Making sense of writer’s voice.

Tool Kit #2: Lessons from “You’re saying things oddly.”

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This Tool Kit breaks down and adds new insight to the lessons from Newsletter #2: You’re saying things oddly. Check out the letter for the original context.

Five tools to help with writer’s voice:

1. Focus on tangible techniques.

   Developing an honest writer’s voice can feel like a whimsical and unobtainable prospect. But a writer’s voice is little more than a collection of tools learned to make your work feel like you. Focus on learning small and usable techniques as you study the craft. More cerebral philosophies about your writing style come as a result of that work. 

2. Write like you talk.

   There is a natural poetry to the way people speak when they are comfortable. If you are stuck on how to phrase a particular line, consider how you would express your thoughts in the form you are most comfortable with — speaking, signing, whatever it may be. Speak the thought aloud as though you were with a close friend. Then write down precisely what you said. This transcription is a great foundation to build your ideas from. You can use voice memos or automatic voice-to-text sites to help with this method.

3. Make a list of your personality traits. Check your writing against it.

   Whether you are writing a grounded, personal essay or a whimsical space opera, some part of you, the author, is showing through on the page. It’s for this reason that self-reflection is necessary for a writer. Think of three words to describe your personality. Then, when you’ve finished, check those words against something you wrote.