Can you change your voice as a writer?
Many writers are on a journey to “discover their voice”. Well, what happens if you don’t like what you find?
While the #1 key to finding your voice is to be honest and transparent about yourself, that doesn’t mean that you’re stuck with your current passions, personalities, values, or experiences. In fact, you should always be growing and attempting to broaden your influences.
But you can’t just fake it. Take a look at the chart below. Our voice is like an iceberg. What the world sees through your writing is this tip-top point. But that “above the water” area is defined by everything below it. You can’t just slap on a new coat of paint and pretend to be something you’re not. But you can change who you are so that what the world sees is changed as well.
Let’s explore how we can do that in each of these layers of voice:
- PASSION. What you’re passionate about comes out in your writing. Generally we find our lane and stick to it. For myself, it takes work to seek out any story that isn’t grounded sci-fi or fantasy. But if that’s all I consume, my writing is just going to be derivative of those movies and stories I love. It takes an effort to “shift my iceberg” by finding foreign films, horror movies, classic literature, period pieces, documentaries, that all start to shift my voice by broadening my influences.
- PERSONALITY. A lot of times we assign ourselves with a role in the world and stick with that role. In high school I was the shyest wallflower you ever met. It took a lot of time and effort to start to redefine myself as actually having a voice. I put myself in situations where I wasn’t comfortable in order to shift how the world sees me. It’s not about being fake, it’s about challenging your view of yourself.
- VALUES. It’s easy and safe to stick with your same belief systems you’ve always had. There is comfort in things being black and white. But I’ve found the greatest moments and conversations and experiences in life weren’t black and white. To shift your values, it takes opening yourself up to new beliefs. Reading books, researching other cultures, watching documentaries, intentionally seeking out voices who are different than yours — these are all ways to shift how you view the world.
- EXPERIENCES. It’s hard to write honestly about things if you haven’t experienced them. It’s usually easier for writers to write about adventures than to actually go out and have them. But putting yourself out there, chasing your dreams, doing something unexpected, taking big risks, opening your heart to someone — these are all experiences that will make you a more honest writer.
What are you going to do this week to challenge the way you see the world and how the world sees you, and shift your writing voice as a result?
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