On writing, thoughts to help perfect your writing Options

[McGonagall's Cat]

5 Tips For Developing Your Writing Voice
By Anne Wayman (from her 6/2/04 newsletter for Freelance Writers)


It's all about you
Ultimately, the thing that distinguishes you from every other writer is your voice. Sure, you’ve got to get the research done, or the character developed. But how you get the facts or set the scene down on paper is a reflection of your voice.
This is why you can write an article on the 10 best ways to cook chicken and I can write an article with the same title, and even the same recipes, and both articles end up being quite different. Each has been filtered through our individual experience and set down in our individual voice. It’s also why, although many mystery novels have roughly the same plot (I.e. who done it), each one is different. In fiction, not only does each author have their own unique voice, they develop a voice for each character.

Dictionary.com defines voice this way: The distinctive style or manner of expression of an author or of a character in a book.

So how do you develop your own voice? Here are 5 tips:


1. Write honestly, from the heart.
When you write from your feelings, your voice will be automatic. Of course, you’ll have to rewrite and edit, but allow your honest feelings to surface and show.

2. Write as if you were writing or talking to a friend.
When you’re writing or talking with a friend, the honesty and passion show up. So does the clarity. Clarity, even simplicity, expressed through you will make your writing sing - in your voice.

3. Picture your reader.
Every time you write, you’re writing for a particular audience. Think how you would address one reader in that group as if they were a friend. Write for that person.

4. Read widely
Read all sorts of things. Get out of your field and read something you’re not inclined to read. Notice the voice. Can you see yourself writing that way? If not, why not? The answers don’t matter; the key here is just to become aware of voice.

5. Experiment
Break out of your comfort zone. If you always write articles, try a short story, or part of one. If you write mostly for high-end travel magazines, try something for children. The goal here isn’t to break into a new market, although that may happen, it’s to play and experiment and stretch your boundaries. You can even do this with a sentence or two as an exercise.

In many ways your writing voice is automatic. It’s built in. Which doesn’t mean you can’t improve it or enlarge it and develop even more flexibility and resourcefulness.

Write well and often,
Anne Wayman

[zymurgy]

AutoCrit
No replacement for a good Beta exists, but this makes a stab. It will analyze your text and give you stats about:

Weak Words
Repeated Phrases
Repeated Words
Chapter Analysis
Repeated Phrases Summary
Sentence Lengths
Dialogue Tags
Unusual/Common Words
First Words
Names and Pronouns

Of course, it's just a numbers cranker and a good beta spots these types of things as well as grammar and spelling. (And Canon, and style, and ...) Still, when you need some numbers in a hurry, it's a good thing to have - especially since it can analyze 2000 words in a second!