Does anyone else? Sometimes I'll be writing one thing and it will have a certain style, the one I can't really describe because it's...well, it's my writing. At other times I'll be writing something else, and it will have more of a serious style. Even if I'm writing something happy and exciting in the "more serious style," it still sounds "more serious" than in the other style. I guess that my "more serious style" has more...suspence...in a way. There is a difference between them. Does anyone else have two voices? Anyone have more?
Depending on your defintion of "voice", someone could have quite a few. After all, if you write three different first-person stories, you probably need three slightly different voices for each MC. Maybe you're being a bit vague.
I think you may be talking about writing style. My writing style is pretty much the same when I write. I've never really tried anything new but plan on doing so soon.
I'm not sure how many voices I have. I recognise a younger voice when I read back over past work, and now I have one or two, but I think they derive from the 'academic' and the 'casual'. So perhaps, voices come about through the need for them and then you can apply them in lots of ways to 'your own' writing.
I have this that voice you speak of. I can't stand it. One chapter will sound great, suspenseful, detailed. And the next sound like childs work. I find that if I am upset the more educated voice comes out and when I am happy the funner not to deciplined voice speaks. -Moira
I too think this might be "style" (or even "tone") rather than "voice." (You even say it depends on the tone of the piece you're writing, which seems more like style/tone rather than voice.) I have various styles/tones--more humorous ones, more serious ones, sometimes within the same story--but always the same voice.
I have many different voices, in both writing and speaking. And in writing, i have the voice i use talking to my friends on a chat client, the many voices i use for different forums, and even different voices for each forum, the voice(or perhaps the several voices) i use for creative writing, the voice for essays, etc. All of them are similar, but they may seem drastically different if you have only seen one of them.
I have my author voice, which finds its way into narration. But increasingly, I am opting for character-driven narration, in which I adopt the voice of the POV character. But even my author voice varies depending on the type of writing, same as my vocal voice is different when I'm telling a joke vs, delivering bad news. We all wear many hats.
I have a bad habit of letting my mood heavily affect the tone of anything I write. Reading back over a couple chapters of a novel I've written, you can tell the parts where I had gotten in a fight with someone, or when I'd come home from a party, or when I'd just watched a thought-provoking movie...
Well, I have Essay-voice and Fiction-voice. The Fiction-Voice goes through a lot of styles and tones depending on context, character, and whether I really feel like writing. As does everyone else's. Or so I'm led to think--maybe I'm just weird.
some very successful writers have only one... bob ludlum, who i knew in my old life was one of those and the first to admit it... and some have an unlimited number, can write in any their project calls for... most writers probably have more than one and fewer than many... as a freelancer in my old life and a mentor to many aspiring writers in this one, i'm one of those who can write in pretty much any voice i've ever heard or read, if/when necessary... though my own will creep in, if i don't watch it...
I wasn't quite sure what to call it. I went from writing style, to tone, to voice. I don't really know which one it is. My serious voice comes in only when I'm writing in third person, but not always, and never in first person. Maybe that's it.
Well, one thing about me is that I tend to pick up on local speech patterns pretty easily in real life. Wen I'm visiting another part of the country, even for the first time, I tend to absorb accent, local slang, etc. I hadn't even thought of that until just now, but it probably does help explain why I slip into other voices fairly easily in my writing, provided I have an example to emulate.
I don't know if I do that or not. But it would be a really nice thing to have, especially when you are trying to write a story in a certain area.
good point, cog... i've always done that too, having been blessed with an acute 'ear' for any language, so i speak or fake other languages like a native, too... i never thought of that in re my writing, but it's so obvious i guess i should have!... ;-)
Dean Koontz' Fear Nothing, and Odd Thomas have very different voices. Both are written in first person, but they have the same style. Upon reading either one you know it is Dean Koontz. Is that what you mean by voice? Or did you mean that your style changes?
For clarification,voices can be amended to views.Views are divergent when comes to divergent repercussions,when it is used in a right usage,it doesn't matter.These views are veiled,and you have your mind made up of motley colours,eclectic views,the views take control and subsequently you write your views.
You've lost me here, Ennui. First with the grammar, and then with the definition... Could you clarify?
I have one style that I write in while my voice is different depending on the theme I'm writing about. If it's something that is meant to be happy, then my voice can be breezier, more sarcastic and humorous. I think sometimes writers confused their style with their voice...style can change, while voice stays the same, or vice versa...
I really have no idea whether it is a voice or a style...maybe I should look them up... ...looking up 'voice' wasn't easy...there is a million different ways to use voice. Style doesn't seem to fit.
style would be how you write something. Like here's an example of my style...every paragraph I write tends to have a line in it that is a thought of the character who's POV is being seen...whether it's a reflection, contemplation, musing, something of that type..if you read my blod with the snippets i'm posting, you'll notice that... Now voice...that can be something totally different. I tend to think voice is "what are you trying to say?" in your work...IE theme...what is the message you're trying to say like for me it's "if history isn't learned, then we're doomed to repeat it." Hopefully this helps you out...
voice I'm really new here- I have only an inkling of what I am doing- but about "voice" A writer's voice is how she says what she says- her "native tongue" so to speak. The way the words fit together, the rhythm readers can feel while they take them all in, the spacing, word choice, the emphasis, allusions, illustrations, all of that comprises an author's distinctive voice, much as the level of vocabulary, slang, the spacing of words uttered, or the phrasing of an idea help listeners to identify a speaker by the sound and content of her literal voice. Actually, one's literary voice is like her literal voice, only it is on paper. I believe it's the most undervalued tool had by a truly good writer. Polishing writing to reflect a personality as well as it does an idea is what gives good writing real life. Now do I sound unbelievably boring or what? k
To me, style is a little less focused on the author and more on the writing. Style is a collection of techniques a writer uses to bring the writing to life. Voice builds upon style, but is more author-centric. Voice is what makes a particular writer's work recognizable. If you pick up a chapter of an Alistair McLean novel without knowing in advance that he wrote it, and you have read his work before, you'll probably at least be reminded of his writing. That is voice. With that in mind, I may be fooling myself in thinking I have a different voice for different styles of writing. Although the tone varies from one piece to another, I think the rhythm of my writing, and my balance between imagery, dialogue, narration, and so on is probably pretty consistent. Likewise, my preferences in sentence structure and vocabulary balance probably doesn't change much. I think that when I'm writing something lighter in mood, I tend to be a bit "folksier", but maybe that doesn't have much effect on my distimctive voice. I'm glad this topic was raised. It really made me think about style vs. voice.
Hmmm…it sounds like style by Captain Kate’s definition, but then it sounds like voice by kkane’s definition…then it sort of sounds like style from Cog’s. Interesting.
there are so many styles you can use...look up writing style and writing voice on wikipedia...and you'll see what I mean.
