Voice…or Volume?
By Donald Maass | January 6, 2010 |
Agent Donald Maass is here today to kick off our month long discussion on Voice.
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Voice…or Volume?
Voice in fiction is a term poorly defined. What does it mean? Style? Subject matter? Sensibility? World view? All of the above? Whatever it means editors, agents and readers all want it.
The thing is, every novelist already has a voice. It may be comic, deadpan, dry, pulpy, shrill, objective, distant, intimate, arty or a thousand other things. It comes through in the story that an author chooses to tell and the way in which they choose to tell it.
Why then do editors constantly say to me they are seeking writers with a “voice.” Aren’t they already getting that?
Clearly not—not enough of that, anyway. Attached to the word “voice,” I frequently hear the adjective “strong.” Editors are looking for authors with a “strong voice.”
Ah.
The issue in most manuscripts, then, is not whether the author has a voice but whether they are using it to maximum effect. Does the language of the novel light it up? Does the story stab our hearts? Does its passion grip us? Do we see the world in new ways?
The answer in many, many cases is no. Beginners write timidly; but then, so can those who’ve spent a while knocking at the door. Advanced beginners sometime write what they believe the market wants, not what is original, personal, authentic and passionate.
Published authors have their problems with voice too. Did you ever suspect that a favorite author has begun to imitate himself? Then you know what I mean.
So how can you make sure your voice is getting through? Speak up. Louder. Insist on being heard. Writing safe means writing small. I’m pretty sure the storyteller inside you has a lot to say. How are you going to make sure we hear you say it?
Photo courtesy Flickr’s suneko
Donald Maass (he/him) founded the Donald Maass Literary Agency. in New York in 1980. He is the author of The Career Novelist (1996), Writing the Breakout Novel (2001), Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook (2004), The Fire in Fiction (2009), The Breakout Novelist (2011), Writing 21st Century Fiction (2012) and The Emotional Craft of Fiction (2019). He has presented hundreds of workshops around the world and is a past president of the American Association of Literary Agents (formerly AAR).
I think “voice” is like a giraffe: I can’t describe it, but I know it when I see it. Meanwhile, thanks for all your help–in this post and in your seminars–to those of us still polishing our writing and looking for our “voice.”
What a great post! I was planning to blog about it yesterday but I wimped out because I was having such a hard time defining it. Instead I wrote about the lessons I’ve learned as I revise my novel.
Hmm, now you got me thinking. Maybe I should I speak up.
Thanks, Don. This was incredibly helpful!
.-= Rebeca Schiller´s last blog ..Lessons Learned =-.
Beginners who write timidly…Can someone (Don) give me an example sentence. I’m trying to get my head around my “voice” and I read things like “writing timidly” and I’m not sure what that means.
Stephen King says that (and I’m paraphrasing since I can’t remember the exact phrase) at the heart of poor writing is fear, which I would assume would cause beginner writers to write timidly. Fear of what? Exposing personal secrets? All writers have fear of failure (or bad reviews) so I don’t see that as inhibiting writers.
And how does one “speak up” with their writing voice?
That pic is so perfect! Excellent points made here. What I love the most about this is that you don’t outright say, “This is what you must do.”
Kind of like when you’re learning to ride a bike and Dad lets go without saying anything. You have a split second of freaking out, but then you realize, “Oh, I didn’t fall.” Figuring out what to do on your own through trial and error is oftentimes more effective than simply being told.
.-= Lydia Sharp´s last blog ..Rule Breakers =-.
LOL to Richard Mabry’s analogy! It’s a great addendum to this already great post. (Plus I love goofy giraffes.)
.-= Kristan´s last blog ..They’re dynamic, and they’re a duo, but they don’t do spandex =-.
i believe a writer’s ‘voice’ is like a color aura. it’s your personal creed, your beliefs and your truth, it’s what makes you LOL in an empty room or a large crowd. it’s like doing a white wash and throwing in your favorite red shirt – you don’t create another red shirt. but all your whites will be tinted pink forever.
Cynthia-
You asked for an example of “writing timidly”. If weak voice were simply a matter of weak prose then our problem would be simple. We could all read Strunk & White and have plenty of voice.
Strong prose is only part of it. Strong storytelling matters too. That means a compelling story premise, dramatic story events and scenes that clearly advance your characters both outwardly and inwardly.
Beyond that voice means having something to say. Everybody thinks they have that but I rarely see it coming over strongly on the page. I discuss this issue in The Fire in Fiction, but briefly one of the key techniques is to discover what you feel about what’s happening in the story (or in our world) and give your opinions to your protagonist.
Sorry that there’s no quick fix for a weak voice. Voice means putting yourself strongly on the page every book, every scene, every day.
Happy New Year!
For some reason this reminds me of an article I recently read about social media persona, and how it reflects the person behind it. It said that (no surprise) people interact on Twitter, Facebook, etc. as they do in their lives.
Applying this to voice–it’s easy to tell when someone’s faking it because the story feels thin. Stay true to your natural rhythms of speech, your ways of communicating, your world view, and you will produce truth in your fiction. If you tell your truth, your voice will come through effectively.
.-= Erika Robuck´s last blog ..Interview: Author, Kiera Stewart =-.
Cynthia –
I can tell you one thing that we beginner writers are afraid of – that if we commit ourselves on the page, not only are we risking rejection by the industry and strangers who might be readers, but we also risk scorn and ridicule by the people who surround us every day.
What will my family think if I write this? What will my co-workers think? If I write romance, will they think I’m a sexpot? If I write science fiction, will they think I dress up as a Klingon on the weekends? If I write suspense, will they think I’m a walking time bomb?
And those are only some of the questions that can nag at you when you least expect it. :)
.-= Rhonda Lane´s last blog ..The Horse-Head Fiddle – The Morin Khuur =-.
Voice is also subjective. An author’s voice may speak to one agent, publisher and reader; not to another. If a writer knows, deeps down, he or she is writing naked – without shields or barriers, no pretensions or snobbery, then an authentic voice that is heard will come through. Who is come through for — now that is the question.
.-= amy sue nathan´s last blog ..Pride without Prejudice =-.
[…] Unboxed is having a month long discussion about voice. It starts here with Agent Donald Maass, but has other article so be sure to hit their home page. Valuable insight […]
[…] is doing a great series this month on voice. Check out the first part — Voice or Volume — here. After reading that, you’ll want to grab other parts of the series: Evil […]
I am new enough to writing that I never thought about voice. I know that were I to spend an evening singing karoake, those around me would describe my voice as the wail of cats sufferning in the dark of night, with just a hint of shrill and off key.
I liked the post. I will have to think about what my written voice is and how it might sound. I would like to imagine it reminds one of the dulcent sound of Yoyo Ma on his cello, but it is probably more akin to Jack Benny on his violin.
.-= Brian Meeks´s last blog ..Technorati Claim Token Test DBFXW28G6JK9 =-.