The Writing ‘Voice’

Who is it that writes?

 The mind? The muse?

What actually is writing?

Writing is “refined thinking” says Steven King. 

So then, who is doing the thinking? And what thoughts are true and authentic and which are just a cacophony of other voices we’ve absorbed through our genes and our history?

Is there an authentic writing voice? And if so, how to find it? This is the essence of what I teach.  That Yes, there is an authentic and original writing voice that is the essence of You.

This voice can be mined, excavated, unearthed when we write with a child-like mind that is adventurous, curious, untamed, willing to venture into territory full of weeds and memories and surprise.

Tell me more about this Writing Voice.

It is as unique to you as your fingerprint. It has timbre; sound; it can be warm or cold; it has overtones of every experience of your life; it’s electric; it has high and low frequencies; it can be dark and mellow, muddy, light, vibrant or still.  It can be silent and emit presence. It’s a compilation of every life experience mixed into what you have brought with you to this life journey, perhaps from many others.  It has the spice of every relationship, every disappointment, every dream and passion.  It’s all of you, deeply, intimately personal and at the same time, infinite and universal. This voice reflects what Mary Oliver calls “Your ‘one wild and precious life’.

In my workshops I facilitate ways of making the connection.

I do it through writing workshops, silent retreats and meditation. I emphasis the importance of practice – that to make the connection to the truth of one’s being is an Olympic event. It requires dedication to the process.  Writer’s write.