Finding your voice as a writer

Just a bit ago, I told you the story about finding a particular painting without knowing the name of the artist or the actual piece. It was possible because of the unique approach and style of the artist. In that post, I suggested that it was a valuable lesson for writers too.

I've also given you three tips for finding your voice in a different post. Because let's face it, this stuff can get hard.

And when you run out of things to write about, I've given you:

But all of this still can feel like it falls short of helping you find your own voice. So here's a few tips I realize I haven't shared. They came up in a conversation this last week and I realized I should share them with you.

Finding Your Voice as a Writer – Four Tips

The first thing to think about is your tone. Some people are serious. Some people are playful. Some people are sarcastic. Not everyone is the same and you have to figure out you. The most important thing here is to realize that if you're trying to be someone else, you'll fail. Just because you read another person's blog and it sounds hip, serious, intense, funny, or dramatic  doesn't mean yours has to match it.

[Tweet “The most important thing here is to realize that if you're trying to be someone else, you'll fail.”]

The second thing to think about is how you learn.  Let's face it, if you're always trying to be helpful, if you're always trying to add value, you can only do it in a way that makes sense to you. Adding value is critical to everything you do on your blog. But you'll only be able to teach in a way that makes sense to you. So if you're not a person who learns from research, don't go reading research to try to explain it to others – even if another blog is doing it. Or don't tell stories if it's not how you work / learn / teach best.

[Tweet “Adding value is critical to everything you do on your blog.”]

The third thing to realize is that it's going to take time. I know you know this. I'm not giving you something new here. I'm simply telling you that if you want to find your voice, you're going to have to invest some serious time to finding what feels right. There is no shortcut to finding your voice. No one else can tell you what it is. You have to write. A decent amount. So that you can find what works for you- from pace, to tone, to approach.

[Tweet “There is no shortcut to finding your voice. No one else can tell you what it is.”]

The fourth tip is to find a corner you can take. You never want to get stuck staring at a blank screen wondering what to write about. Because you can't build an audience when every day you're writing a new rant about some new topic. After all, no one goes to google and starts a search with: “a rant on …” So find a topic that you can dig into and provide useful tips. Find a topic that interests you and aligns with the ways you want to help others.

[Tweet “Because you can't build an audience when every day you're writing a new rant about some new topic”]

Did you notice the undisclosed fifth tip?

What you'll notice in all of that is that you want, no matter what kind of voice you'll have as a writer, to be helpful. To add value.

That can come in a variety of shares and sizes.

  • Teaching
  • Encouraging
  • Challenging
  • Informing
  • Sharing
  • Revealing

But it's always still motivated by trying to be helpful. By trying to share some insight and some practical ways for others to learn and grow.

Because when you're helping others, you're not just finding your voice, you're creating a voice others want to hear.

[Tweet “Because when you're helping others, you're not just finding your voice, you're creating a voice others want to hear.”]