Writer's Voice: Scent, Soul, Core

All good writing has a distinct voice.

Why read one blogger or columnist over another? It comes down to that writer’s original voice. Your voice, simply put, is you: it’s your scent, your soul, the abstract elixir of your core. It’s the way you describe the action, your style and word choice, the pulse of the page, it’s rhythm.

It’s also the decisions you make to grab the reader’s attention, to connect with the audience. It’s the execution of the original dance you have with the reader as you lead him or her to become an active participant in the story. Your voice is all of this, but the one thing it’s not is dialogue. Your characters own that.

Voice itself, your writer’s voice, cannot be taught; it can’t be forced. It develops over time, and like anything, if you want to do it well, it demands practice... so do it. Just write.