Writing Tip: How To Find a Fresh Voice

For writers, the “comfortable rut” is like a having a girlfriend (or boyfriend) who is too perfect. Sure, you’re content, sure they take care of your needs, but you know that something is not right. Deep down, you know trouble is just waiting for that perfect timing to launch its ugly face in front of you.

Okay, I still have to work on my analogies, but you get the point, right?

What, you may ask, is my problem with being comfortable? Well, nothing in general, really. In almost all aspects of life, being comfortable is a very nice thing. I won't mind living in a big house, with two dozen cars and supermodels throwing rose petals at my feet.

But I’m not talking about that kind of comfort. I’m talking about Writer’s Comfort. Writer’s Comfort is when you tell stories after stories from a single standpoint. Imagine talking about the lives of prostitutes from a cab driver’s point of view, and then in your next story, the plight of children from a cab driver’s point of view again, and so on and so forth. Your story becomes a tired version of the same thing. You may do it because you like that point of view and you’re “comfortable” with it, but that’s where the “rut” comes from.

When writers begin writing, they usually tell a story from their own point of view, and it’s perfectly fine. However, the trouble is that usually, people get stagnant using this technique. And when people get stagnant, they are temporarily not able to tell unique stories.

Here’s my main beef with being comfortable with your chosen voice: you tend to stop exploring. When you do, you miss certain things that make a story a little bit juicier.

So having convinced you, here are some tips to find a fresh voice:

1. Find your Opposite Self

Are you religious? Are you kind? Then write a story or an essay from an unreligious and evil person’s point of view. You’ll be amazed at the things you’ll discover when you put yourself in a position that directly contradicts what you want to say.

2. Make Yourself Extreme

The opposite of the first advice, this time, whatever your qualities are, take it to the extreme. Do you help older people to cross the street? Go ahead and take them to their homes.

Are you a religious person? Write a story about a man who practices total piousness, like a Ned Flanders character from The Simpsons.

3. Be Ridiculous

Are you a conservative writer, only describing what you see? Then this time, be ridiculous. Be hyperbolic. Be extreme. Go the distance.

There are many more ways to find a fresh voice. One only needs to open his eyes. I’ll have more tips about it later.

John