Friday, February 1, 2008
Voice Lessons
When I was pregnant with my son, I listened to a variety of music because I love music and I wanted him to share my passion. Parenting literature claims that if you expose a growing fetus to music they could possess artistic skills later in life. I have to say I am a believer in that philosophy. My son loves music, and all musical instruments. He loves to dance, and sing, and he shows promising musical talent. I’m not claiming to have cultivated a future American Idol, but I’ve provided the microphone, it’s up to him to develop his voice.
As writers, we cultivate things from the world around us to use as tools when we choose to write a story. The type of individuals we are, and sometimes want to be, helps to create our characters. We read books and absorb the style of our favorite authors, and then we decide with our own voice how to tell our story.
I’ve struggled with developing a plot for my WIP that doesn’t appear too clichéd. I don’t want to write a cookie cutter version of something that’s already been done. I learned from a brainstorming session that all plots have been done, but how I make it my own is with my personal writer’s voice. I’ve been too busy trying to formulate the plot for the next Great American Novel to see what has always been a given. We all use the same plot formula, but it’s up to us as writers to make it our own.
Mastering a writer’s voice is the same as a singer mastering their vocal range. It takes practice and a desire to perfect our craft.
Have you ever heard the old proverb The devil makes work for idle hands?
When my hands aren’t writing I find myself procrastinating. The longer I stay away from some form of writing the less confident I become, and the less productive I am when I do sit down to write. I have to think, live, and work like a writer in order to keep my voice.
A plotted outline is an idea; it doesn’t become a story until you breathe life into the words that unfold the plot. We can sketch characters all day, but you never truly do them justice until you bring them to life on the page. All of the pirates here at the ship could take the same plot and characters and write a story, but I guarantee one would not shadow another. It’s because we all possess our own individual voice. It follows the same pattern as the game of truth. I’m sure you played this game as a child. One individual whispers a phrase in the person’s ear beside him and the phrase is passed on down the line until the last person repeats what he just heard. It never matches the beginning phrase, because each individual hears the phrase and makes of it what they want.
Wouldn’t the literary word be dull if we all shared the same voice? Variety is the spice of life, and when it comes to writing for a living, perfecting your individual voice is the greatest investment of all.
Does your writer’s voice shine in characterization, description, plot, or all of the above? Have you discovered anything that improves your writing voice? Does anyone share my sudden urge to Karaoke?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Books by the Crew
28 comments:
I would do karaoke if I was foxed. I don't sing, in fact, I'm sure most would pay me not to sing.
My voice... ah, it only gets stronger the more you write. You have to know when to trust yourself and your writing too, and not let other people tell you how to do it. Not to say I don't listen to crit partners. I have two I trust implicitly so should they tell me this absolutely doesn't work--I listen.
I'm told my writing it very visual, the language evocative the sexual tension pretty steamy. I think I believe them, so obviously those are my strengths in writing. I'm pretty good at digging really deep into my characters too. I like to lay their emotions there on the table for dissection, and I like to twist a knife in them to make them really feel all the extreme emotions.
Plot is something I always have to go back and work on when I finish the book. Because I never know where I'm going, and tend to veer off the path once and a while (those scenes are later deleted).
Tiff~ you made the point that I have found to be true. You must listen when other writers you trust give you their opinion. It can be invaluable.
I'm an emotional writer too. I love to bury the knife and twist it:)
*Passing the Karaoke mic to Tiff*
Great Blog Lisa!!
Um, no one wants to hear me sing. You can be thankful that this blog has no sound piped in.
I think that I do dialogue well. I think that's where my voice comes through the best. I have work to do on my description, though.
What you mention about plotting, that it really doesn't come alive until you write it, is why I don't mind the amounts of plotting I do. :)
And, Tiff, I love how visual your writing is. :) It's why I can't wait to read your full.
Ah, great topic.
That thing about babies and music is so right. I was a DJ when I was pregnant so Wee One heard music all day everyday of her incubation. I think she came out tapping to the beat. She's a total Diva and has been asking since the age of three when she's going to have her own show.
I don't sing - that was my ex. I just talk. *g*
This is another reminder why I need to force myself to write everyday. My voice changes, drifts when I've been away from the work for a while. Then I have to work harder at sounding consistent.
And we did that pass the secret down the line thing in like fifth grade. I remember the original line was like "Peter has a blue shirt on today" and it came out the other end "The pirate has a blue parrot on his shoulder." LOL!
Thank you Marnee:)
I like writing dialog as well. I think you're right, plot comes easier after you get immersed in the story. You can always plot before you begin, but until you get the feel for where you want to go it doesn't come into focus.
*nodding to Tiff to pass the mic to Marnee* *cue Love Shack*
Ter~ Isn't it true-practice makes perfect, the more you write the more in touch you become with your voice.
Oh, and all pirates will take a turn at the mic today. Doesn't matter if you sing well or not...it's Friday, and we have rum!
*warbling pathetically*
LOVE SHACK, it's a little ole place where... we can GET TOGETHER!!!
*doing "the swim" as I wink at Marnee*
Go dude!
*strapping on Go Go boots and teasing the boufant*
In that case, bring lots of cotton and call me when we get to These Boots Are Made For Walking...
I LOVE that song...LOL!
*Marnee brings the house down with the end of Love Shack, the people in the crowd are waving lighters in the air as Ter takes the stage.....cue Those Boots Were Made for Walking*
*I fluff the top of Ter's boufont, and look enviously at her boots*
You go girl!
*catcalling and whistling* :)
*singing in her deepest, sexiest, slightly off key voice*
These boots are made for walking
And that's just what they'll do
*shakes ass and spins, nearly falling over*
One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you...
I think I've found my voice! LOL!
*passes mic to the Captain for a little AC/DC rendition*
Go captain work it now!
I love to sing!
My voice isn't the same as it used to be. Just like singing, if you don't write, your voice gets rusty. You have to re-train yourself. Practice. Work hard to bring it back up to par. I find when I take breaks, my voice reverts back to how it was in the beginning. I become a newbie voice, and everything that I've learned cultivating my more experienced voice has disappeared. So to keep my voice, I just need to write, regardless of what I'm writing to keep me fresh.
I like to plot. I think I do well with plotting. I think my voice loves a dark twisted plot. But I wouldn't be a writer if I didn't think I wasn't good at anything. Sometimes when I'm sitting in my chair and looking at the blinking cursor I just want to ask myself, "Why are you torturing yourself this way? You suck. You're always gonna suck."
This is my late night midnight conversation with myself and then I write 5k just to prove to myself that I can. LOL
I told you it was a great blog. Good job honey.
Thanks Sin, and I agree Babe you are the plot master:)And writing everyday is the key.
So pick a song and grab the mic, you're following the captain.
*bouncing up and down*
I personally never sing karaoke, but I love to watch it. Put on a show wenches! It's Friday! Time to get our party on!
So the Captain thinks she's special and took a *personal* day. That means Sin moves up to the mic and we've yet to see the hostess take a turn.
What's it gonna be, girl? Hey, that makes me think of Meatloaf.
Everybody now - we're doing Paradise by the Dashboard Light. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this song!
And if anyone has any idea how to keep your mood from creeping into your writing voice, let me know. Big problem for me.
Ter~awesome point! I always let my modd creep in when I'm writing. When I wrote fanfiction and had a particularly bad day I wrote angst filled stories. It's hard not to let your life play a part in your writing.
I love Meat Loaf (both kinds):
And for me at the mic...cue Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. *dancing*
LOL! I know what you mean. I have a problem with that sometimes. If I'm annoyed, sometimes my voice gets a little more curt than usual.
Although, if I can curb that, my annoyance makes for some pretty good arguments between characters. :)
How about Two Out of Three Ain't Bad as well? Sappy, but still good.
The problem is I write what the mood induces then realize when I read it back with what was already there that it sticks out like a turd in the punchbowl.
Ooh, back to Cyndi Lauper. How fun! And I love that one two, Marnee. So much truth in that one. LOL!
a turd in the punchbowl. :) LOL!!
If I'm having a bad day, I do yoga for an hour and clear my thoughts. Of course, this can't be done until 10-11 at night, so.. LOL That normally helps me control my moods from my writing.
I'm not sure I've ever seen any Pantera Kareoke CDs but you go for it. No one knows what they're saying anyway. LOL!
Make something up!
I could totally rock out to "This Love" by Pantera. I could just see it now. LOL
Rock on Babe!
This was a great blog, Lisa!
I love to sing... unfortunately I was not gifted with the voice of an angel nor even a warbling bird. And well, I think that people might run for da hills if I did sing. :)
I've always written, even when I was a kid and wrote "horror" stories. Then I moved onto humor ones, often involving parodies of my teachers and my friends.
But... well, writing "wasn't" a career. And I still to this day remember an experience in college (not that kind of experience, girls!). But we were supposed to meet with the English professor who would be our advisor--except mine forgot about his appointment. So, another English professor met with me, and her first question was, "What do you want to do with English?"
And I responded, "I want to write."
She looks me in the eye, leans back in her professorial chair. "We all do."
And in that moment, I thought... okay, great. Writing is not a "steady" career, it's something "all" English majors want to do but for some reason or another, it doesn't work out. Writing doesn't pay a steady income.
I "listened" to these other voices, fumbling through and landing a respectable job as a... guess what English teacher.
But, I felt as if part of me was missing. That I was dying inside because I wasn't letting who I am out, and that was my writing. I've kept my writing... my aspirations to be a writer my "dirty dark secret" for so long because... well, I never had that support.
Until Eloisa James and her bulletin board (this was before it merged with Julia Quinn).
Eloisa James changed everything in my life. She provided a forum where -- gasp! -- I found other writers. I found people who were like me--who LOVED romance novels, who wanted to write them, and who talked about everything with the giddy/witty/funny appreciation that I connected with.
And there was a writing forum on the board where slowly but surely I joined in. And well, truth be told, it was scary as hell first... because we all know, as writers, that once you put your writing out there, it can be judged. I know I'm a sensitive person... that I take things to heart too much at times.
But the criticism, the words of "what the hell is this--you want to be a writer (snort)?" weren't there.
Then there was the infamous Avon Fanlit contest which... well, it got me into a routine of writer. It introduced me to another whole world of writers where online friendships and critique partners were formed.
And it was only last year in late October that I was like... I'm going to write THIS story. Before that time, I started and stopped different ideas, never able to accomplish any of them.
In many ways, I felt like a failure. Who was I to say I wanted to be a writer--to call myself one--when I couldn't even write a book?
But now... I can proudly say that I am a writer--a romance writer at that. I've found my voice... and you know what, it may be off-tune, it may not sound like Barbra Streisand... but it's mine.
And I like it.
So well, I didn't realize I was going in this direction when I started writing my comment... so well... sorry for the diarrhea of my mouth!
LOL
This was a great blog!
Elyssa~ Thank you for stopping by!
What wonderful comments, and you shadow a lot of my same thoughts. I too wanted to write at a young age, but was told I would never make a living as a writer, so I became a nurse. Here I am 22 years later finally making my dream come to light. I say cheers to us!
And like you said we may not be Streisand vocally, but we don't have to be, because we're perfecting our individual voices, and doing what we love.
You never want me to Karaoke!
But I do have my writer's voice. I got my sheets back from the contest I lost--and they said, "You don't have enough conflict to sustain 100,000 words, but your writer's voice almost made me forget that." (I think there was a compliment in there somewhere.)
I've bought a new writer's book (Book in a Month by Victoria Schmidt)--and I hope it might help me with my current WIP and maybe with the one that has no conflict. *LOL*
Post a Comment