you want to sound like someone else when you’re telling your story? I mean, if the message isn’t clear, if the reader is unable to understand your point, that might be an issue. But that feels less like a question of voice to me.

And I like the idea of then connecting the emotion through a different experience, deepening the voice. Part of the problem we run into is trying to “describe” how we felt at a particular moment when we should probably be telling a story to “illustrate” that emotion.

By: Carol

Carol — Tue, 24 Mar 2015 18:51:02 +0000

Just like I am sensitive to accents, and by this I mean that if I am around one for very long, I tend to pick up some of the inflections and sounds, I am sensitive to a writer’s voice. While reading, there are times I can’t get into the rhythm of the writer, and may even quit reading. Other times, I am right there with the writer, like we’re sharing a dialog.

My voice tends to be in phrasses, like I am thinking of more and more details of the original thought. I was told in high school not to write this way. But when I don’t, I tend to sound very formal. I do it anyway.

I took a writers workshop recently where the purpose was to find your deep voice. The one that’s conversational, like you’re telling a story, and then deepening the voice (experience) by tying a moment to it – an unrelated experience where the emotion of the statement is clear. It can feel disjointed at first, but when you find the sweet spot, the work deepens and come alive. I haven’t practiced it much, but want to.

I believe voice is developed, shifts and changes as we grow. And like you said, in order for that to happen, you have to write.