It's all about the voice...

I read a few really great articles in my latest Writer's Digest magazine.  Thank you to my darling husband for renewing my subscription.

Food for thought - I have a tendency to be a chameleon.  I can very easily take on attributes of what I am exposed to.  Leave me down south long enough, and you'll notice a subtle drawl.  Put me in a group of strong personalities, and I'll take on the same boisterous attitude.  A group of intellectuals, I'll happily get academic.  Pub night?  Time to tell stories.

Finding my own identity has taken years of time and patience.  This year I feel like I'm really starting to know who I am and what I'm about, and it's starting to show in my writing.  (It's probably thanks to my writing that I even started on this journey of self-discovery.)

I have something to say and a story to tell, and I can't use the writing patterns of Stephenie Meyer, Diana Gabaldon or J.R. Ward.  (Despite how much I love their books!)  Unfortunately, if I just finished reading or listening to any of their work, it starts to come through in my own.  Being aware that I do this is the first step in not letting it happen, and I think I'm really starting to get a handle on my writing voice so I can say what it is I want to say.  With any luck, once said, someone will want to hear it.

So, it is in that frame of mind that I sign off to go and cook dinner, get the kids ready for school and bed, and hopefully, find some time at my keyboard to get Hannah, Garret and Marc a little further along in their story.  If only there was such a thing as a 36 hour day - I might be able to get the laundry and the book done in a reasonable amount of time.

Michelle