How I find my writing voice...

Write about a favorite meeting place.

Several years ago I was visiting with a writing professor. I had just finished taking a class from him. I asked him what I needed to do to get a writing career going. He made several suggestions but his main statement was, “Practice writing everyday. Some days it will be worthless, some days it will be worth keeping. But write every day.” I nodded, intently, as if I understood.

Most writing books and blogs make the same point. Write every day. My busy, busy mind started to work this over. Write about what? My day? My family? The sky? Should I write practice queries? That would be helpful. Should I write short practice articles? Maybe I could sell some of those sometime. What could I write about then? What would sell? Unfortunately my mind warped this simple suggestion “write every day” into, “write every day and make sure it counts.” I was stuck. Oh, I would write every now and then. But I never felt it counted and I didn’t do it regularly.

I saw this professor again, just a few months ago. This time I asked, “What are you suppose to write about?”
“Anything,” he said. “Sometimes I work on projects. Sometimes I just write what’s in my head. I can’t always use what I write, but it helps me find my voice.”

Finally, the thunderbolt hit me. This professor and all of the books and blogs were saying the same thing- in writing you find your voice and it doesn’t matter if you are writing about spitting in a drainpipe. And in finding my voice, I can find my confidence in writing.

I now try to write whenever I think about it. I don’t edit and I don’t think about selling it. I usually never reread it. Sometimes I just crumple it up and throw it in the recycling bin. But I know it has helped with my confidence and that’s what counts.