I’m hooked!
In the first of a two-parter on writing irresistible children’s fiction, Amy Sparkes explores finding your voice
Everyone wants to write that story. The one people are talking about on Twitter. The one publishers are bidding on.
The one that won the competition.
But how? How do you capture that interest? How do you hook an agent or publisher? Gripping plot and brilliant characters are important, but even more fundamental are two things which underpin it all, and if you don’t have these, then your story is unlikely to take off. What are they?
A strong voice and a stunning idea. In this mini-series, learn how to develop both your voice and your story idea to result in a fantastic piece of children’s fiction.
What is voice?
If you’ve ever had feedback, you may have come across phrases like, ‘need to develop your writer voice’ or ‘needs a stronger voice’. What does this mean? Your writer voice is your writing style and is made up of various factors, such as:
• Your use of grammar and sentence structure
• Your use of language
• Your tone
• And, fundamentally, your personality and attitude
How you see the world – your take on life – and your own individual personality will shape your voice.
This is why it’s absolutely crucial to be yourself when you are writing.
Absolutely crucial to be yourself when you are writing. Yes, I said that twice. Because it’s important. As soon as you start imitating another writer, you’re not actually being true to yourself, and you’re actually stifling your own writer’s voice. Be inspired by other writers, yes, but never deliberately imitate. Even if readers cannot quite pinpoint why, it will come across as not exactly right… slightly forced… off-kilter… basically, just not you. And it’s you they want to hear.