Finding My Writing Voice
Confusion is not my favorite word right now, but it definitely describes what I feel when I sit down and try to write. I stare at the white screen and raise my finger tips, slightly resting them on the key pads--and then everything goes wrong.
As soon as I start to type, I start to edit, omit, add, and try to achieve something that seems impossible. Even if I know my goal for the piece, I still start to feel a bit confused about how I am relating my ideas to my readers. Also figuring out who my reader is, is a whole other story. Sometimes I think, oh my readers won't know what that is, so I take it out. And then when I work shop, I am told it is needed. Even though this may be a bit vague, does anyone have any advice as to how I can write with out feeling confused about audience? And also, how can I relate my ideas without confusing my readers? Most of the time I am not confused about the subject itself, it's just how to relate it so that my readers can understand it the way I do. Any suggestions?
As soon as I start to type, I start to edit, omit, add, and try to achieve something that seems impossible. Even if I know my goal for the piece, I still start to feel a bit confused about how I am relating my ideas to my readers. Also figuring out who my reader is, is a whole other story. Sometimes I think, oh my readers won't know what that is, so I take it out. And then when I work shop, I am told it is needed. Even though this may be a bit vague, does anyone have any advice as to how I can write with out feeling confused about audience? And also, how can I relate my ideas without confusing my readers? Most of the time I am not confused about the subject itself, it's just how to relate it so that my readers can understand it the way I do. Any suggestions?
Maybe look to Lori Jakiela as a model. I think that she does a really good job of this in her descriptions of Marlo Thomas in That Girl. I'd never even heard of the show, but I get what it was and what the significance of it was for her.
ReplyDeletetwo things:
ReplyDeleteone - thanks for this comment, it made me think about it for my own writing. maybe if we imagine we are describing it to someone lacking in that sense, someone blind, or
deaf. or a child with no reference point?
and two - i have seen you write in a way that your "readers can understand it the way (you) do".
Remember this: "You close your eyes, but you can hear them even more. Opening your eyes you see the ants climbing on your shoes. You brush some away and there are more. You brush again, but there are more. You are retreating into the tangled bushes and your hand grabs air. The river bank isn’t the only thing that is steep. You can hear your heart as you stare at the ants crawling over everything in sight: the ground, the building, and you.
“Sorry miss! Sorry miss!” Your tour guide ..."
i think you made something unbelievable come alive for, at least, this reader.
J
I have a hard time with this too, this question of audience and what people will or won't understand. One thing I've discovered though, is that I am less honest about my experiences and feelings if I try to edit them for my "audience." Maybe try writing to yourself first. We can let you know if anything is super unclear, but if it's not true to you, it probably won't be something you enjoy.
ReplyDeleteImagine you are talking to a future beloved. Or maybe just someone who you are attracted to. It's your fist date. You want to explain something to them. Start there. Instead of thinking of an abstract idea of "audience" think of ONE PERSON. I like to think of a beloved who doesn't have a context for what I'm talking about because it creates a sense of intimacy, but you could also think of a close friend. You have to feel desire to communicate, and it's easier if you think of communicating with a specific person and not an abstract "audience."
ReplyDelete