finding your true voice
by Kelly Joi Phelan
Phoniness and pretentiousness -- our world is filled with it. No one actually wants to be this way, but it has a tendency to seep into certain things we do. Sometimes it can be rather obscure, and no one’s ever the wiser, but writing, on the other hand, has a way of blatantly showcasing all phoniness and pretentiousness that may slip in.
Phoniness and pretentiousness are distinguished by long, complex words that no one ever uses in day to day life. This problem may also appear in the form of flowery, wordy language marked with plenty of elaborate adjectives but no real substance. Many beginning writers often write this way because they think it will make them look more experienced and skilled. What they are doing in truth, however, is branding themselves as truly inexperienced. Take, for example, this passage where the writer is trying to use large, elaborate words in order to impress his/her readers:
"The resplendent lunar body illuminated the placid, tranquil hyaline with a nearly impeccable and flawless golden simulacrum."
It may be a descriptive passage, but it is empty and meaningless to anyone who reads it. Why? Because the words used are obscure -- no average person could be able to know what was said without having a dictionary by their side. Here’s the same passage rewritten:
"The moon cast a near perfect golden reflection on the calm water."
The second example paints a picture in the minds of its’ readers because it uses words that are common. The first passage actually takes away from the story because of the way it's written. Few people would continue to read a story written in such a fashion because they would be, as the saying goes, "bored to tears."
So how exactly does a new writer avoid this problem? The simple answer is to write from the heart. From the very first day we enroll in school as small children, our assorted teachers teach us the "proper" way to write. We learn about correct grammar, what’s appropriate to write about and what’s not. Everyday teachers, although they undoubtedly mean well, pummel us with subordinate clauses and monotonous, uniform ways of writing. And so, over the years as we absorb all these rules, we tend to lose hold of our natural, true writing voices as we conform to what is acceptable in order be accepted.
There are the occasional exceptions, however. While my seventh grade English teacher did teach us correct sentence structure and punctuation, she never taught us to write a certain way (which was good for me, since I despise rigid conformity). For the weekly assigned stories, she never told us that we had to write this way or that -- she allowed us to let our imaginations run wild -- and they did! I can honestly say that I have never had quite so much fun writing.
But if you’ve never had a chance to be in a situation like that, how do you break free from all the rules and regulations that you have been subjected to for years? Even in the worst of situations one can always find a way. After years of writing nothing, barely a year ago my English teacher decided to assign us to write a story. My teacher at the time was a strict disciplinarian who always stressed the proper way of doing things. I sighed upon hearing the assignment and decided to write a cheap story modeled after the movie Waterworld that would let me write quickly and give me a halfway decent grade.
But when I tried to think of how I wanted to write my story, an entire new idea formed in my mind. I dismissed the idea several times, because knowing how my teacher was, I thought she would deem it as "unacceptable." But the story just kept floating around in my mind, just begging to be written. So, at last, I sat down at the computer, soon to find myself caught up in the futuristic tale of the first story I had written in years, "Labyrinth." While writing it, I never paused to think whether or not I was writing it "correctly." I just wrote whatever came into my mind.
When I handed it in (a few days past the due date), I had already decided that my teacher would consider this one of the "unacceptable" stories. However, I truthfully can say that I didn’t care -- that story was mine, heart and soul, an original product of my imagination. Surprise does not even begin describe what I felt when my teacher actually liked "Labyrinth" and read it to the whole class. My classmates requested a sequel! Within the day, friends had circulated the story throughout the school with copies even ending up being read by my science teacher and the school board chairman! I had written from my heart, and it had paid off.
Writing "Labyrinth" set me on a whole new course. It led me to upload the story to the Teen Writers’ Club and Writers’ Club libraries. Comments from people who downloaded my story inspired me to try writing another. The Fall of Areithos was born May, 1997 which led me, only a month later, to the decision to jump on the ‘zine bandwagon with the creation of Xenith.
So what is my point for this long-winded Wordplay? My point is to always write from your heart, using your true voice. There is no reason that you have to adhere to the limitations and narrow expectations of others in order to write well. The best stories, poems, plays, etc. are written with an appealing, honest, genuine quality. True creativity and expression are not bound by requirements and rules. Instead, they are set free by the boundless imagination of the writer who refuses to conform.
