The Voice

Good morning one and all.

Once again I will say nothing about the .... (I'm sure everyone living here knows exactly what I am not referring to.)

OK, that out of the way it's The Voice day. I've talked about the writer's voice before and discussed how and why it matures and also how the voice evolves and avoids becoming stagnant.

Today I am going to talk about expanding the voice. How does a writer accomplish that?

We usually write about things we know or things we've experienced at least to a certain degree. So how do we expand the voice into a realm that is unfamiliar or new?

I have found that the best way to do it is to just jump in. Thinking too hard about a new subject or tone or genre can actually give you writer's chaos (this is my term for that sinking belly fear that hits you when you feel very out of your comfort zone).

It is rare that an experienced writer cannot expand onto new ground.

I'm not saying it doesn't take a lot of hard work and determination and occasional moments of hair-pulling (at moments like that, to avoid going bald, I take deep breaths and reconnect with my inner-body, it usually works), but if you've been writing for a while you should have that inner resolve to master whatever is being asked of you.

And let's face it if you've gotta eat, you master it. At least for that one contract. You may never do that particular type of project again, but stepping out of your comfort zone is good for your development as a writer. Why?

Well, how do you know if something comes naturally if something else doesn't? You need to have a frame of reference, a comparison as it were.

We all have certain projects that feel so close to our heart. Why? Because they come from our inner-voice most likely. But, having a new and difficult challenge strengthens and hones all of your writing in ways you can't imagine until you've done it.

So once and a while do something that's just not you, or at least not you yet. You may be really surprised to find out that you love it for all sorts of different reason that you would never have expected. And if you don't end up loving it, well who really cares, right? At least you gave it a try.

Wayne Gretzky comes back to me here, "You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take."

And so does Erica Jong, "Everyone has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow talent to the dark place where it leads."

So why not walk down that dark tunnel? It could lead to a vast light that opens many doors that you hadn't even realized were there!