Finding YOUR Voice in Writing

This is a much bigger topic that I will delve into more in 2025 - stay tuned… But for now, it’s important to talk about the unique voice we each have in writing. 

So many things these days are trying to convince us otherwise. From the growing capabilities of AI, to work emails that only count if they’re written with all profession and no emotion, all the way back to our school teachers instilling into our young minds that there's a “right” and “uniform” way to write. To write in a box. 

I’m here to tell you that it’s time to push past those little boxes. It’s time to find your voice in your writing. 

The world is loud. It can feel impossible to be heard for who you are. Especially when the masses are shouting something different than you. As individuals, we can get lost. Our unique voice can get strained and overlooked and shut down and laughed at. It can be easy to start forgetting what your unique voice even actually is. 

And I’m not necessarily talking about any big, world events or anything here. Think of the last time you hung out with a group of friends, or your extended family. What was the conversation? Did you get to go deep into all the nuances that make you, you? Or were you going along with whatever conversation was happening and maybe even laughing when something wasn’t funny to you because everybody else was laughing? And these are the people in your life who you feel actually know you best.

The point is, it’s easy to feel like our authentic voices can’t be heard sometimes. To feel lost in the shuffle. 

This is where writing and journaling come in. If I could shout it from a million rooftops a million times over, I would. 

As we finish up this year (which is wild!,) I really strongly encourage you to pick up a pen and a notebook. Write with the entire intention of finding your voice. Easier said than done, I know, so I’ll give you a few tips here, and then of course some specific journal prompts here. 

Whether you're writing a story that others will see, or just journaling for your eyes only, these tips apply. The main thing is that you're focusing on hearing your voice through your writing. Not ChatGPT’s voice. Not your Middle School English Teacher’s voice. YOUR VOICE. 

1. Write Like How You Talk
   This seems much more obvious than it is in practice. Write like how you talk. Stop paying attention to your comma placements, and your run-on sentences, and your liltingly poetic words. Your writing doesn’t need to challenge Charles Dickens. That’s not how you speak. Say a few sentences aloud, and then write them down exactly like that. Tell a friend a funny story and record it, then write it down based on your recording. That’s your personalized, authentic voice. When you write like how you speak, your words will jump off the page so much more. Yes, we love the Harry Potters of the world, but it’s not just for the stories. It’s for the voice in which they’re written. Write like how you talk. 

2. View Your Page Like a Best Friend
   Maybe that sounds cheesy, but it works. When you sit down to journal, you’re not sitting with a notebook. Visualize that you’re instead sitting with a good friend over a glass of wine and catching them up on your life. And you only have 15 minutes to talk. So, skip the formalities, and jump straight in with all the juicy stuff. Again, journaling NEVER needs to be buttoned up, so let loose. Share your beefs, and your heartbreaks, and your annoyances. You’ll find that the more you can just let yourself go in your writing, the more it will actually sound like YOU.

3. Write About a Passion
   Think about when you’re speaking. Our voices get more animated when we find ourselves talking about something we’re passionate about. A political viewpoint. A favorite restaurant. Your favorite Hallmark Christmas Movie… Write about that. Come at your writing as though somebody just told you you’re grandmother’s chocolate chip cookie recipe is terrible. Prove them wrong with gusto and that heart-forward passion. 

4. Be Proud of Your Unique Voice
   Finally, own who you are as an individual. Even if you're writing a formal business newsletter, write it as you. That’s what people want They want to hear you. Not some AI-generated script. Not some overly descriptive narrative, or overly structured memo. We’re all craving real peoples’ voices. And the best way to satiate that need is to be proud of your own. Be proud that you drop an f-bomb into every other sentence. Be proud that you say “like” every third word. Be proud that your run-on sentences last three paragraphs, because that’s the way you actually talk in real life, even when the thoughts aren’t actually tied together because you have a bit of ADHD, and so your mind wanders all over the place, and oh my gosh - did you just see that cute bird outside?… 

Happy Journaling! xo