There is no writer or author out there that can honestly tell you that they haven’t compared their writing to other writers. Whether it was a favorite author, a friend, a blogger, a newsletter, an article they read, a book, no matter where they found a piece of literature that they enjoyed, every one of us has had that moment where we ask ourselves, why can’t my writing sound like that?
I am one of those authors who have compared my voice to others several times. I’m doing it now as I write this article, wishing I could sound like this academic writer or that blogger. I used to struggle hard with it, especially when I was a heavy reader, to the point where I would just go long periods where I wouldn’t write because I didn’t want to embarrass myself by not sounding like a professional author.
Perfectionism hits hard sometimes.
A couple of years ago, I got back into reading, and as I read some of my favorites, I found myself asking why I couldn’t sound like her again. Instead of allowing this to stop me from writing my books, I took a close look at why I felt that way, and what I came up with was something simple.
I’m not her.
Think about when someone told you a story about a bay day they had, or the time they did something funny or thrilling. I’m sure whoever you are thinking of has a certain way of speaking, or has a way of phrasing things in a way that you wouldn’t, right? Or maybe they used more sophisticated or laid back language than you feel like you do? Whatever the case may be, they will tell a story different from the way you would, and the reason for that is because that’s their voice. It doesn’t mean that if you’d told the story, it would sound better or worse, it would simply be different because it’s told in your voice instead of theirs.
Once I considered this, I went back and read one of my books. Of course, I’m a bit biased, I love my stories, but when I read through them with this new perspective, I found myself hating my voice much less. Is it perfect? Maybe not, but it’s my voice, told how I would say it, and that, in and of itself, is what makes the story beautiful and unique.
No one can tell a story like we do, and while it’s tempting to compare our voice to someone else’s, it’s equally important to remember that just because our voice is different doesn’t make it wrong. It just makes it different, and that is what is going to make your story stand out above the rest.
Your voice is just as beautiful as anyone else’s.
Always.
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