The Writer's Voice
Before the first manuscript draft is done.
Before the plot twists and turns.
Before feedback and revisions.
Believe in your writing first.
A writer is the torch bearer of stories. The flames are the characters. The idea is the match. The voice is the handle you hold high. If you don’t feel that spark, your readers won’t either (at least in the beginning, before your eyeballs hurt from revisions).
How do you hold onto voice without compromising but recognize changes might be needed?
The voice is your story’s personality. The eyes and ears and heart of the characters. When someone says they didn’t connect with the voice the knee-jerk reaction is to strip down the story to make sure you’re getting it ‘right.’ But not so fast. Of all the craft changes, voice is the hardest. It’s you. You picked to create these characters with all their flawed humanness.
It’s all subjective, beloved writer. Especially the voice. Something you don’t have much control over. The truth is not everyone will like the voice. When someone dumps cold water on the flames, step back and consider tweaking first before throwing wet paper at the story.
Do your characters all sound and act the same?
Do they act/talk like they’re from a cookie cutter?
Are their attitudes conveying empty dialogue?
Is the POV the right choice?
Experiment with tone and mood
How can you shed cliches?
Are your characters consistent?
Small changes in the voice often provide a ripple effect in a good way. Your writing will change, your writing will take new paths, but the essence of a voice stays constant when grounded in universal things we experience as humans like love, hate, loss, life.
Ease up on your inner critic. Give yourself credit. And evolve with each new project. Like graduation, you didn’t start out writing the perfect novel, you started with your voice. Hold onto it. I’m especially talking to you, the 2026 cohort graduating from Drexel’s MFA in Creative Writing program.
If you haven’t already, check out Vol. 11 Paper Dragon Lit Magazine
Sincerely,
Emily Duvall
Paper Dragon Newsletter Director