SocialMediaBust

The concept of voice in writing is actually fairly simple. Do you express yourself in a way that readers can distinguish your writing from that of the writing of other people. Your voice(s) are what set you apart from everyone else, and developing that voice is one of the toughest things. You can't do it by copying others, but only by writing, writing and writing some more, AND following both your guts and your brain.

Voice is easiest to understand and experience in fiction. For example, I just finished a book by James Lee Burke, who writes in such a unique and identifiable way that I would probably recognize his work on as little as a paragraph or two. Kurt Vonnegut has a voice, which went beyond just writing style, and once again, you could identify his work quickly.

You probably can think of writers who have that distinct voice, particularly in fiction. Try thinking about non-fiction writers that have strong voices?

Just a short piece here, but there are many reasons why people will return to read what you write, whether it's on a blog, in a magazine, or in a book, and that is that you stand out somehow. Sure you can stand out by being particularly knowledgable, or impressive but the thing that operates below the surface is whether your readers can "hear" your voice and connect, and identify with it.

If they do, they'll be back. If not, not so much.

So, what are you hanging around here for. Go write something and practice your voice! Or leave a comment. That's writing too.

I see there's some semi-organized attempts to have me removed from Twitter, so I thought I'd share with readers, one of the criteria I use to assess whether I'm doing the job I've chosen to do as a columnist/online writer. That, by the way, is a different role than the one I typically play in my books, and that why the writing in my books is so much more "peaceful" than what I do as a columnist.

It's pretty simple, really. The more ignorant, simple minded people become angry at me, the more I know I'm doing my job. Now, on the other hand, if really smart people get angry with me, then I'm probably not doing my job, and of course I get to judge these things, but I try to make a reasonable assessment based on each person's contributions and whether they show any depth of thinking.

Mostly, on social media, and particularly on Twitter, they don't. Sadly, although Twitter may not make people stupid, the 140 character limit makes people look stupid and simple-minded.

I have another criteria which connects up with this. If you post something, and I make factual comments on it and you engage me, then we're good. Really good. If you blow up, and simply repeat yourself, well, guess what? You fall into the "hope they get really mad at me" category.

It's not that I enjoy having people mad at me. I don't. I have chosen to stand against the arrogance of ignorance and the people who refuse to be informed by facts, and would prefer to remain ignorant. If that's you, I hope you can't stand me.

If you think that you can post simple minded, ignorant things and never ever be challenged by facts, I hope you can't stand me. Or, maybe realize you shouldn't run from information you can learn from.

If you think that dialogue and learning is all about retweeting platitudes, the quotes of other people, I hope you cant' stand me.

There are lots of you out there, and you get along fine, hangin together and that's good. But somewhere there has to be a few of me, to expose some of the smug confidence in limited thinking and lazy knowledge gathering.

It's kind of interesting. Today I had too sets of interactions, one with @katenasser and one with John @hornbeck, both involving my disputing their rather simplistic tweets about customer service. In terms of abruptness or rudeness of my responses, if you prefer that term, probably about equal.

One person responds with mindless repeating of her point, and doesn't even bother to address the facts I presented in a rather detailed post. Not a single bit of interest, even. John, however, suggested maybe we could Skype today and I suggested we interact on the question on my Customer Service Blog. John did an outstanding job of presenting a logical thoughtful argument about his position and we are currently having an excellent conversation.

One approach leads to learning (for both of us). THe other lead to...I don't know. In any event I'm glad that John hung in and engaged, and I'm disappointed that Kate, who talks all the time about engagement, either can't or won't.

So, I've done my job both ways. John is clearly a very bright guy, more knowledgable on a number of important topics than I am, and someone I can learn from, and maybe he'll learn something from me.

Kate, I hope you hate my guts, because when people like you start to like me, it's time to retire.

Ok. So that's one kind of writing. There are many other kinds, and you need to develop your "voice" for each kind of writing you dive into, whether it be the objective journalist role, advocate role, regardless of publishing method.

I've never felt like I simply HAD to write. Except now. I don't know if it's a sign of maturing as a writer, or maturing into a professional writer, or a sign of dementia and obsessive-compulsive disorder, but I suspect the later. Be that as it may, it's an odd feeling.

Mornings I stagger out of bad having slept badly because of phrases for books that I need to write. Coffee and words are preferabl companions. Which is good up to a point. It's Juyl 25th, and so far, I've written, edited and completed FIVE books, in addition to the flotsam and jetsam of writing on blogs and social media. That's ahead of schedule, since I was planning to do six books this year.

My summer is littered with words, like sand crabs on a beach, and there's noxious weeds growing between the cracks of the paving stones on the driveway.

What to do? Take a forced holiday? Or follow the gut feelings and forge ahead, workoholic like. Have you been here? Share your thoughts.

Writing professionally is different than writing for fun or oneself, and that's a major difference between writing for a blog without payment, and writing a book or article that is "consumed" or purchased by a publication with an editor. On YOUR blog you do what you want. When you work professionally, you are no longer "writing for you", but writing for a) your audience, and b) your editor.

It is, bottom line, a job.

Get used to it if you aspire to professional writer status.

I'm currently working on what amounts to my fourth revised book in this calendar year as my publishers wanted to release second editions. It's a challenge. Sometimes you write a book and it's simply just about as good as it's ever going to be. Revising in any cases, is tedious, because you are revisting something you've likely left behind, or lost interest in. Basically you put yourself in the seat of the editor and end up tweaking, fixing, and hopefully improving, but it's often hard to know if your revisions make it better, or worse. Sometimes your earlier attempts ARE better.

Of course it's not always that way. Sometimes you do have something new and important to say, and sometimes your interest in the topic hasn't flagged. Then it's good.

But bottom line, none of this matters. Writing isn't a very romantic process except for those that don't do it. it may be fun and satisfying, but after you've proof read a few of your 200+ page manuscripts (for the 10th time each), your book or project, which started as as your shiny new bride, ends up looking like a broken down two-bit whore on the corner of Main and YourTown.

Still you court her. It's your job.