Discovering Voices in Writing
By Jordon P. Frye
-
5 min read
-
One of the more abstract things to grasp as a new writer is identifying your voice as a writer. There is often a temptation to jump in and out of different styles of writing from paragraph to paragraph and chapter to chapter. It made perfect sense when you were writing it, but when you go back and re-visit what you just wrote…something seems off.
If this sounds familiar to you, your writing habits might not be to blame. But you might take a look at your reading habits.
I am certainly an advocate for reading a broad range of literature. My library in our home in Anderson contains Biblical dictionaries, Bible commentaries, rabbinic commentaries, Judaica, world history, self-help, leadership, business, design, psychology, marketing…I even have a book on gardening! You will find many different books from many different disciplines on my shelves.
But there is one thing that is somewhat rare in my library, you won’t find very many authors with just one of their works on my shelf.
If you go to my Judaica section, you will find several works from Rabbi Joseph Telushkin and Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. On my history shelf, you will find several works from Adrian Goldsworthy. If you look just above those you will see several books from one of the best storytellers to ever live; Gene Edwards. To the right, you’ll find a whole collection of C.S. Lewis.
Look across the fireplace and you will see nearly everything Dr. Gary Chapman has written, and almost everything that Malcolm Gladwell has published.
Why tell you all this? For one simple reason. If this isn’t something you already do, I want to help you unlock a new method of discovery and study that will let you dig deeper and reach broader into topics than you ever thought you could.
As you mature as a reader, you can pretty quickly identify a quality book. The way the subject matter is presented, the way the flow of the chapters ties into each other, and how the author piques your interest from point to point. When I find a book like that, I’m hooked. A book like that will lead you into the opening of the cave of interest.
Interest isn’t something that you can force on yourself. It’s something that grabs you. If you’re not interested in a particular subject, good luck keeping your eyes open while trying to read it. But when interest does grab a hold of you, good luck accomplishing much of anything else until you’ve finished. Even though you may not be able to force yourself to be interested in a topic, I’ve discovered a way to get right up to the opening of the cave.
It’s a very simple methodology. When you read a book that interests you, when you read that quality content where you can tell the author has poured their heart and soul into that work—read everything that author has written.
Read their first book. Read their last book. Read everything in between. You’ll find yourself digging deep into subjects that you never even thought you would be interested in. I was first introduced to Adrian Goldsworthy while researching for my first book. I needed some extra context for how the culture of Hellenism began to work its way from Greece into Judaea throughout the intertestamental period. Even though he’s a little long-winded, I can’t get enough of Goldsworthy’s writing.
His ability to take arcane information and draw parallels and principles from ancient battles and dramas is absolutely incredible. I’ve ended up delving deeper into ancient Greek and Roman history than I ever dreamed I would, all because I needed more of that voice.
There is something so exciting about reading multiple books by a single author. The reasoning behind it seems quite simple. Great authors only write books about subjects they are deeply interested in. If you read one of their books, and start to feel interest creeping up on you—chances are that you will enjoy the journey of watching that author’s interests unfold before you.
The same thing happened to me with Gene Edwards. I read one of his books and was so completely taken by his brilliance in being able to take you into the story, and make you feel what these people who lived and died thousands of years ago were feeling, that I had to read everything he had written.
This method of study and library building is not purely for entertainment purposes, however. I’ve found a byproduct of reading this way that is as valuable, if not even more valuable than the actual content gleaned from the books. I’ve begun to learn the voices of these authors.
Gene Edwards has a distinct voice. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks has a completely different, yet distinct voice. The way Adrian Goldsworthy presents facts and data is a world apart from how Malcolm Gladwell would present dates and events. This all serves you, the reader-writer. The more voices you learn, the more of your voice you recognize.
Before you can write with a distinct yet coherent voice, you must learn the voices of great writers who have come before you. As I dip in and out of different disciplines in my writing, I find myself speaking through the voice of some of my favorite historians. Or as I lean into Biblical analysis for teaching or curriculum writing, I find myself speaking through the voice of some of my favorite commentators and scholars. Though I can feel myself incorporating those different voices, I’ve become familiar enough with those voices that I can identify my own voice.
Ultimately that is the voice I want to write in—my own voice. That is the voice you should want to write in too—your own voice. But I have a suspicion that, just like me, you won’t be able to clearly recognize your own voice until you’ve really learned the voices of some great writers that came before you.
Here’s a tip: build your library one author at a time. Learn their voice, glean from their work, and keep on reading.
Jordon P. Frye resides in Anderson, Indiana with his wife and helpmeet Katlyn, where he serves as Student Pastor at the First Pentecostal Church of Anderson under the leadership of Senior Pastor Luke St.Clair. Having traveled nationally and internationally as an evangelist and speaker, Jordon continues to minister through preaching, teaching, and writing.
Get your copy of The Church That Caesar Couldn’t Shut Down.