Voice and Valor
Recognize the power of your experiences, because that is what connects with your audience.
I am beginning to recognize my journey as a writer is getting some mileage on it. I am thrilled with the work that has been published already, and I am looking forward at what is to come. With that being said, I want to recognize a significant element of writing that so often gets pushed to the "duh" corner yet not talked about enough.
Your voice is your story.
Every story has been told. Consider this: the Epic of Gilgamesh is credited as the first story that was written down. That appeared as early as the third millennium B.C. That's pretty darn old! That was just the beginning. In August of this year it was reported that as of the invention of the Gutenberg press, almost 130 million books have been published.
Who do we think we are, centuries later, dropping our own stories into the world and acting like we have something fresh? Well, we are writers. That is what makes a story unique and different...it's the "us". I can't tell a superhero story the same way Robert Kirkman can. I couldn't ever tell a sprawling fantasy epic in the likes of Tolkien. Those were their stories to tell.
Should we just give up this quest then? No, it is our voice that brings life to our own stories, and that drives connection with readers. I have told countless new creators that the moment someone tells you they connected with your story is the moment you'll decide if it was worth it. Those are the moments you realize if you were in it for creativity, or for clout.
We make things because they are what we want to read. Each character that we make is given the breath of pencil on page life. We can create worlds, we can destroy empires. Break hearts, or help them capture a spirit of adventure, it's what we do.
Sure, the stories have all been told...but not like you'd tell it. So, tell it.
As always,
Do better. Be better.