Today was filled with much catching up—with work, with my kids, with friends, and my mess of a house. And now here I am catching up with the dear blog!
You know, there's nothing like NOT having something to make you grateful. Last week, I spent most of my time voiceless, and when I did talk it was a painful whisper.
Have you ever tried to mother in whispers?
Not. Easy. Okay, impossible.
My voice, I hadn't realized what a tool it was. A sharp "NO." An excited "Good job!" A gentle "I love you." I was relegated to one flat, quiet tone, if that. My kids didn't listen, honestly. Why? Because inflection and tone are as much as part of communication as the words.
Ah, yes, yes, you may see where I'm going. Voice. More importantly, YOUR voice. I think sometimes we're afraid to use our writing voices, so instead we write in the equivalent of a whisper. But guess what? No one listens when all you do is whisper. Using the full range of your voice is what makes your writing unique and vibrant, different from anything else, something people perk up and listen to.
I am so glad to have my voice back, and I'm gonna use it. A lot.
That happened to me, last year I think. The worst sore throat in the history of sore throats. I couldn't talk at all, all I could do was whisper as you said, and even that was painful. But it must have been harder for you since you've got kids.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm still trying to fully discover my writing voice. In fact I'm still hazy on what a writing voice really is. The most I can gather is that the voice is what makes a story unique. . .Or something :p
Glad you're not sick anymore!!
"I think sometimes we're afraid to use our writing voices, so instead we write in the equivalent of a whisper. But guess what? Using the full range of your voice is what makes your writing unique and vibrant, different from anything else, something people perk up and listen to."
ReplyDeleteLove that!
Glad you're feeling better, too. :)
About eight years ago I lost my voice as a consequence of surgery for a life-threatening condition. While I was and am incredibly grateful to simply be alive and would give up my voice again in a heartbeat if faced with the same choice, there are days where I definitely miss it. It's one of those things that you take for granted until it's gone - rather like breathing (what I was losing before the surgery).
ReplyDeleteI think in writing for so many writers it's maybe not even that they're afraid to use their voice as that they just take for granted that it will be there. And to a certain extent it is, of course - we all have our own personalities and writing styles that come through in our word choices and sentence structures. But I like to think of it as the difference between presenting your English essay on Shakespeare versus presenting a show-and-tell of your amazing-awesome collection from your favourite hobby. If we just take our voices for granted, our story is going to sound like our English essay, and it's going to be hard to engage readers that way. We need to think about how we talk when discussing our passions and try to tap into that. Stop taking our voice for granted and make sure we use it like it's meant to be used.
I can relate to where you were last week, and your kids not listening to you. Hope they are now! :)
Glad you're feeling better. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you're feeling better!
ReplyDeleteI think writers can get so caught up in trying to fit a certain mold or expectation that they forget the best thing about being a writer... making new molds, creating new expectations! It is supposed to be fun, something we enjoy-- well, most of the time ;p
Glad that you're feeling better and can talk again!
ReplyDeleteI think sometimes we're afraid to use our writing voices, so instead we write in the equivalent of a whisper.
THAT. Just--yes. I think it can be certain aspects too--things that I know I need to write, but I'm kind of afraid to put my toes in certain waters and I have to learn to just step in.
Sounds like a good idea to me.
ReplyDeleteI like the observation about writing in a whisper, this is so true.
ReplyDeleteGlad you're feeling better. I managed to lose my voice a couple of years ago.
ReplyDeleteSometimes writers need to speak softly, sometimes we need to shout, other times we need to sing. But under no circumstances should we whisper!
Yay! Glad to hear you have your voice back. :P Love what you said about using the full range of voice and using all those inflections and nuances to express yourself. I'm inspired by how you find writing lessons in everything!
ReplyDeleteGlad you're feeling better. I'm so glad my children are old enough I don't have to raise my voice anymore.
ReplyDeleteGreat analogy. Welcome back. To health and to the blog.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you're feeling better. I've been there.
ReplyDelete@Seabrooke: I can't imagine a lifetime without being able to speak again.
Perfect analogy, I was just telling my mom the other day that my favorite books, which I read over and over and over again have such a strong voice in my head! Funny enough, my two favorite books are self help genre...that's pretty much all I read, one is on decorating and one is on organizing and clearing clutter, but the authors voices are so strong and inspiring on these matters it always gets me excited about embracing the little tasks in life that mean so much!
ReplyDelete