Voice in writing is a topic I didn’t know I’d become so invested in, particularly over the the last few months. I didn’t even know it was a thing that was studied in writing theory until I took my Writing Theory & Practice course (for which this lovely project you are currently viewing has been made). In the past, I thought it was a thing writers just… did. Putting their own spin, their own personality, into their work. So… that’s what I just… did.
I’ve been told that I’m good at it (I’m really really trying not to like, toot my own horn here, really), and I suppose it’s because I try not to have a filter between my head and the page. I write how I speak, how I think--grammar be damned, in certain circumstances--and… apparently it comes out as… genuine? Colorful? Personable? I dunno, I can’t judge my own writing accurately. I don’t think anyone can.
So, anyway, it saddens me when I read theoretic works discussing past discourse about voice. How a person’s “voice” when they write is not actually them. How it goes through societal filters, pandering to an audience. But… should that make a person’s words any less genuine? The environmental factors? Who’s to say that the Me writing for my graduate professors is not the same Me writing Twitter posts or blog posts? Surely, the language is different, but both are still considered “my voice.”
A quote from Peter Elbow from one of our readings, “Voices in Writing,” really stuck with me regarding the concept of voice, and the fear we have about singing our notes, to use Elbow’s language.
“In this metaphorical world, then, even if we figure out the system, we are stuck. If we want to be heard we are limited to our single note. If we want to sing other notes, we will not be heard. And yet, if we are brave and persistent enough to sing our note at length–to develop our capacity for resonance–gradually we will be able to ‘sing ourselves in’: to get resonance first into one or more frequencies and then more. Finally, we will be able to sing whatever note we want to sing, even to sing whatever note others want to hear, and to make every note resound with rich power.” (Peter Elbow, Power 282)
I understand the need for separating the academic voice from the informal voice, the need to have more than one voice in writing. What I don’t understand is the believe that either are automatically viewed as an act. I could be wrong. There are probably people out there who fake it ‘til they make it, but like… is that “fake” voice still not undoubtedly theirs?
Oof, okay, that’s getting a little deep, even for me. Let’s tone it down.
A speech at the UN summit a few months back brought the phrase “Speak Yourself” to the world’s attention, to my attention. The speaker wants the world’s youth to tell their stories for everyone to hear.
I want the same. Or similar, at least. I want to hear the world’s voices. As imperfect, ungrammatical, colloquial, and beautiful as all of them are.
So, I have a little prompt for the world:
Please pick a topic. Something you’re passionate about and could go on and on about. I want you to record yourself speaking about this topic for a minute or two. Don’t worry about it making sense. Stream of consciousness is fine. Then, afterwards, transcribe your little rant. Grammar mistakes, colloquialisms, filler words/sounds and all. Write it down exactly as you spoke it. A complete transcription.
See how your voice sounds. Hear how it looks. It’s uniquely yours and nobody can completely take it from you. It holds your personality and soul, (particularly in a rant about something you’re passionate about). Here’s an example (albeit not a great one).
Transcription:
Alright so I’m gonna rant about owls because, all of a sudden, there’s just an owl on my TV, and that’s-- I mean-- I like owls anyway, so… Anyway, um… owls, right. So. I’ve liked this… wise… whatever animal for… years? Years. Many many years, prob-- ah, it was probably because of Harry Potter. Like, back in the day, when I was like in first grade, I got into Harry Potter and Hedwig was, and still is, the least problematic character in that entire movie series [Author’s note: and book series], but that’s not the point. Owls are just adorable? Honestly? And I love them? And… just, like, I dunno. This is a really weird rant. But when, um, like when they’re flying and stuff they just look so majestic and wise and everything. But y’know what? I heard that they’re actually not very smart, which like, makes me kind of sad. But like… Y’know what? It’s okay. You don’t have to have like, a million brain cells to like… be cool [Author’s note: I am a true wordsmith, wowie]. That’s weird to say. [Author’s note: yes] Anyway, um, so yeah, I have like a million owl plushies in my room, and I just… there-- there-- is-- it-- it’s become my spirit animal. I’m gonna be real. Yeah.
Happy ranting!
Let's Play a Game! Voice and Writing by Kaveena Bullock
Directions: (For any age group. K-12 or college)
Provide a short paragraph to your students, then tell them to write it in their voice. It could be their dialect, how they speak with your friends, how they speak at home, or how they write in their personal journal. Then, write the same paragraph in a voice that they feel is their “academic” voice, a voice that is acceptable in a classroom setting. The answer these questions:
1.What differences do you see?
2.Did you feel comfortable writing the paragraph in your own voice?
3.Did you feel comfortable writing the paragraph in your academic voice?
4. Do you wish you could write in your own voice more?
5. Finally, do you feel as if you, as a student, are offered many opportunities in the classroom to write in your own voice? Should you be allowed those opportunities? And do you think that will help or hurt your academic writing?
Can You Spot The Difference- Darline Ceus
Academic Voice
- polished (free of errors)
- most likely written for teacher approval or graded assignment
- Formal
Personal Voice
- authentic/ genuine
- readers experience the voice of
- writing may be unintelligible to readers ( ie: slang, other forms of dialect)
- May sometime be informal
Class Exercise: Ask students to write something very brief but subjective (ex. your feelings on education system) anonymously. Then, scramble the papers and randomly hand them back. The objective is figuring out the writer. This could potentially allow the students to observe and distinguish voice in writing.
The concept of this particular assignment occurred to me when we were examining Voice in Writing article by Peter Elbow. I haven’t had the chance to conduct it in class but I do believe it is possible to do so with positive results. The sort of exercise could be seen as a game by the students and motivate them to write in a distinguishable way as part of it. Feel free to give it a try.