At
every writer’s conference I’ve ever attended, editors say they’re looking for
fiction manuscripts with a unique, distinct voice. Whenever attendees ask
exactly what they mean by “voice”, editors shrug their shoulders and say it’s
hard to explain, but they know it when they see it.
Meanwhile,
educators generally describe voice as the “personality of the writing” or “how
they writing makes the reader feel.” These definitions may help us gain a
stronger sense of what voice is, but it doesn’t tell us how to craft it. That’s what writers really need to know.
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Linda Sue Park (l) and Emma Dryden (r) |
That’s
why I’m so glad that I recently attended an SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) writing workshop led by
uber-talented Newbery Award winning author Linda Sue Park and highly-regarded editorial and publishing consultant Emma Dyrden.
Here’s
Linda Sue’s astonishingly clear, simple definition of voice:
voice = word choice +
rhythm
She
then broke down “rhythm” in an equally clear and simple way:
rhythm = punctuation
+ sentence length
Not
only does this brilliant explanation apply to voice in both fiction and
nonfiction, it also makes a craft move that often seems so mysterious and
elusive instantly manageable. All three of these text characteristics are easy
to control, easy to vary, easy to play around with.
As
I’ve been saying for years, nonfiction voice options span a continuum from
lively to lyrical, with many choices in between. Writers choose a voice based
on their topic and their purpose for writing.
I’ve
also stressed the importance of word choice and the idea that different
language devices are associated with different voices. For example, repetition
and opposition can make writing more lyrical, whereas puns and onomatopoeia can
make writing more lively.
I’ve
also pointed out that longer sentences with more dependent clauses (and commas)
make writing more lyrical, while sentence fragments and embedded questions are
attributes of a lively voice.
But
Linda Sue’s simple word equations, and the idea that voice really boils down to
a trifecta of text characteristics that are easy to revise and experiment with
is mind blowing. I can’t wait to share this new way of thinking with students
in writing workshops.
Thank
you, Linda Sue!
Thank you for this post! Finally, specific, simple info. on voice- and so, quite illuminating as I go back to revisions!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE equations. These make perfect sense, although I've never thought of voice in this way. Thanks for the new perspective!
ReplyDeleteGreat post on voice, Melissa! Diction and rhythm/cadence are so essential to describing voice, though it has that ineffable je ne sais quoi quality.
ReplyDeleteVery helpful!!!
ReplyDeleteWow! This is such a great post. Bookmarking it!
ReplyDeleteWe spent semesters at college chasing the elusive definition of voice. This nails it concisely!
ReplyDeleteI love the breakouts, especially. Thank you for the blog - going back to spice up my PB!
ReplyDeleteMore talk on voice today on ReFoReMo. It was interesting using Linda Sue's formula to look at those examples of fiction for kids.
ReplyDeleteThis is a TERRIFIC post! I'm going to use this wonderfully succinct explanation of voice the next time I teach my class in Finding your Writer's Voice. Thanks so much.
ReplyDeleteGreat explanation! I'm printing this out to keep in my notes.
ReplyDeleteThinking of voice as "personality" helps me a lot...but this goes beyond and gives tools to think about as we create.
ReplyDeleteYes, this a very helpful way to define the word "voice" and its meaning. These are invaluable "how to" tools for the writer. Thank you Linda Sue Park., Emma Dryden, and Melissa Stewart.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this cool definition of voice! There is so much you can do by varying word choice to give your narrative and characters voice. Each of us (and our characters!) would tell it in a different way - that's what makes voice unique.
ReplyDelete