FINDING YOUR VOICE

To me, your voice as a writer is not only your writing style, but also what you choose to write about. I think it's important during the process of becoming a writer to think about the kinds of themes, issues, topics, characters, situations, plots, etc., that you plan to write about, or that you anticipate you may want to write about.

*ACTIVITY 1*

Reflect on the reasons you have for wanting to become a writer. Be honest with yourself. Write a paragraph answer to this question: "Why did you want to become a witer?"

*ACTIVITY 2*

Write a list of a dozen titles of novels you'd like to write one day. For each, write a short paragraph (5-7 sentences) that could serve as a back-cover blurb or a description or synopsis a reviewer might write for a newspaper article. Be specific (name of main character, other key characters, place names, the main goal of the main character, one or two main sources of opposition/conflict).

Afterward, reflect on your hypothetical novels. Are there any common themes? Do you find yourself coming up with several ideas dealing with the same subject matter, types of characters or situations? Do they fit into any genre categories? Where would such books be shelved in a bookstore?

Finally, write a paragraph answer to each of these questions:

"What genres or categories would apply to your writing?"
"What themes, subjects, characters, situations do you tend to write about and why?"
"What messages do you seek to share with readers in your novels?"

*ACTIVITY 3*

Look over some samples of your best creative writing (finished or unfinished). Notice the details that mark this as your writing. This can include sentence/paragraph length, grammatical complexity or simplicity, use of metaphors, range of vocabulary, other characteristics of style. Write a paragraph answer to this question: "How would you describe your writing style?"

Finally, continue to reflect on these matters in the months and years to come. We are always in the process of becoming!