As the days wind down and the exact day when my short story Aasif, being published by Mobius Magazine, draws nearer and nearer, I can’t help but think of what a friend of mine said to me in a conversation last week:
I can’t remember how we got onto the topic, but my friend told me he’d been on my blog and that he thought that I’d become famous. When I said, “Really?”, he said, “Yeah, you write with such confidence. I think you’ll make a great author.”
I was so happy that he’d logged onto my blog (it always warms your heart when you find out a friend’s been on your blog and has thoughts on it, doesn’t it?), that I didn’t think to tell him that the voice I use as a blogger, and the voice I use when telling a story, are two very different things. By voice, of course, I’m talking about writing style, word choice, the sort of things that scholars analyze years after a famous writer’s death and look for in order to make sure it is a genuine work by said author.
I’ve had time to think on my two voices (and that makes me think of split personalities for some reason, but whatever), and here’s what I’ve thought up: my voice for my blog Rami Ungar the Writer is more laid-back. If you were to actually meet me and speak with me, you’d get something like the way I write on my blog when I speak. In my short stories and my novels (which I’m still marketing to publishers and agents, so be patient, all you who want to read them), I write it differently: my tone is more subdued, and I’ll admit, sometimes I think my description of action is a little sloppy. I do think though, that I can describe a scene with a few choice phrases, something that I see as a plus, and I tend to think my character’s thought processes tend to mirror real-life thought processes.
Of course, I’m the only one who’s read my work and my blog, so I’m probably not the best person to ask about my own voice. Perhaps you all, you readers who will find out where and when my short story is published and read it for yourselves, will do a better job telling me about my own voice. Again, just sharing my own opinions and thoughts, so disagree if you wish to.
What’s your opinion on your voice? Do you have one?
And do you have an opinion on mine?
Rami Ungar The Writer 