Read to write and write to read.


Mark Twain is quoted as writing: "Let us guess that whenever we read a sentence and like it, we unconsciously store it away in our model-chamber; and it goes, with the myriad of its fellows, to the building, brick by brick, of the eventual edifice which we call our style."


How can I find my voice in writing?

At every writer's workshop, conference and gathering I have attended I was encouraged to read, read, read. Read? Why read? If I read, won't I be tempted to copy or plagiarize, to use an other's words instead of my own? Won't I sound like someone else?

But then, are we not writers because we were readers first? For me, it was the reading of well written tomes and  poems, that dared me to take up the pen. Or more accurately, the keyboard.

What a joy it is to develop a style of writing by assimilating the best offered by others. My style, my voice, is a blending and balancing of my own creative desires and with those of the many writers and artists I have encountered. Was all that I read great? Of course not. But whether great or not, I have been touched by each one.

So read. Read regardless of your circumstances or perceived limits on your time. Read and then write. Write in a journal. Scribble short stories on a yellow pad of paper. Compose poetry for fun or to express you feelings as you walk or ride or drive. Sing new lyrics to welcome another day. Find a new passion for the written word.

And in time, your voice will emerge; uniquely you.

~M