Writer Unboxed

So I got a DM from Therese this week, telling me that we’re focusing on voice this month. I was happy to have some direction for my post. First, I’ll say that I’m not feeling well as I write this, so my brain is a bit sluggish (and I wrote a post on voice here in August). But rather than let Therese and the crew down, I thought I’d offer some gems of wisdom from my esteemed colleagues as well my own thoughts. And off we go.

Author Carrie Lofty says: “Your story is worth telling.”

I can’t tell you how much I agree with this. As you work, you will run into backseat drivers, who want to tell you how the story should flow, what your characters should do or say, or how the book should end. Please don’t let them get into your head. Only you know what should happen. And sure, people may disagree with you about the voice you should have used and second-guess your ideas, but you must believe in yourself. Whatever tone or narrative style strikes you as right or authentic, then it absolutely is because you’re the arbiter of your own work. That is not to say that you can’t be wrong (which is pretty confusing, isn’t it?) I mean, maybe your idea to write a whole novel in second person, as if the reader were your lover wasn’t the best plan ever. But then again, maybe it was. Maybe you’re the person who can sell that. You just never know.

Author Laura Anne Gilman says, “Voice is what you develop after you trust yourself to tell the story.”

I think many writers start out imitating their favorite authors. I did anyway. But I couldn’t write like Anita Mills or Laura Kinsale or any blend of the two. For me, the key to voice exists in my characters. But some authors have a very distinct style, not dictated by character. Can you imagine Terry Pratchett writing dense political thrillers? (I’d rather like to see that, actually.) But I simply can’t imagine it because that lovely humor pervades everything he writes, even Good Omens with Neil Gaiman. So you must develop some faith in yourself as an artist before you can tell your story the way you want to. And sometimes, you must be honest about your skills and know when an idea outstrips your ability to do it justice. When I was nineteen, I had a dream about an epic fantasy world. It was incredibly detailed, and I knew how it must be executed. But I simply didn’t have the skills to write that book and do it justice. It percolated in the back of my mind until 2002. Eventually, that book became Stone Maiden. I’m quite proud of that book, but if I’d tackled that world and those themes at nineteen, I would’ve made a right mess of it. Only when I trusted in myself to do it right could I move forward.

Recently, I’ve struggled with voice in the romantic suspense I’m working on. I worried so much about this book because it’s so different than anything I’ve ever done. Did the hero work? Is this any good? In the end, I’m still not sure. I’m waiting for feedback and hoping that it works. In the end, that’s all any of us can do: try and believe.

Ann Aguirre is a bestselling, multi-published author with a degree in English Literature. She is a prolific writer, with nine releases planned for 2011 alone. She writes romantic science fiction and urban fantasy under her own name. As Ava Gray, she writes high-octane romances. She also writes "hot paranormal apocalyptic action" with fellow author Carrie Lofty under the pseudonymn Ellen Connor. Follow her on Twitter.

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