When I first became serious about being published, I attended meetings and traveled to conferences. I took workshops, met wonderful people, and scheduled appointments with editors and agents. At my first national writer’s conference, I pitched to an editor of a well-known publishing house who said she was intrigued by my story and asked me to send her my full manuscript. I was so excited that when I got home, I polished it and sent it out right away.

A few months later, I received a letter from her. Dear Laura, it said. I want you to know that I read your entire story. You have a beautiful voice, and while your premise is promising, it is not a good match for what we are looking for …

Being green and uneducated about the publisher’s line, I did not know that my story breached several of their specific guidelines, like premarital sex and touching below the shoulders – you get the idea.

Although it was a rejection letter, I was thrilled. Wow, she’d read my entire story and thought my premise was promising, but what intrigued me the most was the mention of my “beautiful voice”. I had a beautiful voice? Who knew? But what the heck was my voice?

Since I am inquisitive and have to know everything, I asked several friends in my Chapter and even my critique partner at the time who scratched her head and told me to let her know when I found out. After a little research, I found that most definitions of a writer’s voice state that it is the literary term used to describe the individual writing style of an author. Voice is considered to be the combination of a writer’s use of syntax, diction, punctuation, character development, dialogue, etc.

I believe that a writer’s voice is the essence of his/her words. It is the unique quality or style of how he or she delivers their story to the page. When I think of voice, I think of meter, flavor, embodiment, and style – all the ingredients that make your words your own.

Once I discovered I had a voice, it was hard for me to learn to discern it. I only know that when I write, the words sound right. They flow from me to the page in a way that only I can deliver them, but that’s not to say they are perfect –  in fact they are far far from it.

Learning to edit my work with others was and still is a challenge. I have to be careful not to lose my voice or water it down while working with my critique partners. I write historicals, and sometimes my work flirts on the edge of being more purple than my gutsy, comedic, paranormal, romance writing critique partners would like.

While they have taught me to set aside my crown as the Queen of Redundancy, and to drop the leash for walking the dog, I too have had to remind them that the William Shatner method of bad dialogue just…doesn’t…cut…the…mustard.

I appreciate my critique partners for their honesty and earnest desire to help me deliver a better story. However, knowing the difference between what will make our writing stronger and what might compromise our unique styles is a struggle.

Understanding your voice is key when you work with others. I recommend taking some time to look at your own words. Ask yourself what stands out about your work, then ask others to read it and describe what they believe your voice is.

Remember your style is unique to you, and if you haven’t already – Take time to discover your voice.

When I first started writing, I wrote for the love of my story. I couldn’t wait to get to my keyboard after a long day and put all that I envisioned down on the page. I created wonderful places and exotic scenes with strong, handsome heroes, and beautiful, intelligent heroines. I looked forward to experiencing all of their exploits, feeling their emotions as if they were my own. Their adventures became my adventures.  I hoarded them like forbidden chocolates or special treasures I had hidden away.

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Recently, this blog featured several postings about all of those little things in life that seem to get in the way of us finding time to write. It made me think back to a time in my life when I desperately needed to write.

I have always written because I love a good story. Not surprisingly, my siblings are avid readers and one of them writes as well. From the stories our parents read to us as children, to the wonderful stories we used to make up with one another, we learned we could create worlds that had magic and marvels, strange animals, and characters we could relate to. A few years ago, I started writing as a way of escaping – even if it was only for a little while.

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I have a muse named Trix (or Trixie as I call her when she is being particularly difficult, because I know it irritates her). She only recently emerged from a three week pout after Nationals, because I would not let her get her own room at the Swan and Dolphin. She had some grand idea that she was going to throw a bash in Orlando, and invite all her friends; Paragraph Pixies, Spelling Sprites, Word Fairies – they’re the worst. They keep Graffiti Gremlins as pets, and we all know how destructive they can be.

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