Bob's Write from the Start: Voice 2

Bob's Write from the Start

Bob’s Write from the Start, a blog sharing the roller coaster ride of this renewing writer’s feelings and actual experiences, began March 2017. That January, I began with a two-sentence contribution to a local Writing Group. I am now a Guest Columnist for a local paper and have contributed to small and online magazines. My comments for new and renewing writers? Start by starting. Join a writing group. You are unique but not alone. Once you start work, you will not be in Kansas anymore.

Thursday, April 20, 2017

Voice 2

I am slowly, inevitably slowly I think, discovering that I may have a 'voice'. That when I write, you could tell it was Bob writing, not Faulkner, or Fitzgerald or Alice Munro. Uh huh.

After many years of writing in a business communication context, where the objective was neutrality of person - meaning, I represented the organization, not Bob -- and clarity of message, I worked hard without knowing it at eliminating my voice. It was, I suppose, RoboBob. Worked pretty well too.

But [never begin a sentence with 'but'], as I write, I find that my own voice does begin to emerge. And, I am persuaded that my voice is as legitimate and important as anyone else's voice.

Not my skill, of course. Big difference. [Always write in complete sentences.] Neither Stephen King nor Jo (her close friends call her Jo) Rowling are not looking over their shoulders yet. My skill is novice enthusiast. Working at it, though.

Some days are diamond, some days are stone. OK, I stole that. (T. S. Eliot once famously said: "Good writers borrow, great writers steal."

That can't be true, can it? I don't think you can steal a voice and still be worth reading.

Keep working on your own voice. Your Group will recognize it when they hear the authentic you read your latest struggling attempt out loud.

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About Me

Name: Bob's Write From The Start

Location: Sarnia, Ontario, Canada

Born, raised and living in Sarnia, Ontario, Bob Boulton began writing poetry, short stories and humorous articles for his high school newspaper in the period just after dinosaurs roamed the earth. His article on the mysteries of the Chess Club was particularly well-received. Bob’s excruciatingly naive teenage sonnet was published with positive mention in the high school yearbook. In University he wrote pretty much indecipherable essays on Existentialism and Phenomenology. Then, early in his working career, Bob also wrote short feature articles in the now-defunct (not his fault) Weston York Times. For this, he was paid $5.00 per article, which didn’t quite cover his transportation and parking costs. Then after a short break of thirty-five or forty years as an executive and leadership coach, Bob reactivated his passion for writing. The alternatives he considered were learning to yodel or trying to play the bagpipes. Bob’s loving and supportive family voted enthusiastically, and quickly, for writing.