Laverne H. Bardy Clarify's Writers' Biggest Dilemma: Voice

I find that the concept of voice is one of the hardest things to teach. I shall forever use this little essay from Syndicated Humor Columnist Laverne H. Bardy to introduce the topic! Enjoy!

FINDING YOUR VOICE

By Laverne H. Bardy

Writers are repeatedly told how important it is to find their voice. For me, this was the most difficult part of writing. It took many years of stumbling, guessing, and emulating before that finally happened. I had difficulty understanding what, exactly, it meant. Now that I get it, I’ve devised a simple way to explain it:

You have a room with a couch, a piano, a coffee table, two arm chairs, an end table with a lamp, and an area rug. Other than knowing you have a room filled with furniture, it says nothing about who you are.

 On one side of the piano top, position several colorful ceramic pieces, and a group of family photos on the other side. Place long stemmed roses in a tall crystal vase on the end table. Arrange three pillows that pick up the rug colors, on the couch, and a large floral centerpiece on the coffee table. Create a unique window treatment. Set a tall green plant in a corner behind one arm chair, an arranged stack of books on one corner of the coffee table and a large, unique focal piece in the center. Drape green vines over one side of the entrance way and hang a large floral painting over the piano.

Now, I know who you are.

Finding your voice in writing is much like decorating a room. The room is your chosen genre. How you express yourself in that genre is your voice. Countless writers will start out with the exact genre, but each will end up with entirely different stories because each has its own unique voice.

MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Learn more about Laverne H. Bardy on her website: www.lavernebardy.com. Read some of her Huffington Post blogs at http://www.HuffingtonPost.com/laverne-h-bardy .  She is syndicated with: www.SeniorWire.net, the author of How the (Bleep) Did I Get This Old?
and a freelance writer. Read her fun book:  How the (Bleep) Did I Get This Old .

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 Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second edition of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The multi award-winning second edition of The Frugal Editor; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor .