Develop a Writers Voice

Writing is an art. In order to write clearly and correctly, true, real and interesting, the author must acquire a certain power over the words that leads him to enter into an influencing connection with the reader, a conversation that gives new impressions and insights.
Sometimes, as an author, you stumble with putting something in this vein, something “meaningful” on paper. Therefore, the following tips can help develop an authorial voice.

• Brainstorming

Start by letting your thoughts flow spontaneously without any correction and write down everything that comes to mind about the topic. This can be words or whole sentences. Try to let your thoughts guide you and not change the outcome of the brainstorming.

• Executive Summary

Write a kind of “executive summary” by weaving the thoughts and feelings you wrote down in step 1 into a short text. This text can and should contain gaps.

• Bias

Everyone is subject to certain assumptions that shape their thinking and are flawed (bias). Therefore, take a close look at your “outline” (step 2) and develop your theses and arguments logically, even to the extreme.

• The opposing side

Especially if your text has an argumentative nature, you should take the time to “slip into” the opposing side. What is your opponent’s point of view on the subject? Could you also present a mediating view? Could you look at the issue from a different angle? Try to take advantage of different perspectives, highlighting the different assumptions but also the similarities, in order to create a lively debate that will result in a well-balanced piece of journalism.

• Stories

What scenery, metaphors, images, and stories support and illustrate the topic and your point of view? Try to make your text more lively by not merely arguing and presenting dryly, but by drawing the reader into the topic and taking them along with you.

• Fact-Research

Despite the emotional stories and images, facts should not be missing (step 5). Which facts, explanations and further arguments could support your presentation? If your text has a certain claim and appears in a trustworthy source, research it very well. Do not fall back on the first best google result without having examined the source of your result more closely. Include your findings in the text afterwards.

• Structure

What kind of document are you writing? An opinion piece, a column, a memo or even a research paper? Adapt your previous findings to the required structure of the text. Write clearly and coherently.

Source and Further Reading Notes:

• Peter Elbow: Writing with Power