VOICE

Voice is important, it defines you, makes you stand out and identifies who you are as a writer.

For those of you who don't know what I mean by 'voice' or are confused as to what the term means, 'voice' is the writers' style, the quality that makes their writing unique.

A few weeks ago a writer I know sent me their latest treatment, asking me for my opinion. The treatment was fantastic, it sang from the page with a frenetic, sweaty energy that perfectly matched the subject matter. It was one of the most powerful treatments I have ever read. And it got me thinking about my own voice and how, a few years ago, I lost it.

Your writers' 'voice' takes time to develop and that means a lot of writing. It can take months, even years to perfect, but when you have it, it really elevates your writing. I wrote a lot of crap to start with but as my confidence grew so did my writing and I found my voice while writing my script FAITH. It's no coincidence the script won an award and is still used to get me through a lot of doors.

As I began to make a name for myself and my blog audience grew, screenwriting authors and their publishers started to send me their latest screenwriting books for review. I thought it was great, getting to read all these fantastic screenwriting books for free and learning new, relatable skills. However, after time I found all those books had a negative impact on my writing. I started to overthink what I was creating, agonising over structure, plot, and character while ignoring my instincts. It was those instincts that served me well over the years and helped to develop my voice.

My writing became formulaic and bland and even I hate some of the scripts I wrote during that period. I had to learn to trust myself again, to invest in the process and to re-find my voice. Once I did, I quickly noticed the difference, people were once again taking note of my work and asking for samples.

Work hard at finding your voice, play with your writing style, experiment often and above all trust your instincts. Try not to get bogged down in the technical aspects of writing, let the words flow and have fun with them.

Happy writing!