Nov 9, 2011 / The Craft of Writing

Ways to Develop Your Unique Writing Voice | Kristen Lamb’s Blog

Ah, November. National Novel Writing Month. I can almost smell the fresh office supplies, the hint of double espresso and sugar drifting on the wind. The beginning of November is full of hope, promise and inspiration, but by week two?

….yeah.

I have been running a series on structure and sure structure has the obvious benefit of having a coherent plot/story at the end. But, there is another benefit to plotting that we often don’t think about. Voice.

Plotting ahead of time gives a newer writer an advantage that most people don’t think about. It gives us a playpen to contain our baby writing “voice.” Voice is one of those aspects of writing that is tough to define and quantify. Yet, it is at the heart of who we are as writers. The more we write, the more mature our writing voice becomes. Leave an immature, unformed voice to wander off on its own, and it will be wandering around getting into everything and making a mess.

Excerpted from Ways to Develop Your Unique Writing Voice | Kristen Lamb’s Blog.

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  6. Hi Kristen,
    I just wrote an article on the CMA awards show tonight and the history of country music. I was hoping you would read and give me your opinion of my writing at stevoscafe.com Thank you in advance for your help!

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  8. Hello Kristen:
    I agree with you, and have done as you suggested. My Sci-Fi novel is currently bogged down because of the need to find work. My voice always declines as my financies do.

    Noah R.

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  10. My blog has been the outlet in honing my voice. It is sometimes a painful process. 🙂 Helpful advice. Thank you.

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  11. Kristen that is wonderful advice. I am currently awaiting the publication of my first novel. Writing is my passion. I love to pour my thoughts into a project and watch them come to life. But where sometimes the writer looses prospective is forgetting to speak to each reader. With your writing voice established you can reach out to the reader in your special way. Without it you are just someone writing words. It is an injustice for the reader and writer. And without a reader, a writer is nothing. Thank you for your refreshing insight. I hope to read more.

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