My Voice

I have been reading several books while working on my site. Will Write For Food by Dianne Jacob is a great read for anyone interested in writing about food. There are several exercises in the book to help the reader gain perspective on their writing. I decided to enlist the input of family and friends for the “Describe Your Own Voice” exercise.

The reader is presented with a list of adjectives. I made my picks before asking my family and friends for theirs. So how did my family and friends describe me? According to them I am (in order of highest # of votes):

• Knowledgeable
• Funny
• Enthusiastic
• Matter-of-fact
• Approachable
• Believable

My choices:

• Humble
• Funny
• Enthusiastic
• Sarcastic
• Self-effacing
• Curious

It’s very interesting to know how I view my voice and how it is interpreted by others. Far and away the most selected adjective was that I am knowledgeable.  I have not overanalyzed how they selected the adjectives they selected. I recognize simply that they feel I know something that may be of value to them and I am thankful that I have something to offer.

Out of the six terms used to described my voice there are only two that are an identical match among my selections and their selections: funny and enthusiastic. I was so pleased to see that my friends and family recognized this part of my voice. For the most part when I write a legal brief or opinion letter I have to adopt the “right” tone. I have to write to be persuasive. Being funny is almost never appropriate. Enthusiastic? Yes. Funny. No. I’ve found it incredibly hard to transition from my legal voice to my personal voice. I’m relieved to discover that apparently I have found my way.

Their remaining selections “matter-of-fact” “approachable” and “believable” and my remaining selections “sarcastic” “self-effacing” and “curious” suggest to me that my inner demons when it comes to my personal writing are not as evident to my readers. While I try to be knowledgeable I also try to be modest. I feel I walk a fine line of holding myself out to know something without being too preachy.

Now that I know have developed my own style free of the doldrums of legal writing I feel much more comfortable with how I have developed my voice. Many thanks to my family and friends who participated in this exercise.