Voice

So my latest obsession is VOICE.  At every writing conference or class I go to, the agents and editors always go directly back to voice.  They want to hear fresh, original voices.  They're right.  The books I remember most, the books that suck me in in the first three lines are the ones with distinct voices.

I don't always struggle with voice, but I am with my current novel.  Maybe it's because the protagonist is a guy.  Maybe it's because I get too close to my protagonists and end up turning them into myself.  Whatever the case, I've found instruction on HOW to work on voice pretty sparse.  My initial scan of writing books and the web has not amounted to much.

Maybe that's because voice is such an allusive thing.  It's kind of misty, kind of hard to touch, kind of hard to explain.  Once in a while it happens.  And we all thank the writing gods.  But there's got to be a way to study it, to enhance your chances of stumbling onto a vivid voice.  So I'm going to look into voice myself.  In the posts to follow, I'll share what I've found and raise the questions that continue to bug me about voice.  And maybe my protagonist will start to speak for himself!

In the meantime, if you’ve found any great resources on how to wake up the voice in your writing, please share!