Finding Your Writing Voice

When I was a teenager I thought I would be a YA writer. I devoured the Sweet Valley High book series and thought that was the best kind of book. As I got older, I moved to more giltzy romance books from authors like Sidney Sheldon, Janet Delaney, Harold Robbins, and Barbara Taylor Bradford. At the same time, I was also starting to read other writers outside my comfort zone such as Anne Rice and Stephen King. Night and day, I know, but I wanted to read everything.

When I was in college, literary fiction was the only kind of writing that was encouraged. Genre writing (mystery, science fiction, fantasy, horror, western) received little to no encouragement. I did my best to fit in, but my stories lacked something. All these years later, I think it was passion. I liked those stories, but they were run of the mill. There was nothing special about them and, while decently written, they didn’t move the reader.

I have one memory of writing a short story for my advanced writing class and my professor scrawling in the margin in bright red ink, “This just all feels a bit magical.” Little did I know, that was a prophecy of the future. But my younger self pushed on, determined to write the way school had taught me. Genre writing wasn’t serious, couldn’t be serious, and only literary fiction was meant to be pursued.

Only when I had graduated and been out in the real world for a while did I start to explore stories that interested in me. I started with a strange story about a young girl whose fear comes to life. Later I focused on other stories that had the same sort of vibe. It wasn’t until a woman said to me in class, “You write magical realism,” did I understand I had found my style. My author voice.

Decades later, I can see the threads in my early work. My love of genre fused with my training for literary. I’m not the only one. Every year I come across one or two new writers I’ve never heard of before that delight me with their, let’s call it genre-bending, works. I’m happy I’m not alone.

If anyone ever asks me how they find their own writing voice, my best advice is to write until you write a story that truly reflects who you are as a writer. This first story should encompass what you really want to say. It may not be publishable, or even good, but it will be wholly yours. Once you find that thread, pull on it, and see where it leads you.

Happy writing