{"id":16212,"date":"2017-02-09T11:15:49","date_gmt":"2017-02-09T19:15:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/?p=16212"},"modified":"2017-02-09T11:08:25","modified_gmt":"2017-02-09T19:08:25","slug":"enhance-your-voice-sharpen-your-word-choice-by-alicia-rasley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2017\/02\/09\/enhance-your-voice-sharpen-your-word-choice-by-alicia-rasley\/","title":{"rendered":"Enhance Your Voice, Sharpen Your Word Choice by Alicia Rasley"},"content":{"rendered":"

Please welcome back author, Alicia Rasley<\/a> as she shares with us about about how to enhance your voice. Enjoy!<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Thanks, Beth, for inviting me here to talk a bit about that elusive concept \u201cvoice\u201d and tell writers about my Vivid Voice class coming up. (Editor’s note: how to register below!)<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m just going to give a few quick tips on enhancing your voice by sharpening your word choice.<\/p>\n

Sharpness. <\/strong>Vague isn’t voice. Voice is sharp and precise \u2014 not so precise as to be annoying and “beside the point,” but just enough to make it clear you know what you’re talking about.<\/p>\n

The bartender mixes a gin-and-tonic<\/em>, not just a drink.<\/p>\n

John walks in through the kitchen<\/em> door, not just the door.<\/p>\n

The precision of detail \u2014 not annoying, just sharp \u2014 tells the reader that this action is really happening within the fictional world.<\/p>\n

Here are a few tips to make your voice precise and clear just by sharpening your choice of words.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ll put the \u201cvague\u201d version first, and then the sharp version in italics:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Specific<\/strong> is sharper than vague:
    \nVAGUE: Out there, some wild animal growled.
    \nSharper: In the darkness, a wildcat growled.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    1. One<\/strong> is sharper than more than one:
      \nVAGUE: Out there, wildcats growled.
      \nSharper: \u00a0In the darkness, a wildcat growled.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
        \n
      1. Simple past for verb tense<\/strong> is stronger than progressive past:
        \nVAGUE: In the distance, a wildcat was growling.
        \nSharper: \u00a0In the distance, a wildcat growled.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
          \n
        1. Real<\/strong> is sharper than conditional:
          \nVAGUE: This is the time of day when wildcats would start growling.
          \nSharper: At that moment, just as the sun slid below the horizon, the wildcat\u00a0<\/em>started growling.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          These are just a few simple ways to make the scene more real\u00a0<\/strong>\u2014 not vague, not conditional, not generic \u2014 but sharp and authentic and descriptive.<\/p>\n

          And it doesn\u2019t require a lot of fancy sentences or purple prose \u2014 just a decision to focus on the real and immediate with more precise terminology.<\/p>\n

          Challenge yourself when you\u2019re describing a place or an action to give the reader a moment of clarity and purpose, something that says, \u201cThis is really happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

          (Okay, so it\u2019s not really happening. Sharp word-choice can get even cynical readers into imagining it\u2019s real.)<\/p>\n

          —<\/p>\n

          For an intensive and SHARP experience in discovering and refining your own voice, take Alicia Rasley\u2019s Vivid Voice course<\/a>, a two-week masterclass. Feb. 13-24, 2017. Topics will include:<\/p>\n