October 6, 2010

I’m thinking about voice this week, and I’m enjoying (again) Les Edgerton’s excellent book Finding Your Voice: how to put personality in your writing.

He gives an idea (see below) about finding your true writer’s voice that intrigues me–and I’d like your reaction to it.

Your True Readers

He says that most of our daily contacts with people (spouse, people at your day job, small kids, people at the coffee shop) aren’t readers, at least not readers like you are. They may be casual readers, but not readers to the depth you’re a reader. He asks:

“What does this mean to you as a writer? Only this–it’s easy to begin to think of your own potential readership as being comprised of the same kinds of folks you see at work or at play or bearing a strong resemblance to the family next door… After a while, it’s only natural to imagine most people in the country itself are pretty much like the folks you see every day. Well, most folks are…but those aren’t your readers, usually. Your reader is yourself.”

Who Are My Readers?

His advice is to remember that your reader is yourself–or someone much like yourself. (Someone who shares your interests, knows just about the same things you do, has a reading background and history similar to what you’ve had.)

Except for your writer’s group or a friend who reads as voraciously as you do, you may not have a lot of contact with this potential reader, but they’re the ones you should be writing to.

Why–and what does that have to do with finding your true voice?

Where’s the Real Me?

“Make yourself your intended reader,” Edgerton says. “By writing to you as your reader, you get closer than at any other time to getting your real voice on the page. You write naturally.”

I don’t know about you, but doesn’t that sound like FUN? It makes me look at the subject of voice in a whole new much-less-stressful and much-less-intimidating way. I think it’s also the way I used to write.

Want to Try It?

For more about this intriguing way to find your true voice, get the book above and read Chapter Five: “Here’s Lookin’ At You, Kid…A New and Different Way of Looking At Your Audience.”

What do you think about this idea? Would it change the way you write? Does it make it easier to find your voice? Give me your thoughts!