Canandaigua Writers Group
Today was the first time I went to the Canandaigua Writers Group and I was certainly glad I did. We talked a little about ways to communicate, so I set this up as a forum for ideas, suggestions, comments, compliments, conundrums and any other forms of communication we can come up with.
Part of the reason I decided to set this up tonight is that I kept thinking about our discussion about the difference between voice and style. I figured I could either write about it in my notebook or write about it here and since I am trying to free up some of the ideas and poems and books and dreams I have kept hidden in computers and notebooks and the dusty corners of my brain - I decided writing it here is a better way to do that.
I liked Cindy's psychological approach to identifying voice - almost as an aspect of personality - but personality on the page. It made me think of all those things we put into our writing that make it distinctly our writing - about how voice and style combine to form a linguistic footprint.
I can think of many people's writing that is so distinctly theirs I would know who had written it whether or not I was told and I think that's part of what makes a writer successful. Not just that they find a subject, write about it, publish it, etc. but that they find a subject that resonates for them, write about it in a way no one else can - bringing all their experiences, expectations, limitations, assumptions, fixations - and this is what makes it - not only publishable but notable, long-lasting, essentail.
It's true that anyone can write about anything and that most things there are to write about have been written about before but I think this is what makes voice and style so important - because even if you and I write about the same thing, we will never produce the same thing. Maybe that's a good way to distinguish voice and style - to think about how your writing would evolve given a specific topic but no boundaries about what to do with the topic and how your end product might differ from someone elses.
Like if I were given a topic, I would gavitate toward a particular genre. When I kept thinking about the question of voice and style, I kept thinking I should write about it. So, I did. This basic freewrite - which contains my voice even being as unedited and unscripted as it is. Even though I am just sitting here spilling my brain onto the page - it is infused with my voice in everything from my choice of words and metaphors to my sentence structure and casual punctuation.
I inherently used words and descriptions that come to me naturally and focused on the aspects of the question that appealed most to me: how can I distinguish between voice and style and how does that help me think, write, and be clearer, stronger, more effective. But I also conciously chose to make it informal, conversational, and in the first person.
Those concious choices seem to reflect my style rather than just my voice. Our decisions about everything from font to format, from genre to point of view, from chapter length to our use of blank space combine to create our own unique style.
The more I think about it, the more I think voice is intrinsic and style is developed. And even though that seems to imply that it voice is unchangable, I do not believe that is true. I do think voice is one of those things we need not develop but find. So, here's to finding our own voice among the din.
Part of the reason I decided to set this up tonight is that I kept thinking about our discussion about the difference between voice and style. I figured I could either write about it in my notebook or write about it here and since I am trying to free up some of the ideas and poems and books and dreams I have kept hidden in computers and notebooks and the dusty corners of my brain - I decided writing it here is a better way to do that.
I liked Cindy's psychological approach to identifying voice - almost as an aspect of personality - but personality on the page. It made me think of all those things we put into our writing that make it distinctly our writing - about how voice and style combine to form a linguistic footprint.
I can think of many people's writing that is so distinctly theirs I would know who had written it whether or not I was told and I think that's part of what makes a writer successful. Not just that they find a subject, write about it, publish it, etc. but that they find a subject that resonates for them, write about it in a way no one else can - bringing all their experiences, expectations, limitations, assumptions, fixations - and this is what makes it - not only publishable but notable, long-lasting, essentail.
It's true that anyone can write about anything and that most things there are to write about have been written about before but I think this is what makes voice and style so important - because even if you and I write about the same thing, we will never produce the same thing. Maybe that's a good way to distinguish voice and style - to think about how your writing would evolve given a specific topic but no boundaries about what to do with the topic and how your end product might differ from someone elses.
Like if I were given a topic, I would gavitate toward a particular genre. When I kept thinking about the question of voice and style, I kept thinking I should write about it. So, I did. This basic freewrite - which contains my voice even being as unedited and unscripted as it is. Even though I am just sitting here spilling my brain onto the page - it is infused with my voice in everything from my choice of words and metaphors to my sentence structure and casual punctuation.
I inherently used words and descriptions that come to me naturally and focused on the aspects of the question that appealed most to me: how can I distinguish between voice and style and how does that help me think, write, and be clearer, stronger, more effective. But I also conciously chose to make it informal, conversational, and in the first person.
Those concious choices seem to reflect my style rather than just my voice. Our decisions about everything from font to format, from genre to point of view, from chapter length to our use of blank space combine to create our own unique style.
The more I think about it, the more I think voice is intrinsic and style is developed. And even though that seems to imply that it voice is unchangable, I do not believe that is true. I do think voice is one of those things we need not develop but find. So, here's to finding our own voice among the din.
posted by Marie Starr | 11:02 PM
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