tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post3695339673298072550..comments2023-09-05T12:51:25.656-05:00Comments on edittorrent: Can you teach voice?Edittorrenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14295505709568570553noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-21903704105471574882012-03-13T17:16:15.075-05:002012-03-13T17:16:15.075-05:00I don't know if you can teach voice, but you c...I don't know if you can teach voice, but you can teach someone to edit out their voice! I've done and I watched a friend do it as she took everything everyone said (like 5-7 beta readers, at least 3 of whom were writers) and took it to the extreme. Soon, she'd lost the charm that was intrinsic in her YA writing. I tried to tell her to take everything with a grain of salt as I'd spent agaonizing hours trying to make my fantasy have little "purple prose" until it had lost all it's flavor, then tried to put it back again. Sigh. Such hardwork for something which may have been technically purer on the grammar level, but not happily read. :(<br /><br />Anyway, I think you're right, part of our voice is how we're raised, what we believe, etc. But a huge part is something beyond that. You touched on it. Although there are other influencing factors, I think it comes down to one large issue.<br /><br />What can we imagine? THAT is the ultimate limit of our voice.Leonahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11786326364037397675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-32136308745330367832012-03-04T00:34:50.918-06:002012-03-04T00:34:50.918-06:00James, poetry-- yes, there's nothing like that...James, poetry-- yes, there's nothing like that for honing the word choice. Distilled emotion. :)Alicia Rasleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08472940406316634217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-37564244379855203472012-03-03T22:52:51.195-06:002012-03-03T22:52:51.195-06:00The defiantly issue is too cute! It took me a mome...The defiantly issue is too cute! It took me a moment to figure out why they were so bold with you.<br /><br />I believe you can teach people to recognize some of the tricks and tools for establishing voice, like syllable frequency, sentence length and pacing, but whether they can manipulate them into new voices, and whether it's feasible to coach people to these ends, would rest with the individual's experience.John Wiswellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07416044628686736927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-39440150680880784252012-03-03T14:41:26.413-06:002012-03-03T14:41:26.413-06:00Interesting post. My sense is that voice comes fr...Interesting post. My sense is that voice comes from one's formative years during which one gains a world view, a way of thinking, a vocabulary, and observation of colorful or influential persons. I had the surprising exerience of improving voice by studying linguistics on an ethnic group I had little experience with (ending with a preposition). The analysis of speech patterns, sentence structure, etc. helped. The research enabled me to avoid using phoenetics, dropping letters, etc., yet getting the flavor of speech and thought across.Weshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03077791761104576436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-25553596227122482672012-03-03T14:09:56.393-06:002012-03-03T14:09:56.393-06:00I'm going to have to read your book, because I...I'm going to have to read your book, because I'm curious about the page long sentence.Eliott McKayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03290397318819523089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-3905742382056859812012-03-03T10:42:15.619-06:002012-03-03T10:42:15.619-06:00Nice post. I do think voice can be developed with ...Nice post. I do think voice can be developed with certain techniques. I use them in my workshops and seminars. Voice is like gold in a stream, and you can learn how to pan for it. To "tickle it so she comes out laughing." You just can't stick your fist in and come out with voice.<br /><br />One of the things I use is the page long sentence. There are others. Ray Bradbury advocates reading some poetry each day. It opens up new synapses. Which is, when you get right down to it, where original voice comes from.James Scott Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00676794013514302359noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-33244760246927764692012-03-02T19:50:17.576-06:002012-03-02T19:50:17.576-06:00C0, I think there are techniques that can help eve...C0, I think there are techniques that can help everyone refine the voice. The most important step, I think is getting to know your voice and its potential. And I'd also say it's important to find the genre or publisher or market niche or readership that can be drawn to that voice.<br /><br />Really strong voices alienate probably a large percentage of readers, and I would think a thick skin is an essential possession until you find the right path to the right readers!<br />AliciaAlicia Rasleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08472940406316634217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6824896765631412903.post-66798945876350152132012-03-02T15:50:06.958-06:002012-03-02T15:50:06.958-06:00Ah, spell check has trouble with the word definite...Ah, spell check has trouble with the word definitely. I often have to type it out myself to keep Word from suggesting defiantly. And Chrome puts it as the first choice.<br /><br />Voice is such a tricky subject. Most of the voice articles never dig into the mechanical nature of it. Once, I wrote a guest post on character voice (with factors like formality, word choice, hesitation, and even usage of the word "I"), and it landed on several round-ups simply because people rarely writes such a post on the subject. One day, when I actually have experience on the subject, I'll rewrite it.<br /><br />You can write a list of factors that can go into narrative voice, (paragraph structure, word choice, humor, etc) but in the end, it's something a writer has to find for themselves.chihuahuazerohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15677672177353350936noreply@blogger.com