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    Finding Your Writer's Voice
    Finding Your Writer's Voice
    Finding Your Writer's Voice
    Ebook89 pages44 minutes

    Finding Your Writer's Voice

    By Amanda Apthorpe

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    About this ebook

    You have a story you want to tell and have organised the time to do it. As you begin, your pen or fingers on the keyboard falter, like a little cough to clear your voice, and there's that nagging doubt that plagues you: Who am I to tell this story? What have I got to say?


    In the second volume of the Write This Way series - 'Finding Your Writer's Voice' - Dr. Amanda Apthorpe guides you in finding your authentic, dynamic voice using the successful techniques she has shared with hundreds of her writing students.


    This easy-to-follow guide, with plenty of interactive exercises, is the second step in your writing journey. It's the missing (l)ink! Work your way through the series and get your writing project started today.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherNext Chapter
    Release dateFeb 16, 2022
    ISBN4824100216
    Finding Your Writer's Voice

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      Book preview

      Finding Your Writer's Voice - Amanda Apthorpe

      INTRODUCTION

      Dear Writer,

      If I asked you to sing your favourite song, what would it sound like?

      Perhaps you’d have to clear your throat first. ‘I’m rusty,’ you might say, and there’d be a very quiet tremble as you begin because you’re not sure of the quality of your voice and you don’t like to sing to other people and...

      Lukewarm

      OR

      You begin and belt it out. You’re strong and clear, and to your own ear, you sound very much like the original singer because you’ve practised this so many times, perhaps even standing in front of the mirror. (Oops, that was me. When I was young, I imagined myself as a famous singer. My favourite song at the time was called ‘Candles in the Rain’ by Melanie. No matter how hard I tried, I could never reach those high notes and, in frustration, gave up the dream.)

      Those closest to you might have heard your rendition and agree—you do sound like that singer. However, there are a couple of notes that you just can’t seem to reach, and no matter how hard you try, they continue to elude you.

      Getting very warm... but it’s still someone else’s song, isn’t it?

      So, you ask, what will get me to that hot place, the centre, the pumping heart of the matter?

      You decide that you’re going to write your own song and that you’re going to sing it in the key of your life experience to date. Brilliant.

      Now that’s hot.

      This is a guide about finding, and using, your writing voice, not your singing voice. It’s just that there are a lot of parallels between them (and many other creative fields), and chances are you’re very familiar with one or more of the scenarios above. If singing was your special thing, there’d be further scenarios—to do with learning techniques to enhance and use your voice to the best of your ability. You’d find your own nuances and maximise these and come to appreciate that the voice is an instrument that can be manipulated to great effect.

      Hmmm—sound familiar?

      The following guide, designed to assist you to recognise and build confidence in your writing voice, is divided into two sections:

      Finding Your Voice: The Authentic You

      Using Your Voice: The Dynamic You

      Each section contains instructions, exercises, current theories and interesting facts. Space is included for you to record your responses that you can reflect on now, and in the future, if you need to return to the guide for a refresher course.

      The only way to find your voice is to use it

      AUSTIN KLEON

      PART ONE

      FINDING YOUR VOICE:

      THE AUTHENTIC YOU

      What is this thing called ‘voice’?

      We know well what it means when we speak or sing, but what about when we write?

      Some call the writing voice the ‘heart’ or ‘soul’—the ‘you’—but recognising your own writing voice can be difficult and equates to standing in front of a mirror trying to see yourself as others might see you. Hard as you might try, the self seems to be nebulous, difficult to see clearly.

      You might feel your voice when you write—a small shiver up your spine as you tap into something deep within you. Those shivers can be elusive and are vulnerable to a big kill-joy—lack of confidence that’s often caused by another killjoy, lack of self-esteem—and so you might fall into the trap of emulating someone else’s voice, and you can get pretty good at that (though I never did hit Melanie’s high notes).

      Can you relate to any of the above? If so, you’re not alone. Mining for gold is not easy either, but if you persist and strike it lucky, that’s when the magic really

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