There is a lot of talk in the writing community about finding your voice. But hardly anyone ever talks about what it means or how to do it.
In the simplest terms, your voice is how you talk. It is how you express yourself. On the smallest scale, it even comes down to how you construct sentences and paragraphs and book chapters. It is your style. On a larger scale, your voice is the themes and topics you write about.
Just like your physical voice, your writing voice takes time to develop. It can also change over time. Think of how different your voice as an adult sounds, compared to what you sounded like as a three-year-old or even as a thirteen-year-old.
If you don’t feel like you’ve found your voice yet, keep working at it. As the author Henry Miller said, “You have to write many words before you find your voice as a writer.”
The most important thing is not what your voice is, but that you use it. Don’t compare yourself to others. Be bold, be brave, let your voice be heard, and you’ll find your voice.