PeteyDaddy (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} peteydaddy) wrote,@ 2005-04-13 09:10:00 |
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Finding Your Voice
Instead of actually writing, I often like to read books about writing. Ironic, yes - but I don't think I'm alone. Yesterday, I finished Finding Your Voice by Les Edgerton. I picked up a copy of the book after reading a favorable review of it.
I have mixed feelings about the book. I think that that premise of the book is good, and the tips/advice are helpful, but sometimes I found that the writing itself got in the way. At times I didn't care for Edgerton's writing voice. I think that this is because I found it inconsistent. For a good portion of the book, it is casual, friendly, and informative - a good mix for writing about a potentially dry topic. At other times, I found it too casual. The author goes into "aw, shucks", "dangit", drinkin' buddy mode, which is incredibly distracting to me. At first, I thought that he was doing it on purpose, to illustrate his point about voice. I kept waiting for him to say "I wrote this chapter to illustrate a certain voice", but that didn't happen. After the mid-point of the book, the author's voice gets much more consistent and enjoyable. If the entire book were written in the voice the author used in the last few chapters, I would have been much happier.
The other thing that bothered me was that the author repeated himself several times. He would say something in one chapter, and then repeat himself with slightly different wording in a later chapter. Sometimes, he even used the same quote from a writer or editor. It made me think that the book was a compilation of different essays, as some of the Lawrence Block books are. As an aside, I really enjoy Block's books on writing. I totally enjoy his voice. Edgerton could have trimmed out the redundancies and shaved a few pages off his book to make it tighter.
That's the bad. The good stuff is that this book awakened me to the importance of finding one's own writing voice. Edgerton explains that some of the writing skills that you learn in school are bad news when trying to write something that's is engaging. In school, you learned to write in a "beige" voice, using copious descriptions and perfect grammar. While technically correct, such writing makes for bland reading. Edgerton talks about how certain "writing rules" can impede your writing, and he eases you into breaking them. He understands that changing your writing style is a daunting task, but puts forth a logical and compelling argument for making the leap. He provides several exercises to help you make the transition.
He also makes an excellent case for finding your own voice, instead of trying to copy (consciously or unconsciously) the voice of an established author that you admire. Good advice that I plan to follow.
I had never really thought about what my writing voice was, and this book has made me want to discover my voice.
Despite the aforementioned things that bothered me, I still would recommend this book to aspiring writers that want to learn about voice, and are interested in cultivating their own writing voices.
Instead of actually writing, I often like to read books about writing. Ironic, yes - but I don't think I'm alone. Yesterday, I finished Finding Your Voice by Les Edgerton. I picked up a copy of the book after reading a favorable review of it.
I have mixed feelings about the book. I think that that premise of the book is good, and the tips/advice are helpful, but sometimes I found that the writing itself got in the way. At times I didn't care for Edgerton's writing voice. I think that this is because I found it inconsistent. For a good portion of the book, it is casual, friendly, and informative - a good mix for writing about a potentially dry topic. At other times, I found it too casual. The author goes into "aw, shucks", "dangit", drinkin' buddy mode, which is incredibly distracting to me. At first, I thought that he was doing it on purpose, to illustrate his point about voice. I kept waiting for him to say "I wrote this chapter to illustrate a certain voice", but that didn't happen. After the mid-point of the book, the author's voice gets much more consistent and enjoyable. If the entire book were written in the voice the author used in the last few chapters, I would have been much happier.
The other thing that bothered me was that the author repeated himself several times. He would say something in one chapter, and then repeat himself with slightly different wording in a later chapter. Sometimes, he even used the same quote from a writer or editor. It made me think that the book was a compilation of different essays, as some of the Lawrence Block books are. As an aside, I really enjoy Block's books on writing. I totally enjoy his voice. Edgerton could have trimmed out the redundancies and shaved a few pages off his book to make it tighter.
That's the bad. The good stuff is that this book awakened me to the importance of finding one's own writing voice. Edgerton explains that some of the writing skills that you learn in school are bad news when trying to write something that's is engaging. In school, you learned to write in a "beige" voice, using copious descriptions and perfect grammar. While technically correct, such writing makes for bland reading. Edgerton talks about how certain "writing rules" can impede your writing, and he eases you into breaking them. He understands that changing your writing style is a daunting task, but puts forth a logical and compelling argument for making the leap. He provides several exercises to help you make the transition.
He also makes an excellent case for finding your own voice, instead of trying to copy (consciously or unconsciously) the voice of an established author that you admire. Good advice that I plan to follow.
I had never really thought about what my writing voice was, and this book has made me want to discover my voice.
Despite the aforementioned things that bothered me, I still would recommend this book to aspiring writers that want to learn about voice, and are interested in cultivating their own writing voices.
