On Discovering One’s Voice

In recent weeks I’ve been working more in my own fiction that ever before—a refreshing break to indulge in creative word count. Like slipping into a hot bath.

Most of that time has been critiquing submissions accepted by my publisher for the upcoming Underground Anthology, a collection of short stories set in my near-future high-tech bionic dystopian Underground setting. The writers with whom I work have a huge variety of style, and of course a unique voice for each, but even when focused into the same setting, and in some cases characters the voices are still wildly distinct. Styles range from the literary to the action-packed, and remind me of an event on the sojourn that every writer walks.

There’s an old adage about a writer not being distinct from other writers until they discover their voice. One first must realize what authors to whom their own style is similar, then understand what it is that’s unique about their personal voice, and strive to showcase those distinctions.

Don’t think this is work, or even a conscious task. Voice is a series of literary discoveries in which each artist revels. One can pursue it, but it just happens.