What is Voice?

I've heard more than my share of editors stating that it's 'voice' that really makes the sale. Voice, voice, voice.

At the SCBWI Conference I attended i September, Scholastic Editor, Jennifer Rees said, "For me it's all about the writer's voice and the beauty and uniqueness of their language and the characters. A writer's voice should be compelling, genuine, strong and unique.  I come across lots of stories that are functional - the characters are drawn just fine, the plot elements are all in place - but the story lacks voice and spirit. These are the stories I think, 'Well, this was decent.' But somehow, inside, I feel as if I've been let down because I know it's not great stuff, it's not exciting - it didn't speak to me as a reader. With great voice we can fix plot."

From what I can piece together, Voice is a combination of...

1.) words
2.) language
3.) spirit
4.) punctuation
5.) grammar
6.) narrative elements (Characters, Setting, Plot)
7.) longevity (the story remains in readers mind)

A Voice should be...

1.) Distinctive
2.) Fresh
3.) the glue that holds it all together
4.) the author's stamp
5.) You
6.) Magic

Voice controls....

1.) Mood
2.) Emotions
3.) Pace
4.) Structure

When you look at those lists, you wonder how a writer can have a unique voice. Then again, all writers use the EXACT basic tools. Words.

How does one writer manipulate the same words that we all have at our disposal, but make them their own, creating a distinct voice? That's what I'm always trying to figure out. That's what I look at when I'm reading a new book.

I've been told that I have a voice, but when I'm editing my manuscripts, I'm always worried that I might be cutting out my voice. You know? Can a writer actually edited his/her novel to the point where their authorial stamp disappears?

Anyway, I kind of posted this for my own sake, trying to pinpoint what, exactly, is a writer's VOICE. If you have any thoughts to add, please do.

A Few Tips To Cut Down Your Word Count

 
So I've had this manuscript of mine critiqued by  ,   and   (Jeannine Garsee). They've all been an incredible help in making this book something legible. Maybe even worth reading.

Jen and I spent the afternoon at Borders the other day, and we both said that critiquing someone else's work is a GREAT way to improve your OWN writing. For some reason it's easier to spot the redundancies of words, grammar and punctuation in someone else's novel. But then we can carry that knowledge back to our own manuscript.

I thought I'd share a few things that I had NO IDEA I was doing. (Thanks to  for these)

1. Reexamine all of your passive verbs - 'I was, she was, he was' - and try to eliminate a few if possible.

2. Do a search for words you overuse. Such as (these were many of mine)...
 - was
 - were
 - tried
 - being
 - felt
 - seemed
 - began
 - still
 - just
 - like
 - glance
 - made
 - look/looked
 - could
 - sounded

3. I'm a HUGE fan of the metaphor... but I don't need to stuff them down the readers throat. Too many can be distracting

4. Try to make sure your characters all sound different. A reader should be able to tell who's talking (most of the time) without the author having to mention their name.

5. Song titles should be placed in double quotes; "Jingle Bells" (When they're not in dialog, that is.)

6. TV Show, Album and Movie titles should be in italic; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Only one more week people)

Of course, there is so much more, but it's a good place to start.

Once again, I'd like to thank  ,   and   (Jeannine Garsee) for taking their valuable time to help me with this book.

I honesty expected all of them, after reading it, to look like this...

Thankful Thursday

I was thinking. Yeah, it wasn't pleasant, but I needed to start doing that again. While I was thinking, I recalled a moment from high school. A cool moment.

My 'Reading' teacher, Mr. Harvey (originator of the walrus mustache), assigned a book to the class. Required reading. Yeah, we all know what that means... something boring and bad. But since I had to write a report about the book, I thought I should read it.

And I did. Fast. I loved the book. Amazing.



Though I read that book over 25 years ago, I still remember so much about it. Probably because I was so shocked that I loved it so much. I still wonder if the girl found a safe place to live.

It just goes to show, you can't judge a book by who forcing you to read it.

Can you think of a book you were forced to read... and were pleasantly surprised by how much you enjoyed it?

My New Idol and My Halloween Costume

Stephen King will always be the man who inspired me to write. He'll always be one of my favorite authors. I'll always buy his books. But...

My New Idol:

Neil Gaiman has slid into my TOP IDOL slot.  The reason, for the most part, is that Neil really makes himself accessible. He's everything I'd want to be as an author. (Though, I think Amanda Palmer is a huge talent and incredibly attractive, I don't think she's my type.)

Between his blogs, Tweets, appearances and general concern for the publishing industry as a whole, Neil continues to surprise me with his time, generousity and attention. There are readers who don't like Neil's books, but I don't think I've heard anyone say anything negative about the writer (though I'm sure they do exist).

If I could ask Neil to change or do one thing differently... it would be to write faster. The time I have to wait between books is way too long. But, considering how good the words turn out to be, I guess I can be patient.

This post was inspired by Neil's appearance on the Arthur cartoon. Here...

http://pbskids.org/video/?pid=_n415FcdTUEm4MW2soUeNaembcKZghPf&category=Arthur

If you have or know a child who wants to be a writer... I suggest you let them watch this. If you have or know an adult who wants to be a writer... I suggest you let them watch this. If YOU are a writer... I suggest you watch this.

My Halloween Costume:

This costume is inexpensive, easy to put on, easy to take off and 100% recyclable. How can you beat that?