Craft Chat Write Club South (Northerners also Welcome) - Voice

[Aethalope]

Hello!

This week we have an exercise based on a suggestion from @RK Wallis. It's quick and interesting, not too much writing involved. Both are taken from James Scott Bell’s VOICE: The Secret Power of Great Writing (Bell on Writing), which seems like an excellent work on developing a unique voice.

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Vocal Deconstruction and Sentence Swap

Part 1: Have a look through your own work and pick out a couple of sentences that feel most like you’re embodying your voice. Deconstruct those sentences. Why do you think they’re the most you? What literary devices did you use?

Part 2: Take the opening sentence* from one your favourite books and edit it. Can you make the sentence sound like your voice? Take another opening sentence** from a different book, can you make this opening sound like the voice of the first author?

*I reckon it doesn’t have to be the opening sentence, so let’s open it to any sentence that appeals to you.
**ditto

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Feel free to hop in and join us! We'll open a private thread to share what we wrote, so let me know and I'll count you in. We'll have a Zoom meeting at Huddle South time (Wednesday) to discuss the exercise, its outcomes and its challenges. Hope to see you then!

Laura

 

[Sedayne]

Count me in, Laura.
I love the idea of this exercise.

 

[LJ Beck]

Can I please be added to the thread? If I can join I will! Thanks.

 

[wrightstuff]

I'll be there.

 

[RK Wallis]

I'm sorry, I can't. Sounds fun. My fingers can't keep up with my ideas for this book. 60% complete now, 1400 words today, and today isn't over.

 

[Aethalope]

I'm sorry, I can't. Sounds fun. My fingers can't keep up with my ideas for this book. 60% complete now, 1400 words today, and today isn't over.

That's absolutely awesome! Full speed ahead

 

[wrightstuff]

Are we starting at the later time? Please say yes...

 

[Sedayne]

If it's later, I'll have to bow out. But you can discuss my attempt in my absence as I've already posted it.

 

[Aethalope]

Normal time for rhe start, but I am happy to hang around for longer

 

[wrightstuff]

It's OK, I'll be there, but may be a bit rushed.

 

[Pamela Jo]

I'm sorry, I can't. Sounds fun. My fingers can't keep up with my ideas for this book. 60% complete now, 1400 words today, and today isn't over.

How wonderful. Go little fingers, fly like the wind.

I would like to try. I've been rewriting so long something new sounds fun.

 

[wrightstuff]

This was too much fun - I spent way too much time on it!

Post here or is there a link?

 

[RK Wallis]

How wonderful. Go little fingers, fly like the wind.

I would like to try. I've been rewriting so long something new sounds fun.

To keep moving forward is so liberating...and it's advice from Pete's Huddle I got years and years ago. Took his advice to heart and haven't looked back

 

[tyes]

Sorry all - love to join but a busy two weeks of work. Should reset after that. I really like the excercise though, so I'll try to do that in my own time. Even thinking about the things I have written that are better representations of my voice is a helpful excercise, since i find that it is easier to write the flashy, voicy line than the necessary narrative glue that holds the writing together.

 

[Aethalope]

Sorry all - love to join but a busy two weeks of work. Should reset after that. I really like the excercise though, so I'll try to do that in my own time. Even thinking about the things I have written that are better representations of my voice is a helpful excercise, since i find that it is easier to write the the flashy, voicy line than the necessary narrative glue that holds the writing together.

That's a great idea! I'll add ypu to the thread in case you want to share your results or check out ours.

 

[LJ Beck]

Hi @Aethalope - will you pop the link here or on the other thread when it's time? Tnx!

 

[Aethalope]

Will do, just making a cup of tea

 

[LJ Beck]

All good! I'm just finishing up reading ch 4 of Voidhold Zero! So good!!

 

[Aethalope]

Here's the link:

Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting

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[Pamela Jo]

Sorry I missed it. I'm still on Tuesday. I swear life has gone fast forward and left me behind.

 

[LJ Beck]

Sorry I missed it. I'm still on Tuesday. I swear life has gone fast forward and left me behind.

We missed you.

 

[wrightstuff]

That was a great exercise and an enjooyable session. Thank you all.