I thought by now I would have understood "voice." But re-reading my lastest work, the sequel to Cellini's Revenge, I see I am still struggling like the guy in the sand in Elizabeth Stark's latest video. (http://bookwritingsecrets.com)
Elizabeth Stark was once my writing teacher. What a great teacher! I highly recommend her brilliance and insight.
But I heard she is working on "voice," just now with her new novel. It is one of the hardest things to get right, it seems to me. Who is the narrator, and can't she have a voice, and also he, and then a little bit of the other guy? No. Yes. Sometimes. I read it backwards, upside down, and out loud. I ask my teachers and writing friends. Then we vote. When I am done, I hire somebody to edit. For some reason, THEY know!
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Thanks for the compliments, Mom! I want to ask you to look at the assumptions in the "but" that follows them. Everyone, no matter how brilliant or insightful, works hard at her own writing. Working on voice is what a writer should be doing at the start of a project, just as a painter might be experimenting with palate. Imagine thinking an Olympic athlete did not need to practice: it's the other way around. The better and more expert you are, the *more* you practice.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment, Elizabeth. Practice, like a daily yoga practice. Practice, like a daily journal. Practice, like editing again and again, then reading it aloud. Thank you for that great reminder!
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