Finding Your Voice

Every writer wants to find their voice and be heard through their writing. Although you might not be a prize winning author you are "selling your unique perspective on life, your unique collection of beliefs, fears, hopes and dreams, your memories of childhood tribulation and triumphs and adult achievements and failures . . . your universe."

One way of achieving that is showing something the audience can not get from anywhere else, and the only thing in the universe that readers cannot get anywhere but from you is you.
Your own unique style is your voice through theme, plus personal observations, plus passion, plus belief, plus desire. Your voice and all of these things listed previous can be a powerful, frightening, and naked experience. You need to put yourself out there and gain feedback, your voice is your future in writing and the only way you can strengthen it

1. Read everything-the more you read, the more you will understand and can use all the different techniques and styles you encounter and learn about.

2. Write everything-try to write all different styles to learn which one fits out best, whats are your likes, what are you dislikes, and how you can transform yourself as a writer.

3. Imitate good writers- try to do short exercises where you sit down and not only copy the style of your favorite writers, but also some of their themes and passions. Get as much into their heads as you can.

4. Make lists-create one word lists of a number of different things to find that words that seem most passionate to you that you can use in your own writing. Frustrating things, surprising things, emotional, and all the good and bad. Do not look in the dictionary, pick words that have meaning to you personally as a writer.

5. Just get it on the page-When you are finding your voice, you are going to be doing a lot of experimenting. Some of what you write is going to be really bad and some of it will shock you with how good or a writer you really are. But the only way you will get any of the "good stuff " out is if you allow yourself to put whatever comes into your head down on the page.

The musical lyric that best distincts these qualities and speaks in their own voice is Rihanna through her song "Rude Boy". As you read this, pick through the different parts that you like and do not like. What is it about them that makes you feel that way? Does she use her own voice through slang? What type of words do they use, is it personal, and/or is it emotional? Pick it apart and then question your own findings. It will help you become a much stronger and more appreciative writer.

Come here, rude boy, boy; can you get it up?
Come here rude boy, boy; is your big enough?
Take it, take it baby, baby Take it, take it;
love me, love me
Tonight I'ma let you be the captain
Tonight I'ma let you do your thing, yeah
Tonight I'ma let you be a rider
Giddy-up, giddy-up, giddy-up babe
Tonight I'ma let it be fire
Tonight I'ma let you take me higher
Tonight, baby, we could get it on, yeah,
we could get it on, yeah

Do you like it?
Boy, I want, want, want whatchu want, want, want
Give it to me, baby like boom, boom, boom
What I want, want, want is what you want, want, want
Nah nah-ah

Come here, rude boy, boy, can you get it up?
Come here, rude boy, boy, is you big enough?
Take it, take it, baby, baby, take it, take it,
love me, love me

Tonight I'ma give it to ya harder
Tonight I'ma turn ya body out
Relax; let me do it how I wanna
If you got it I need it and I'ma put it down
Buckle up; I'ma give it to ya stronger
Heads up; we could go a little longer
Tonight I'ma get a little crazy, get a little crazy, baby
Do you like it?

Boy, I want, want, want whatchu want, want, want
Give it to me, baby like boom, boom, boom
What I want, want, want is what you want, want, want
Nah nah-ah

Come here, rude boy, boy can you get it up?
Come here rude boy, boy is your big enough?
Take it, take it, baby, baby, take it, take it,
love me, love me
I like the way you touch me there
I like the way you pull my hair
Babe, if I don't feel it I ain't faking, no, no
I like when you tell me 'kiss you here'
I like when you tell me 'move it there'
So get it up; time to get it up: you say you a rude boy:
show me what you got now
Come here right now

Take it, take it, baby, baby, take it,
take it, love me, love me

Come here, rude boy, boy, can you get it up?
Come here, rude boy, boy, is you big enough?
Take it, take it, baby, baby, take it, take it,
love me, love me