Yeah, I found my voice as a writer when I reached a point that the fundamental skills became natural on the page. Before that, it's like you're a kid still learning how to talk and your personality is only expressed in bits and pieces. There needs to be time to "grow up" first, and even then we're still constantly changing just like we do throughout our lives, which is the beauty of writing.
FINALLY! Just the video I needed in THIS very moment. Thank you for ending my search for an answer. The search has been frustrating because, YES, many writers cannot explain "finding your voice". You articulate it expertly and the guitar analogy drives it home. Grateful to have found this channel and subscribed. Thank you🙏🏽🥰
There's one tip I would add to this (really it just goes in tandem) which is *READ* I have heard a few people in online writing communities say they don't actually like to read that much, or worse, that they're scared if they read they'll "steal" another authors voice. Guys, if you actually like writing, it's impossible to steal another author's voice. There are too many of your own words to say, anyone else's will get crowded out. Does a painter refuse to look at paintings? Does a musician not listen to music? You need to know what other people in the craft have come up with so you can learn about the full range of tools at your disposal. How you use them will still be unique.
What Tim is saying is I believe all true. While we do need to find our voice, it's highly likely that our voice is already there, waiting to emerge. When I started writing in earnest, I decided that the first thing I was going to do was to try to find that voice. Watching in horror what had happened to the music industry and Hollywood convinced me the best thing to do was to look for that voice and find it, first, all on my own. To find out if I actually had it, and could find it. I did not want to be influenced by anyone. I didn't want to try to sound like anyone else. I knew that trying to sound like someone else would never work. That's the same exact reason why among the 12 best guitar players in the world, not a single one of them sounds at all like any other single one of them. Meeting that bar of 'Best' implies finding one's voice. The same can be said about authors. But there's a lot more to it than just that. So for 15 months I just wrote. And I did find my voice. And I insured that it was unique because I didn't accept influence from anywhere else or anyone else. I am living proof that you can do this, first. Nothin' to it but to do it. Shoot first, ask questions later, which in a nondestructive medium like writing, works just fine. Doing that gave me the confidence and motivation to tackle the rest (as well as a few bad habits that needed breaking). This does not mean conscious understanding of and good qualified instruction in line by line writing is not important. It most definitely is. We still need technique, skill, and craft. I had a stack of scenes, and as much as I shuddered to go back and read the originals years later, they honestly weren't half bad. But that 15 month milestone was when somehow Story Grid was serendipitously gifted to me, for which I am eternally grateful. The timing was perfect. It was exactly what I needed to become a writer. I had that stack of scenes, but I had no conscious understanding about structure, order, skill, craft, or technique. I did have some of that unconsciously, (which likely is why those scenes weren't half bad). But it took Story Grid to get me pointed in the right direction. So yes, you can find your voice first rather than later. As Tim says, it's likely already there. And the deliberate practice of writing will probably make it emerge organically and automatically over time. But a point will come, either earlier or later, when you need to learn everything else, and for me, that's where Story Grid became of utmost importance to me. Are the five elements of story really that important? Absolutely. Having all five is why the story I just told, works.
That is all very well and worthwhile pointing out. However, I bet the books you showed are all written pre-AI. Now whatever I write that is creative and in my style gets challenged by AI. It would never now accept a style like Wind-in-the-willows. AI seems to streamline and make the same all writing according to some narrow style definitions of what proper grammar and writing should be. Being thusly manipulated is ubiquitous. What can we do about that?
A couple of things here. If you're just using AI as an editing/grammar tool, then you should ignore what doesn't fit your voice. If you're using AI to add anything to your book, be aware that you cannot copyright anything written by AI, even one sentence in a whole novel will mean the entire Manuscript cannot be copywriting. Assuming it's the former, AI is a great tool to help with self-editing, but you must stay true to your voice and pick and choose the suggestions to keep and which to ignore. Be true to yourself and you won't go far wrong.
Yeah, I found my voice as a writer when I reached a point that the fundamental skills became natural on the page. Before that, it's like you're a kid still learning how to talk and your personality is only expressed in bits and pieces. There needs to be time to "grow up" first, and even then we're still constantly changing just like we do throughout our lives, which is the beauty of writing.
FINALLY! Just the video I needed in THIS very moment. Thank you for ending my search for an answer. The search has been frustrating because, YES, many writers cannot explain "finding your voice". You articulate it expertly and the guitar analogy drives it home. Grateful to have found this channel and subscribed. Thank you🙏🏽🥰
There's one tip I would add to this (really it just goes in tandem) which is *READ*
I have heard a few people in online writing communities say they don't actually like to read that much, or worse, that they're scared if they read they'll "steal" another authors voice. Guys, if you actually like writing, it's impossible to steal another author's voice. There are too many of your own words to say, anyone else's will get crowded out.
Does a painter refuse to look at paintings? Does a musician not listen to music? You need to know what other people in the craft have come up with so you can learn about the full range of tools at your disposal. How you use them will still be unique.
My new favourite channel and voice to listen to. Thank you Tim 🙏
So emotional, thank you for supporting our individual self and boosting our positivity. 💐
Great advice about the voice. The people who know me and read my books all say they can hear my personality come out in the characters and situations.
You post such great videos! Keep it up.
I'm also a huuuuuge jack white fan I love that you started with that
What Tim is saying is I believe all true. While we do need to find our voice, it's highly likely that our voice is already there, waiting to emerge.
When I started writing in earnest, I decided that the first thing I was going to do was to try to find that voice. Watching in horror what had happened to the music industry and Hollywood convinced me the best thing to do was to look for that voice and find it, first, all on my own. To find out if I actually had it, and could find it. I did not want to be influenced by anyone. I didn't want to try to sound like anyone else. I knew that trying to sound like someone else would never work.
That's the same exact reason why among the 12 best guitar players in the world, not a single one of them sounds at all like any other single one of them. Meeting that bar of 'Best' implies finding one's voice. The same can be said about authors.
But there's a lot more to it than just that.
So for 15 months I just wrote. And I did find my voice. And I insured that it was unique because I didn't accept influence from anywhere else or anyone else. I am living proof that you can do this, first. Nothin' to it but to do it. Shoot first, ask questions later, which in a nondestructive medium like writing, works just fine. Doing that gave me the confidence and motivation to tackle the rest (as well as a few bad habits that needed breaking).
This does not mean conscious understanding of and good qualified instruction in line by line writing is not important. It most definitely is. We still need technique, skill, and craft. I had a stack of scenes, and as much as I shuddered to go back and read the originals years later, they honestly weren't half bad. But that 15 month milestone was when somehow Story Grid was serendipitously gifted to me, for which I am eternally grateful. The timing was perfect. It was exactly what I needed to become a writer.
I had that stack of scenes, but I had no conscious understanding about structure, order, skill, craft, or technique. I did have some of that unconsciously, (which likely is why those scenes weren't half bad). But it took Story Grid to get me pointed in the right direction.
So yes, you can find your voice first rather than later. As Tim says, it's likely already there. And the deliberate practice of writing will probably make it emerge organically and automatically over time. But a point will come, either earlier or later, when you need to learn everything else, and for me, that's where Story Grid became of utmost importance to me.
Are the five elements of story really that important? Absolutely. Having all five is why the story I just told, works.
excellent video.
Jack White is the best! I love your content.
Thank you.
Palahniuk=paula-nick. From the writer himself.
Already subscribed -TIM the Great
What’s the genre of fight club ?
Read through this and the subpages and let me know what you think: storygrid.com/genres-of-writing/ - Tim
That is all very well and worthwhile pointing out. However, I bet the books you showed are all written pre-AI. Now whatever I write that is creative and in my style gets challenged by AI. It would never now accept a style like Wind-in-the-willows. AI seems to streamline and make the same all writing according to some narrow style definitions of what proper grammar and writing should be. Being thusly manipulated is ubiquitous. What can we do about that?
A couple of things here. If you're just using AI as an editing/grammar tool, then you should ignore what doesn't fit your voice. If you're using AI to add anything to your book, be aware that you cannot copyright anything written by AI, even one sentence in a whole novel will mean the entire Manuscript cannot be copywriting. Assuming it's the former, AI is a great tool to help with self-editing, but you must stay true to your voice and pick and choose the suggestions to keep and which to ignore. Be true to yourself and you won't go far wrong.
So am I right to say, basically, "Learn the fundamentals of writing, and it comes naturally?" That's the whole point of the video. (Thanks.)
Jack white is aging like johnny depp. lmao
What if my voice is a boring cynical a-hole that nobody wants to hear 😂
It can work, Catcher in the rye basically did this and it became world famous lol
That in itself can be interesting, could work if you develop it.