Former Editorial
| 1st February 2009 The Importance of Voice in Writing |
| I never realized how important my voice was...until I lost it following a recent operation. Examples; have you ever tried asking for directions when you sound like a fog horn or tried to order a take-away over the phone when you just can’t make yourself loud enough to be heard by the person on the other end? Talk about frustrating. Well, it started me to thinking about how so many African American authors, who weren’t given a chance to get published back through the years, even up through the 80s, and early 90s, (I was one of them), have now been given a voice. Many have self-published to get their words, their voice, so to speak, out to the world. I know I did. Anyhow, some have been published through traditional, mainstream publishers, but the point is, we now have a voice. The Internet has opened a lot of doors, too. Now, of course, we also have the first black President - Barack Obama - which underlines the importance of strong, clear and united voices. On another level, though, as an editor, I look for voice in a piece of fiction or nonfiction. Voice is an elusive thing. It’s an ingredient that’s hard to explain, but you know when it’s missing. Voice can make or break a novel or even determine the success of a nonfiction piece. People tell me my first self-published novel, The Ebony Tree, sounds totally different from my second novel, No Pockets in a Shroud, but like most people, I have a unique spin on the world. Also, I changed and grew between novels. I am a wordsmith and so are most writers. It’s just having the courage to let people know how quirky, how different, how unique you are, that makes your voice stand above the crowd. A lot of times, avid readers are closet writers who wish they had the courage to speak out and give voice to their concerns. Personally, I believe most people have at least one book inside of them. Now, warning. If you do get the nerve to write your truth, people will sometimes attack you, but who cares? Isn’t it better to have gone through this world and left your mark, than died as another of the masses? To paraphrase Henry David Thoreau, "leading a life of quiet desperation". At any rate, voice is ever-present in fiction. In the third person, each character has his own voice, just as well as in the first person. The writer can subconsciously hook the reader because of the strong voice of the character(s). Voice is as individual as a person’s DNA. Just as no two people are alike, no two voices should sound alike. Likewise, in your fictional world, each character should have a distinct voice and not sound alike. This is what makes your characters sound real, and sells the reader on them. Voice determines a person’s worldview, his attitude, and her agenda. That’s why we’re so excited when we read or hear a fresh voice breaking away from the crowd. I was recently working on an author’s manuscript where the voices of characters didn’t sound right. Though, in comparison to her previous book the writing was technically better, in terms of grammar; most of the characters were lifeless. This was an irony because in spite of flaws in her earlier work, the voices of her characters were much more authentic and just about leaped off the page. I suggested that in order to bring the characters in her most recent manuscript to life, she should use the Stanislavski ‘actors’ method, where, the author acts out the roles of each character. In addition, my main request was that she gave her heroine courage. In the first draft, her lead didn't have any guts or backbone. Writers, you want your heroines (or heroes) to be courageous, opinionated, forceful, even outrageous. Always remember; shrinking violets don't make good protagonists. © Dr. Maxine E. Thompson, 2009 (all rights reserved) Dr. Maxine E. Thompson Maxine E. Thompson is an author and the owner of Black Butterfly Press, Maxine Thompson’s Literary Agency and Literary Services. She hosts Internet radio shows on artisfirst.com. © editor@unheardwords.com, 2009 (all rights reserved) |
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