Voice

Voice separates writing that is read from writing that is not read…Voice is the writer revealed.

- Donald Murray

Voice is YOU coming through your writing. It’s what gives your writing  personality, flavor, style – a sound all its own. Only you can give your writing this special touch because no one else sees the world quite the way you do. Pretty neat, huh! Your voice is as distinctively yours as your fingerprints.

Honesty is important to create in your writing. You must say what you truly think and feel – not what you think someone else might want to hear. This takes courage. You must write from the inside out from that part of you that’s in touch with your feelings. This means you need to know yourself, listen to yourself, and trust those thoughts and feelings. Sometimes, the very act of writing will help you discover what you truly think and feel. It’s risky, a bit scary, and exciting too.

Think about your reader as you write. Write directly to that person just as if he or she were standing there talking to you. Be yourself. Don’t try to impress the reader. Readers will respond to your sincerity, honesty, and conviction.

Are you doing a paper on sea urchins? Bungee jumping? Geometric shapes? Lightning? Dancing? Write with confidence, as if you know what you’re talking about and it is utterly fascinating; your enthusiasm will be contagious and will draw the reader in to your writer’s web of ideas and feelings.

Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader…not the fact that it’s raining, but the feel of being rained upon.

- E.L. Doctorow

Voice

5.    Paper-Really Individual and Powerful

My paper has lots of personality. It sounds different from the way anyone else writes.

•    I have put my personal stamp on this paper; it’s really me! Readers can tell I am talking right to them.

•    I write with confidence and sincerity.

•    My paper feels full of feelings and my reader will feel what I feel

•    I’m not afraid to say what I really think.

•    You can tell that I wrote this. No one else sounds like this!

3.    Paper-Individuality Fades In and Out

What I truly think and feel only shows up sometimes.

•    Although readers will understand what I mean, it won’t make them feel like laughing, crying or pounding on the table.

•    My writing is right on the edge of being funny, excited, scary or downright honest – but it’s not there yet.

•    My personality pokes through here and there, but the gets covered up again.

•    My writing is pleasant, but a little cautious.

•    I’ve done a lot of telling and not enough showing.

1.    Paper-Not Yet Me

I’m not comfortable sharing what I truly think and feel yet.

•    If you didn’t already know, it might be hard to tell who wrote this paper; you can’t really hear my voice in there yet.

•    I’m not comfortable taking a risk by telling you what I really think – I’ve taken the safest route by hiding my true feelings.

•    My paper is all telling and no showing at all.

•    I’ve held myself back by using general statements like: “It was fun,” “She was nice,” “I like him a lot.”

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