tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337206901491734394.post6769769181663674756..comments2024-03-22T01:00:38.320-04:00Comments on I.N.K.: The Voices Made Me Do ItLinda Salzmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17217322360480267856noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337206901491734394.post-6407657614511757232013-05-23T21:22:27.066-04:002013-05-23T21:22:27.066-04:00Thank you all for writing such interesting, insigh...Thank you all for writing such interesting, insightful comments. It's clear to me that an author's road to finding a "voice" is long, winding, and varied. Somehow we manage to marry our own voices with those of our subjects. Is that what makes us nonfiction writers? I should think, in part, yes.Susan Kuklinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06468988943704460257noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337206901491734394.post-46359080007690189642013-05-23T20:11:48.143-04:002013-05-23T20:11:48.143-04:00I need to find a different voice for each book, ba...I need to find a different voice for each book, based on the character of the protagonist - whether it's a biography or fiction, or narrative nonfiction. It takes many drafts to find out 1) what I'm trying to say and 2) the right voice in which to say it.Gretchen Woelflehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10350500006005970433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337206901491734394.post-45663757541896194012013-05-23T14:48:23.405-04:002013-05-23T14:48:23.405-04:00This is a thought-provoking post, Susan. Sometimes...This is a thought-provoking post, Susan. Sometimes I worry that my voice seems a bit too distant and impersonal, a holdover perhaps from my days as a staff writer at Time-Life Books, where the goal was to be lively and approachable and informative and entertaining, but personal style took a backseat or was edited out altogether to create a cohesive voice for every book.(Every volume was written by several different authors.)<br /><br />I notice this narrative distance, almost a clinical coldness, in my early drafts particularly. Maybe it's because I'm so anxious to get the facts straight. But as I move through revisions I try to loosen up, to trust my instincts, to let my own storytelling skills come through, to be myself. And if I'm lucky my voice eventually emerges. Marfe Ferguson Delanohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07586102699193346265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337206901491734394.post-68063142221189623892013-05-23T10:39:50.391-04:002013-05-23T10:39:50.391-04:00This is a very interesting discussion. I think tha...This is a very interesting discussion. I think that a writer's voice evolves over time and a LOT of writing. In many respects it is finding ways to incorporate your own personality into the craft of writing. It means knowing yourself very well. How do you communicate? Are you witty? Sardonic? Humorous? Intense? Enthusiastic? Finding ways to incorporate personality traits into printed language is the secret to an authentic personal voice, which is different from developing a voice for someone else.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07214356318088069618noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337206901491734394.post-55857883824210296902013-05-23T09:24:09.002-04:002013-05-23T09:24:09.002-04:00I learned a lot about voice from INKer Melissa Ste...I learned a lot about voice from INKer Melissa Stewart when I took a class with her last year. I never thought of voice as something you had to "get into" like an actor getting into a character. For some reason, I thought voice was something that was fixed and came naturally. Once I was liberated from that notion, writing and getting into the right voice became a lot easier. I mostly write magazine pieces and picture books, so I don't have to carry voice as long. Listening to recordings of interviews would definitely help me get into voice. Rereading pieces I've written where I felt I got the voice right helps too.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com