“Effortlessly. Simply. Cleanly. Without the slightest hue of purple.

“There is only one way to discover it. You must write. Practice. Constantly. Intensely. Humbly and aggressively. And you must do it for years if that’s what it takes. Because it refuses to be rushed. ”
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Great ideas, expertly addressed. Enjoyed reading this post, Larry!

warmly,
Marla

Neither comes “first,” both writing voice and storytelling must be solid to sell a novel. But… the writing voice only has to “good” while the storytelling needs to be “extraordinary.” In other words, you don’t need to write like John Updike, you only need to write like John Grisham (where “voice” is concerned). That’s what gets you into the game. If your voice is weak, doesn’t matter how good your story is.

On the other hand, if your writing voice is strong, that’s not enough to get you published. You must tell an extraordinary story, well structured, powerful, memorable, clever and commerical enough to catch the eye of agent or editor.

Those agents and editors aren’t looking for the next big “voice” out there. They’re looking for the next great story.

So asking “which comes first” is the wrong question. You must develop both skills. But on a scale from 1 to 10, if 6 is publishable (in comparison to what’s out there), your voice only needs to be a 6, while your story needs to be a 10 or 11 to break into the business. Once you’re in and have a brand, that, too, can go back to a 6 (which is why so many of the novels you read don’t seem all that good… they’re not — but for new writers, you have to be BETTER than good, story-wise, to get published… yet your voice only needs to be good, adequate, or professionally average (like Grisham, and he’s the top selling author over the past 20 years).

Hope this clarifies.

And then:

‘And then, from that point forward, it’s all about your storytelling. ‘

‘That answer defines you progress along the road to publication. It has little to do with your writing voice… it has everything to do with what you know.’

This is a bit confusing Larry so please clarify for the sake of all your followers:
Which comes first- writing voice or what we know?
Thanks.

And I agree with Lori, your voice shines through, loud and clear.

Thank you for sharing in your concise manner.

Sandra

One way we develop our writing voice is to notice the voice of other writers. Those we like, those we don’t.

Shirls — I empathize. Been there. Have you considered a radical shift? Say, trying first person if its third that’s confounding you? That worked for me, I’m almost exclusively first person these days, it was like a complete voice makeover.

Also, pay attention to the voices of writers you like and read often. There’s a reason you do. Their voices resonate with you, which could mean you are one of them.

Another thought: get feedback on it. It may be cleaner than you think it is. And/or, you may learn specifically what muddies it up.

Best advice: keep reading, keep writing. Pay attention to what it is about your voice that troubles you, and put that awareness in the forefront of your mind, and in context to what you know you like to read in others.

Over time, your voice will evolve. Guaranteed. Good luck!

Once again you’ve constructed a compelling article for us, thank you! What I find paradoxical about this topic is that you are writing about writing voice in your signature, real, and brawny writing voice – using your own voice as an example for us. That’s deep.

This post is also a great example to demonstrate the unique challenges of the writing craft,

“But we, as writers, are alone with all dimensions of our craft.”

Great stuff, Larry.