THE STORY VAULT BLOG
For many, many years I struggled with the concept of voice. I couldn’t find mine. I couldn’t find my voice because I didn’t know what I was looking for.
I confused voice with style. I thought discovering your voice meant finding your own style like Shane Black—self-aware asides, unconventional descriptions, breaking the “fourth wall.” That’s all good and fine if you can pull it off, but it’s not voice. Voice can influence style, but it’s not the same thing.
Voice is how you view and interpret the world. Your view might be dark, light, satirical, optimistic, pessimistic, simple, complex, political, apolitical, spiritual…maybe you see life as a tragedy or a glorious adventure…maybe you see yourself as victimized or as a powerful agent of change. The lens through which you view the world is your voice as a writer.
Establishing Your Identity
To find your voice determine what you bring to a story that is uniquely you.
At one time I saw myself as an action-adventure writer. Once I found my voice I realized I could incorporate just about any genre.
In 2024 I asked myself “what are my greatest strengths as a writer: what do I do really well?”
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Create quirky or offbeat characters and provide them with unusual dilemmas
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Write stylized, bantering dialogue
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Devise creative action set pieces
What did this tell me?
My voice does not lend itself to dark realism. I’m not going to write Ordinary People or Kramer vs. Kramer or Awakenings or The Black Swan. I’m more hopeful. I recognize the absurdity that dwells even in very serious events and situations. And most of my stories are ultimately about identity and belonging.
Writers will typically sell themselves (or be sold) as specialists in a specific genre. That’s not what I offer. I bring three talents to almost any genre: horror, drama, action, science-fiction, crime, espionage…I will infect it and mutate it like a virus—but not a deadly virus. I create a symbiotic relationship. And with luck the new organism will thrive.
What I have to sell is my voice. Is there a market for it? Well, we’ll see. But at least I found it.