Not only is the writing voice beautiful, but Elizabeth Gilbert’s speaking voice is stunning (fyi: she narrates the audio book). Her voice is like being stranded on a deserted island for twelve years, and then you finally are rescued by someone. When they speak, their voice rings in your ears as the most beautiful sound you’ve ever heard. That is how I feel about Elizabeth Gilbert’s voice. I sort of wish mine sounded that breath-taking. In other words, I’m going to say her voice rocks!
Taking all of this into consideration, I have been thinking a lot about writing voice. I’ve found that reading A LOT helps me to develop my voice, my style. With reading other authors, you can see what you like about their writing voice and what you may not like as much. Like I said, I really liked Elizabeth’s voice, however, it doesn’t lend itself easily for my book. It has given me some ideas, though, of how I can polish my manuscript and make it even better.
So on this “What I’ve Learned Wednesday, I am going to suggest that you read a lot and study how other authors relay their voice to you through their stories. You may even want to do the same with blogs. I’ve found some way awesome voices through the blogs I that frequent (ie: Carrie Harris & Kiersten White). This may help improve your own voice with the added benefit of eating up a good story at the same time.