“Voice” of a writer, is interesting how it makes one’s write-up unique. Did you start thinking about how can you hear the voice of a writer in a write-up?  Well, the voice of a writer is the perfect blend of the diction and the experiences writers portray in their write-ups. A lot of things impact the voice of a writer. For example, using punctuation and grammar can form your writing style. How a writer conveys their thoughts and ideas through writing distinguishes them from others. It’s not just about the words we choose, but also the tone and style we use to convey our messages. Punctuation and grammar are important elements that contribute to our voice. Ultimately, our unique experiences and perspectives shape our distinct writing voice.

“Pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off you.”

– Maya Angelou

How to Find Your Voice

1. Find what you love to write about: Before you embark on your writing journey, it is imperative to find what you want to write about. Explore what you are passionate about and what resonates with you. It could be anything like personal experiences, fictional stories, informative articles, persuasive essays, creative poetry, industry insights, historical events, travel adventures, and much more. This will give you the authenticity, honesty, and creativity you need to truly pour out yourself.

2. Explore the different perspectives: You can express your ideas in a variety of ways, including experimenting with the various points of view. Which perspective—first second or even third—do you prefer? Is it better to immerse yourself in the writing from the first person? Many writers switch between these, but you can choose the one where you feel most at ease. Do you prefer long and complex descriptions or do you prefer simple sentences? Do you like a lot of adjectives and metaphors or do you prefer the straight route?

3. Read a lot and connect with other writers: Writers who have been in the system have discovered their voices and they can serve as a reservoir of information that you can extract a lot from. Read their works and intentionally study how they convey their messages to their audiences. For instance, you can look out for the emotions they trigger and what choice of words they use, their description styles. There are authors you will find that connect with you, you can study them further to discover your voice. The likes of Maya Angelou uses simple and direct language in her poems.

4. Own your work: I can’t speak for everyone, but based on my encounters, and personal experience, sharing one’s writing can be difficult. This difficulty may arise from not recognizing oneself as a proficient writer or lacking the confidence to take ownership. However, writers need to muster the courage to embrace their work and permit the audience to interpret it according to their satisfaction. Never be afraid to ask for feedback, let your audience assess, and tell you how they feel about your work. Learn from your work, cheer yourself up with the positive feedback, try to analyze the negative feedback, and try not to repeat your mistakes.

articles, blogs, anything and everything, just continue writing. It is often said that good writing takes time and finding your voice takes longer. Austin Kleon said, “The only way to find your voice is to use it.” If you have yourself wrapped up in your space and not bringing your works out there, it may take forever to find your voice, but once you write and stay consistent with it, you will ultimately find that voice that you are most confident in. If you want to learn writing, find writing courses, and writing clinics, or get mentors who can offer their experience.

“If you wish to be a writer, write.”

-Epictetus

You can tell you have found your voice when :

● Writing feels more natural and unique to you and you easily flow through once you start.

● You feel like you have found your sense of purpose and confidence.

Finding your voice is an ongoing process and can take time. It requires that you do a lot of experiments, and self-discovery before you can land on what you are more comfortable and confident writing about. The whole journey of becoming a great writer is about consistency and endless practice.

Do not relent and do not give up, writing cannot be learned in a day or two. When you find your voice, you find your purpose in writing. Your voice also sets you apart from any other person. That is not to suggest that you cannot learn from others, there is a difference between learning from how other prolific writers express themselves and completely copying their style of writing or expressing your art. You will do a great deal of disservice to yourself if you do not take the pain to find out what sits with you when it comes to writing.

Moreover, you are free to change your writing style according to the genre you are working on; you are not limited to just one. Despite this, each person’s writing style is different from the others. For example, some artists use their own experiences in their works, while others attempt to use the experiences of others from a distance. Some writers use the first-person perspective to make their writing feel like they are a part of the piece, while others use the third person. Some authors use dialogue to reveal the kind of character they are dealing with, while others use a lot of descriptions to help readers get acquainted with their characters.  It is an endless quest that you have to embark on through practice. Eventually, you will find that voice that will interact with your audience perfectly.