In this year’s Aliventures survey, one person wrote:
“When I decide to write for public consumption, my writing becomes stilted and didactic. I write much more loosely and enjoy it much more when it’s just for myself. This became such a
big hurdle for me last year that I ended up deciding I wasn’t going to be able to make writing a career.”
Finding your voice as a writer can be a challenge – especially if (like this writer) you’re thinking of having a career in writing.
Some writers, both of fiction and
non-fiction, have a much stronger voice than others. They write in a unique, distinctive style, and that’s one of the things readers love about them. Think P.G. Wodehouse, for instance, whose stories wouldn’t be nearly so memorable without Bertie Wooster’s narrative style.
But other writers struggle to find their writing voice. That could be because, like the person in the survey, they
find themselves writing easily and naturally when they don’t have any audience in mind … but they freeze up when writing for public consumption.
Other writers (and I’d include myself here) have the ability to easily adapt their voice. That can be a real advantage as a freelancer or ghostwriter – but it can also leave you wondering if you really have a unique voice at all, or if you’re
instead a kind of chameleon writer, constantly adapting to suit your surroundings.
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