The writer’s voice. It’s distinctive. It’s unique. It’s why a favorite author becomes just that, a favorite.
When you go to write a book and say that you want to sound like, let’s say, Hemingway or Jane Austen or John Grisham, then you’ve missed something because sounding exactly like another writer isn’t what people are looking for when they go to read a book. If they wanted to read someone who writes like Jane Austen, guess what they’ll most likely do? They’ll read a Jane Austen book.
However, we all want to be a good writer like these individuals and that’s what to shoot for. We want our novels to be good and to be read for years after the book has been published.
I wonder if William P. Young knew when The Shack was published that it’d sell over a million copies and be so well-known just by the title even if someone had never read the book before? Whether you like the book or not, it has been read by enough people who have really liked it that it keeps being a success. Mr Young has a distinct voice all his own.
When I write my book I have to remember to be true to who I am. If I were to start listening to everyone else and change my book because I listened to every bit of feedback on my book, it’d no longer be my book but a combination of everyone who had contributed to it. At the end of the day, go with your gut. If someone suggests something and you truly don’t feel it fits with your story, then don’t use it. That feedback given is simply someone else’s opinion on how they see something in your book.
Tip: Always be true to who you are as a writer and your book will always reflect your voice in the end.
