Danita asked me to fill in for her today. So you get a double dose of boring me this week. Which brings me to the subject of voice.
When Terry Mclaughlin spoke to our group last month she asked me how I changed my voice between the historical and contemporary stories. And to be truthful- I haven't a clue! I told her by word usuage to not appear as stupified as I was by her question. I never think of voice. I don't know what mine is or how it's changed over the years. I believe, however, it has always been strong, and I've had to work on other elements such as plot and sentence structure.
My first romance book (which is horrid) neither one of the characters really had any GMC other than staying alive. The hero was pretty docile. But I was a finalist in a contest with the love scene. My second romance I finaled in a contest and placed third. Cindy Hwang of Berkley requested the full and rejected saying she loved the characters but the plot was bad. And so it went. Either I received high scores in contests or rock bottom scores, and was told that meant I had a strong voice.
But back to the topic. How does one explain their voice? On the blog this is how each blogger comes across to me. Lori - humorous and fun. Eli - sassy. Alice - the voice of reason. Wavy -perky with wisdom. Karen - intellectual. Genene - entertain as well as inform. Danita - catchy and fun. Lisa- optimistic.
And having read Lori, Alice, Karen, and Danita's longer works- that same voice pretty much comes through with some added nuances.
Is this how you hear your voice? Or are you like me and not really sure how to explain your voice? I'd like to hear others takes on the different bloggers voice to see if I even know what I'm looking for in voice. Or is voice an illusive thing that no one can really put a finger on? Just they either like it or they don't.
