Your Novel, American Idol Edition: Why Voice Matters
by Elizabeth Solar
Great novels, or for that matter, great writing of any kind, allows us to experience someone else’s world view, and often inhabit it. Consider some of the most indelible characters in literature – from Moby Dick’s Ahab to Olive Kittridge to Winnie-the-Pooh. We don’t necessarily need to have much in common with them or even like them to be moved by them and follow them through their world.
We are drawn to voices that engage, surprise, entice, comfort us. Voices that challenge our assumptions, make us feel as well as think. While plot and story are essential in crafting a novel, voice is most often what draws people in, what stays with the reader long after the reading is done.
Voice is the unique personality, style or point of view in writing, or any other creative work. It’s the fingerprint - or voiceprint - of your own personal style, that je ne sais quoi of a true original who charms, compels and intoxicates.
We read and interact with art to feel something. Even the most perfect and writerly prose or orderly plot points can’t compete with a genuine, not-so-perfect human being – or Pooh Bear - who reacts to life and circumstance in their own specific way.
Voice imbues our writing with humanity and heart. It creates the space and opportunity for a conversation with your reader. Readers can ask and answer a character’s questions, witness their struggles, experience their joys and trauma, gain empathy and understanding. In other words, a strong voice speaks our shared language.
Preaching about a writing voice is one thing. Developing one is not so simple. You first need to know what a ‘writing voice’ is. A textbook definition says ‘Voice refers to the rhetorical mixture of vocabulary, tone, point of view, and syntax that makes phrases, sentences, and paragraphs flow in a particular manner. Novels can represent multiple voices: that of the narrator and those of individual characters’
Your character’s background, education level, social status, health, geographic location and experiences all contribute to their developing their voice. When we write non-fiction, blogs, social media posts or essays, we reveal our voice through our attitudes, a turn of a phrase, our reference points. Are we snarky, earnest, detached, enthusiastic, scholarly? It all comes out in the written word, if we are brave enough to reveal our true selves, and often even if we try to hide that self.
What about those of us who struggle with voice? What can we do?
-Write. Write. Write And write some more. It’s an exploration. Eventually you’ll find it.
-Read your work aloud. If you are falling asleep as you study your own pages, it’s a good sign you need to find ways to bring in the human element.
-Share you work. Although it’s a solitary pursuit, we cannot write in a vacuum. A good writing tribe or buddy lets you know if they are drawn in, if that voice remains consistent and true, If their is genuine connect connection. Those are all clues your character, and narrator feel vital, engaging and real. As in life and business, the success of your story is all about the relationship.
-Read other writers. What attracts you to their prose? There are some writers we instantly recognize because of the rhythms and personality of their writing. Ernest Hemingway and Toni Morrison both have distinct voices. Both great writers. Our individuality and lived experiences – the fact we are one of a kind – could be our literary gold.
Voltaire calls writing “the painting of the voice.” Words are our medium and emotion is the artistry we bring to the page. Finding the beauty of our imperfect voice is not only the way to our reader’s intellect but goes straight to their heart.
