Finding Your Authentic Voice
Guest Blogger: Erin Reel, The Lit Coach
When I was a literary agent, I wanted fiction with a strong voice. Candace Bushnell, Sherman Alexie and Frank McCourt were all great examples. Bushnell led the first wave of original, high-end chick lit. Alexie’s poetically poignant Native American perspective kept the art of the short story on the publishing landscape, and Frank McCourt made the memoir more than just a tell-all. These writers came to the table with their own voice. They wrote the stories they wanted to tell.
My first trip to New York to meet with editors was memorable. I was pretty green to agenting; fresh out of my lit classes with all sorts of romantic ideas about writing. One of my first meetings was with editor Marcela Landres at Simon and Schuster. What she had to say about storytelling (not publishing) set the tone for what I would later realize was mainstream publishing gospel. “Just tell me a good story!” The message was clear. Don’t write in a language that’s not your own. Forget about following a genre trend just to get published. Tell a good story—one that a large audience will want to read and can identify with.
I help writers learn to do this by coaching them to find their authentic voice through several clarity-gaining sessions. The writer and I discuss why the writer wants to write, what they want out of this writing career—what kind of author they want to be known as.
What I don’t encourage new writers to do is think about agents and publishing when they’re in the middle of finding out their writing identity. When you’re thinking about your agent wish-list while writing your novel or polishing your nonfiction book proposal, it shows in the writing: it’s not as tight as it could be, it lacks polish and sophistication. Often, it lacks focus. Think about agents only when you’ve completed your story and you have something truly authentic and well-crafted to share.
Tips for Finding Your Original Voice
• Read. Read the competition, old and new. Identify authors’ voices that resonate with you.
• Practice. Write like your favorite authors (as an exercise, not for the novel you want to publish!)
• Get clear. What story do you really want to tell? Who is your audience?
• Make it yours. Most stories have been told and told again. Make your story authentically yours by writing many rough drafts through which your voice will eventually surface.
It takes time, stamina and persistence, but to break into the publishing world with a book that will stand the test of time, the effort to find your voice is worth it.
Erin Reel, The Lit Coach, is a publishing and editorial consultant, writer’s life coach and blog host of The Lit Coach’s Guide to The Writer’s Life. A former Los Angeles based literary agent, Erin has contributed to Making the Perfect Pitch: How to Catch a Literary Agent’s Eye and Author 101: Bestselling Secrets from Top Agents. Her column, Pitch Perfect Proposal: Crafting Your Nonfiction Book Proposal from Concept to Pitch appears monthly on Pitch University, an online pitch crafting resource for writers.
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>This is all great advice. I remember reading Frank McCourt's first memoir and thinking that I'd never read anyone like him. I liked the way that he used his narrative style to engage the reader, so it was almost like meeting him in person and listening to him describe his life.
I especially liked the part "Make it yours". The Romeo and Juliet story, for example, has been retold by countless writers. But the ones who stand out are the ones who made their stories different by including their own personalities in the characters and/or the plot rather than try to copy the writing style of other writers.
>Excellent! On occasion I find myself impressing a voice from my last manuscript into a new character with modified changes into the WIP I'm currently working on. I can't seem to help the fact my innate writer voice seems to carry it's calling card from story to story. I'm still not sure this is a good thing.
>very good. Thank you!
>This is something I'm struggling with right now. I've had some success and have had eight books published but I was writing more in what I think was "my voice" when I was writing fanfiction, and could be more lyrical and didn't have to worry about someone buying it, than I am now. I feel what I'm writing now is too pedestrian, even though it's obviously commercial. a nice quandary to be in, I hear you say–but I don't feel I'm writing how i WANT to be writing. But then again, perhaps people wouldn't want to read how I want to be writing.
Have decided to do a commercial novel this year and also something just for me, in my voice if I can get it back–and we'll see if anyone can stand it.
That’s an interesting dilemma, Erastes – good luck with it. Tho not yet published, have recently been in same quandry – happy with the product but not loving it, not feeling like it was singing. I think I’ve almost found the voice I was reaching for… hopefully.
http://victoria-collins.com/2011/08/10/how-do-you-know-when-the-book-is-finished/
>If you're writing first person, then the voice problem resolves itself bit by bit. It's not your own voice you're looking for–it's the voice of your character who's doing the narration.
I suppose this creates problems, or challenges, but it's part of the fascination of this person telling their story.
In my WIP, it's actually that voice in translation, so I had to figure out that the translator was going for a more colloquial (though authentic and accurate) tone, rather than more formal historical-personage-ese. It took me a while to realize this. Made it a lot less stilted, and more fun to read, and somehow more direct.
>excellent advise thank you
>I keep looking for the secret to finding voice. But it always comes back to Read, Write, Find your passion. It takes how ever long it takes. There are no short cuts.
>A writer with a strong voice is like a singer who has soul – the technique is all there, but what makes them stand out is the sense that their voice carries the weight of a whole life behind it. This is why it's so hard to pin down – it's not something that can easily be learned, it has to be lived.
>Thank you for this very wise post. Voice is such an illusive yet important part of writing a story, but it's important to hear that writing a great story needs to lead the way!
>What if you have more than one identity?
I write in several genres. Historical romance, paranormal romance, contemporary romance. I find each of the genres pulls something different from me, and they are all necessary for me to refresh my writing. If I write too much historical romance, for instance, my voice goes stale, and I need the zing of the contemporary to bring it back.
I write to themes, not to genres, and they remain fairly constant. For instance, I love to write about "difference" – people who are different from the people around them for one reason or another.
Maybe I'm just a writer of difference!
>Voice is not genre. It's how you write in spite of genre. (I think)
>This helped me immensely.
As always, it all comes back to voice and writing a good story.
Thank you!
~ Wendy
>I learned early that I couldn't be anyone but ME. I'm not a fancy person; my writing isn't either. What it IS is authentic, transparent, and down-to-earth. It's so freeing when we're able to write in our own voice, while at the same time keeping the market in mind. Thank you, Erin, for the message you brought today!
>I love how Erin advises to think about what kind of author you want to be known as and what you want out of your writing career as you write your story and leave thinking about agents and publishing to the time AFTER you've created the story you want to create. All too often, writers rush to research agents, etc. before we're even ready to pitch. I know I've made that mistake in the past.
Thanks, Erin and Rachelle!
>"…why the writer wants to write, what they want out of this writing career—what kind of author they want to be known as…"
Bingo.
>I agree with Erin's love of Sherman Alexie. He has a talent for exposing bullshit, pardon my phraseology.
>Sage advice from the top, meaningful and understandable for me at the bottom. Though I have a "vision" of the finished project, I have to think about anything but getting a story completed. Nice to hear that maybe I'm headed in the right direction.
Thanks for the great post.
>This is great advice. I strongly believe that voice can transcend genre so it's always hopeful to read something like this.
>Thanks, Rachelle, for hosting me and hello, everyone! Thank you for your kind comments. Sounds like you're all on the right track.
Writers are under so much pressure today to be everything – creator, marketer, publicist, blogger, tweeter and on and on…While those pieces play an important role in the overall picture of a writer's life (at the right time)and your book's success, that noise has the potential to get in the way of your authentic voice. When it's time to focus on the craft, then the craft gets the attention…and that's the way it should be.
Your authentic voice will surface when quiet the noise, listen to yourself and follow your gut…as many of you have indicated. Well done!
>I think I will respectfully disagree somewhat with this post. Writers are always told to "find your own voice" and to be original….but to paraphrase what Rachelle said in a recent post, there are rules for everything:
-Want to be a magazine writer? Have your voice fit that of the mag. That goes beyond not pitching your flash-fiction to a gourmet food magazine; if you read carefully, most magazines have a shared writing style regarding tone and intensity amongst its writers.
-What do all literary journals say? "Please read our magazine to get a feel for what we publish." In other words, you once again have to have your voice fit with the publishers. I know this is to help the editors from wasting their time reading stories that are completely outside their purview, but it also effectively results in the same story told in the same voice with a slightly varying pitch every other time.
-What do agents ask you to write about in your query? "Tell me how this book fits in with what is on the market and how it can be marketed." Do you think it is wise to answer that with, "Oh, there's nothing like it on the market, and the last novel that is comparable to it was written during the Sixties when the author was overdosing on horse tranquilizers."
So in the context of that, when writers have bills to pay and responsibilities to meet, can one really afford to search for their own voice when the rent is due?
I have no doubt Rachelle and other agents truly do want to see original stories being told. They must get bored too reading the same old stuff, and have a love for the written word and want to see their clients, and good writers in general, succeed. But how far can a writer go pursuing their voice, if no one is willing to listen?
>Excellent points. There are so many helpful resources available online for aspiring authors that it can be hard to find your own path. I didn't begin reading up on publishing until I had finished my first novel, and thank goodness. That draft was monstrous, but it was very much mine.
New writers should consider limiting their exposure to industry opinions until after they've had a chance to turn out some writing under their own creative steam.
>Alexie is amazing! I got to hear him speak at SCBWI and it was very inspiring.
Thanks for the post! Really great advice, Erin!
>Excellent points on voice. Ever illusive, but oh-so-important!
>This was a really good post! Thank you so much. I liked it because it was encouraging and offered helpful insider advice. There's SO MUCH out there, so much to-ing and fro-ing, don't do this, don't do that, make sure you do this or you won't even get a look-in…
This was simple and constructive. Yay!
>Larry, you bring up some very good points. Maybe I should clarify because the difference between voice and style seem to be the major issue here.
Voice is like your signature. You learn to write, you learn to sign your name, you practice and practice and then eventually, you start scribbling your signature the same way…there may be variations depending on how you're feeling, but mostly, it's the same. Very simplistic example, I realize, but it's a tangible one.
Take that exercise to a writers' workshop and you begin to learn the craft of fiction or nonfiction by trying on the voices of other writers. You try and try until you lean how to write well. This is how Ben Franklin learned how to craft prose.
When I was just starting out as an independent agent, I responded in an interview that I was really intrigued by the in-your-face voices of Chuck Palahniuk and Irvine Welsh. And lo and behold, the flood gates opened and the majority of the queries I received were from authors who claimed to write just like those two authors…mostly, like Chuck. So I accepted several of them and while I respected what they were attempting to do…to fit into that overall in-your-face style, the craft wasn't there because it felt like they were trying on the voice – it did feel authentic to me. And I know that is so annoying for writers to hear…but when you read mostly unpublished work with an objective eye all day long, original voices rise to the surface. Quickly.
Now, to that end, you could be writing within any genre – mass market, literary or nonfiction, and still have an original voice – it's not a question of pushing the envelope with style (the overall feel of an author's work or a literary magazine's scope). It's all about HOW you tell your story…and yes, there are no original plot lines anymore, so it's your job as a writer to add in those twists and surprises to make your story unique.
I work with writers all day long. Their work is all unique because they write mostly as they talk and think…plus a little crafting…and it works for them. They're comfortable and confident with their voice and I can tell in their storytelling.
Finally, I understand everyone has to pay the bills somehow, whether it's by holding a non-writing job or freelancing or the combination. If you're freelancing, hopefully you love what you're writing. If you're writing with the hope of becoming a published author, you should ONLY write what you love in your own voice and not ever to meet a trend. Trends come and go, authenticity is a precious commodity to a writer.
Thank you for your thoughtful questions and reply, Larry. I hope this helped a little.
>to Sharon:
I'm told by my readers that I have different voices for each of the genres I write.
It's not a deliberate thing, I just try to tell the story, but it's an interesting phenomenon. And reading my stuff back, I see what they mean. If I tried to force it, it probably wouldn't work.
So the genre you work in is relevant to voice.
>A lot of authors do not know that they are developing a voice, and it's so helpful to have someone reading their work to help point it out in the critique process.
Voice is like a cloud. If you fly into the middle of it, you can't see a thing! But if you're relaxed, lying on the grass, gazing up at it, you begin to see the shape and picture.
I think we need more Erins. So many people could benefit from a lit coach. How fascinating. Thanks, Erin and Rachelle, for the topic and introducing the idea of a lit coach. So helpful.
>Great advice in this post. I've begun querying agents and the rejections are starting to come. I've been thinking it might time to take a step back and revisit the things I've already written and work on making them stronger. Not just my short stories, but my novel as well. I will continue writing and submitting to lit journals because you just never know, but I am very aware that my work needs polishing.
You actually made this uncomplicated to get it
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I absolutely love http://www.rachellegardner.com/2011/05/finding-your-authentic-voice/
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