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Whether we’re trying to network, sell books, share expertise, or simply connect with other writers and readers, many fiction writers turn to blogging. It’s a natural move. We write—it’s what we do. (Anyone else read that in the GEICO voice?) But fiction writers face an unexpected challenge when it comes to blogging: writing in our own voice.
When I first began posting to this lovely blog you see before you, I was extremely uncomfortable. I was so used to writing as my characters, I didn’t know how to write with my own voice. And it absolutely showed. The posts were dry and boring. (I’ve deleted the worst of those old blog posts, so don’t go hunting!)
Learning how to share my voice didn’t come in an aha moment. I’m still learning and becoming comfortable expressing myself with my own brand of sarcastic optimism. And let me tell you a secret: Your readers will notice. My most popular blog posts are the ones where I was being myself. Like I said, this is something I’m still working on. When we spend so much time immersed in others’ realities, it’s difficult to open up and speak as ourselves, rather than as our characters. But once we do, we’re able to create real connections with our readers—because they’re seeing the real us. The more honest I am in my writing on this blog, the more comfortable I feel in my own skin. I learn to understand who I am and be grateful for the little quirks that make up my personality. And YouTubing has done that to an even greater degree. I never thought I could start a YouTube channel, because I didn’t think I could speak to a camera and be that vulnerable. But with every vlog I share, I become more comfortable seeing myself from an outsider’s perspective. It all comes down to those two words we’ve heard over and over since elementary school: Be yourself. Be comfortable writing with your own voice. We’d all love to hear it.
9 Comments
Daniel Nathan
2/28/2017 03:57:04 am
Great post Victoria. 3/19/2017 10:46:05 am
When I started my blog, I was doing it to gain readership for a future sci-fi novel. Then, I realized I liked blogging. And, I noticed my fiction started to take the backburner. Now, I'm just trying to balance both the non-fiction writing and the fiction writing. What helps is as you say writing your blog posts in your own voice. Great article, thanks for writing this :D What a relevant and timely post. I am now developing my fiction writer's voice in relation to the other aspects I bring to my brand as a visual creative. This is no easy feat. In my case, voice and vision are equally important. Taking that first step and hitting the "publish" button is key to the discovery process. 6/12/2017 07:24:36 pm
I'm starting to loosen up in my blog and write about things that I find interesting. It's all well and good to write about writing advice, but once I wrote what I wanted to say about that, there seemed to be no reason to repeat myself. Still, I keep reading that a blog should have focus and I wonder if scattering my ideas is a good idea.
Great post, Victoria! 1/19/2018 12:30:55 pm
Thanks for sharing this! Since I finished my novel, I've been sinking back into my blog and it is harder than I thought. You're right - it's so hard to write in my own voice and not through the filter of a character. It's just going to be an exercise in finding out how I "sound" again and being okay with that! Leave a Reply. |
Victoria GriffinAuthor. Editor. 
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