Have You Seen my Voice? a.k.a. Journal #6

Here we go again. I feel like Zinnser has already addressed the notion of voice in writing in a previous chapter. Yet chapter 20 is all about finding your own voice in writing. He says, "My commodity as a writer, whatever I'm writing about, is me. And your commodity is you. Don't alter your voice to fit your subject. Develop one voice that readers will recognize when they hear it" (231).

How can I avoid changing my voice to fit the subject when I do not know how my voice sounds? This idea of voice is closely tied to style in my mind and I am not sure that Zinnser is succesful in clarifying between the two definitions. He wants writers to put forth the effort to remain true to their unique voices but does not offer a distinct defintion to start from.

You know what I think is honesty? Toni Morrison talking about voice. The very last page of chapter 20 has a long quote from Morrison about how she feels about her own writing voice. In the last lines of her quote she says, "It had a certain style. It was inevitable. I couldn't describe it, but I could produce it"(240).

As an English major I feel that a lot of what I write and get graded on happens on accident. All this time I have spent in college and I do not think I have learned anything new that I have directly applied to my writing. Do not get me wrong, I have learned many new techniques and approaches to writing, I just do not apply them in the heat of the moment.

I think many students, not just fellow English majors, would agree with me here if they were honest. Like Morrison, I cannot describe what and why I write what I do. It just happens. More often than not I get a stellar grade as well. Teachers leave comments on stylistic choices or unique insights I brought to the literature and I think to myself, "Sure, that sounds like an excellent reason for me to have written that."

So, in the position I currently find myself, is it possible to write with my voice, not sacrificing its uniqueness for subject matter? Even now as I write this post I am asking myself if this piece has a voice. I feel, in some ways, like a blind person. Others see the beauty in what I write. Teachers say that even in a typed paper, they know when a piece of writing is mine. Yet I do not see what they see. In my mind, this makes me a counterfeit.

A counterfeit writer.