A Writer's Voice & Vehicle

From Kate’s Writing Crate…  

            

         

     

Writers need two big things to succeed—a voice and a vehicle.

You will find your voice by writing often. There is no other way. Some people find it earlier than others, but you have to put in the time and effort to see what you have to say and how you say it—not what you think other people want to hear. Believe in yourself!

Vehicles can only be chosen by trial and error. Just because you want to write a novel or a play doesn’t mean you can, but you have to try to find out. Take classes. Read writing books. Whatever it takes to get you writing what you want. Be prepared, you may succeed or fail. Be open, another type of writing might be your vehicle—and you may have more than one.

Filling a notebook a month is a great way to find your voice and your vehicle. Look back and see what ideas you have for projects? Are you good at capturing details? Creating characters? Dialogue? Plotting? Organization? Research? Are you funny? Good at turning a phrase? Do you like interviewing people and working with quotes?

Try writing a short story, essay, article, or book review. As shorter vehicles, you can assess quickly if any of them feels right for you.

Feeling ambitious? Go for a novel, play, screenplay, or non-fiction book. This is all about you so write what you want.

Do not throw away anything you write. It might not appeal to you now, but maybe it will later. You never know.

          In the end, of course, writers need more than just voices and vehicles. They also need talent, craft, good grammar, and good fortune. However, having a strong, unique voice in a perfectly-suited vehicle will take you a long way towards success.

Creating a Writer's Endurance

From Cheryl's Writing Crate

In our household, we are now well into week three of the new school year.  The transition is still ongoing but for the most part, we are settled into our new routines of earlier mornings, full school weeks, and we are definitely experiencing the ebb and flow of all our after-school activities and commitments once again.  Yep--summer is over!

When my kids get busier with their school lives it means I get busier as well.  I'm the PTO President of our middle school as well as the school's newspaper club adviser.  Soccer, football and scouts are in full swing and on top of working full time and enjoying my job as a freelance writer for local magazines I have a house to run and pets who need my TLC.

Writing is always a part of my day in some fashion, but during transition times like back-to-school, it is usually present via list making or hurried assignments that I've been enjoying writing but just never seem to have the amount of time I'd like to have available to complete them without that feeling of "deadline is here--hurry up and finish!"   

That's why when I find articles suggesting ways to strengthen my writing routine, I devour them and refer to them in my hour of need.

One such article is 3 Steps to Creative Endurance:  A Writer's Training Plan written by Tom Meitner.

He shares, "See, when you decide to run a race, there is an implication that you’re going to train. It’s the same for anything else – a girl who wants to play the guitar, or a newlywed that wants to cook dinner. Every one of those activities implies a certain amount of practice to get it down. That means training your body to do something it’s never done before – like running a 5K – or teaching your brain how to do something correctly without thinking – like playing an instrument.

And yet, so many people get frustrated with our writing that we quit – and we never really train for it."    

Check it out and let us know if you have a "training plan" to help you become a writer than can go the distance!

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