As a pseudo-English major and lover of words, I appreciate and enjoy different genres of literature. Specifically, I enjoy being able to manipulate my voice to suit different tones, venues, audiences, and purposes. There's something powerful about the way a verb tense can draw a reader into a story, or how a style and tone can sell a proposal or article.
An amateur writer who dabbles a variety of genres, I've been realizing lately how voice has been so prevalent in my life. As a child, I was constantly writing stories in my head. I once asked my mother whether she thought of life as a book or a movie, because it varied for me. I was always scripting dialogue and describing scenes of my life to myself, as if my life were a fiction novel that would have a happily-ever-after ending. (I think my mother was moderately concerned when I presented this question. Her answer was, "I think of life as... life?" but she said it with a confused frown on her brow.)
Once, in the summer before fifth grade, I got bored with summer. I wanted to make something, to learn something. I started researching and writing a paper on the invention of Alexander Graham Bell's electric telephone. For fun.
In middle school, I had a pen pal from my grandmother's church. I soon tired of writing generic letters and learned that if I formatted my life's news in a newspaper format, I could circulate the same "letter" to multiple people and therefore perform less work. For about two years, off and on, my adventures, significant and non, were recorded in "The Middle Messenger," a title produced from my middle-child position in the family. I even included advertisements, funny anecdotes and random facts from the Web, and an editorial/opinion/devotional section.
As a college student, I've had much more (recent) practice writing in academic voice than any other. Regrettably, the academic rigor of college studies results in a lack of fun reading and creative writing time, even for English majors (and pseudo-English majors, like myself).
Before this post turns into a long reminiscence of my literary livelihood, I suppose I should clue you into the prompt of this musing.
Years after my middle school newspaper stint, I am again writing in a journalistic voice. A requirement of attendance at a Christian university (which can be taken as a perk or a downfall; I take it as a perk) is a certain number of Bible credits. In a class studying the Minor Prophets, I was instructed to "make a final project demonstrating understanding of course materials." For my creative self, this absence of limits or guidelines is both thrilling and terrifying. After debating my choices and narrowing down my options, I chose to make newspapers from the setting and time period of each prophet.
In the beginning of the class, my professor told us that we would be "meeting the kings and their armies" of a certain time period. With ten of the prophets' newspapers finished and two to go, I am once again struck by the power of voice. My journalistic reports of political balance, social injustice, and prophetic sermons are just such--journalistic. As a voice, the genre is unattached, sometimes distant and cold. It's supposed to be. Newspapers ought not to be biased or personalized.
Yet personal voice contains such power! I'm reminded of a favorite Christian novelist, Lynn Austin, and her Gods and Kings series expounding on the life of Hezekiah. Though I never quite made it through the entire series, the books I did read were captivating and offered fresh perspective on an old, beautiful, heart-gripping story.
That, I think, is the beauty of voice--any voice: the gift of perspective. Journalistic voice, academic research, memoir, poetry, fiction--they all tell stories that will effect people in different ways. One voice is not superior to others; a medium that is insignificant for one person will be earth-shaking for another person.
Whatever your voice is, don't be afraid to use it. It matters. It's powerful. And it's yours.
-Finch
No comments:
Post a Comment