For those of you who read this and are not writers, it may sound kinda eerie. No, I’m not talking about my lunacy and my split personalities/schizophrenia….. although they are annoying at times.

This is something different, although maybe only because they’re a little more creative. :s  We all have those voices that speak to us when something is wrong or when someone/something is annoying us. As a writer, those voices are even more important– they are vital to writing the story.

The voice can be the overall tone of the story, or each distinct individual character. It’s important each character have their own voice, while the overall voice of the story is something else entirely.  If you’re reading a novel for entertainment, these aspects probably won’t even be noticable to you–you’ll be swept away by them if they’re done well. But as writers when we read novels, we read in two different ways: First, for entertainment; Second, for craftsmanship. Writers notice things in novels that typical readers won’t. Quite simply, because we know exactly all the work it takes to make it seamless.

It’s a lot harder than you may think.

I’ve had beta readers–who weren’t writers–read my work and find very little wrong with it. Then, I’ve had writer betas who’ve picked the same stories to pieces for all that was wrong with them. Um …. I think I’m digressing ….. lol

The voices. Yeah, that’s it. Anyway, artists and writers simply have to listen to their inner voices. It can be the inner voice that whispers a genius idea, or one that tells you to keep on keepin’ on even though you just received another rejection. It could be the voice telling you not to make the change your critique partner suggested. Or it could be the inner voice of your character telling  you exactly how to write your story.

It’s my theory, that these inner voices make up our indivdual style, and thus, the overall voice of each story we write. Just as if we were trudging down a lonely back alley in order to make a short cut as we’re out for our morning walk/jog/shopping trip ( fill in blank … whatever), that little voice starts nagging us to turn around, something doesn’t feel right. Call it instinct, intuition, what have you. But it’s the same when you’re writing. We have to learn to trust the voices. Keep an open mind. They’re there for a reason.

A lot of my most recent story, Coffee & Donuts, was written that way. I’d be doing laundry, or washing dishes, or cleaning the kids’ room, and suddenly a voice would pop in my head and tell me what needed to happen next, or which character needed to make it happen. Sometimes, as writers, we strain too hard to hear the voices, when if you take a quick breather and clear your mind, focus on other things, they sneak up and speak to you.

Keep an ear out for your inner voice. You don’t have to be a writer to need them. They are part of who we are as human beings.

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