The Voice |
| Posted: 24 Jan 2012 08:15 AM PST The world of writing is a fascinating one. I don't truly believe we ever stop learning in life and that is very true when it comes to writing. Even our own writing has lessons to teach if we only take the time to listen to them. For example, Born of Blood, my debut novel coming out on March 23, was loaded with lessons which I assume is true for all authors when they publish their first story. When it came time to write my second novel I started with the idea of continuing the story but to also focus on another aspect of my writing. For the sequel I focused more on opening up the characters to the readers. Allowing the reader to see inside the hearts and minds of my characters was a great exercise in added depth to their development. I believe I achieved that and the story was made better by building on that element. As I wait to hear back from Muse on my sequel and while I put the finishing touches on Born of Blood I am writing my third novel. Again, I always want to deliver the best story I can develop but I also turned my attention to a different aspect of writing. This time I'm attempting to express more emotion through all the senses, not just what the eyes see. Why do this? Why attempt to change your writing style? You should find your style and stick to it right? I don't see this as changing my writing style but rather polishing it. The goal is to deliver an experience that harnesses the senses, emotions, thoughts and settings in such a way that the reader is totally ensnared in the story itself. In order to do that we, as authors, must identify the weaknesses in our writing and improve it. I can tell you, being a new author, I have a few weaknesses to work on.I know, it hits our pride to think that our writing may be weak in some aspect or another but it is the truth and it is something we should identify. The challenge is also fun to the author as well. It helps to keep things fresh when pushing the limits of our skills. I suppose you could blame Stephen King for my writing practices. I was listening to one of his interviews and he pointed out something that really stuck with me. To this day he pushes himself to write something better than the last even if the books are of a different genre. He explores topics that may not scare the masses but will scare an age group or targeted audience. Dreamcatchers is the example he gave. To many, when they go to the bathroom it is no big deal but, as he said, when you get older and your body changes there are things you have to pay attention to. Seeing something your not supposed to see in the toilet is one of those things. I know, that might be a gross example but you get the idea of what he is talking about. For me pushing my writing skill is focusing on different aspects of writing. For Stephen King it is taking a real fear, like finding signs of possible health problems when you go to the bathroom, and building upon it to develop a story full of frightening imagination. Here is the truly fascinating part about all of this. It relates to my earlier question - You should find your style and stick to it right? This is correct, once we find our style we run with it. The beauty of it is this; the style of our writing or voice does not change as we sharpen and polish our skills. I noticed this while writing my third novel, there are telling signs and innuendos that declare the story as mine. Think of it as a recording of your voice. You record your voice and play it back, it sounds rough but it's still your voice. You go through and clean it up so it sounds better, still your voice. Finally you go through and fine tune it so it sounds crystal clear. You polished and sharpened the recording until it was as perfect as you could get it but it is still your voice. We, as authors, explore many aspects of writing and writing topics. We should, that's what keeps the blood flowing. Readers however, see the finished product. They aren't able to get behind the scenes and see where we pushed ourselves. That doesn't change the overall goal of delivering the ultimate reading experience. 
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