Finding one’s voices - by Annie Try

Spot one beside her and three in the foreground

I am sitting in my garden surrounded by nature’s noise.  There are birds around me tweeting and calling - I recognise the wood pigeon and one or two others but, when I came out here, was especially thrilled to hear a female pheasant call her babies into the lush undergrowth of our flowerbed. I watched them scurry into hiding then she emerged walking up and down making a rather different call.  I took the hint and moved my chair further away.  The little chicks keep peeking at me before their mother calls them back again, with a lovely low burbling tweet.



What an apt beginning to this blog, which is about voices.  I get tired of people telling writers that they need to 'find their own voice' because I am a writer of many voices.  I write in the first person with different voices for each character and each voice changes with context like the hen pheasant's gentle call to her chicks and alarm warning to me.

Of course, ‘voice’ means style as well - but I’m not too consistent with that.  Writing for different audiences has made me skedaddle from style and tone as the novel or article deems necessary.  I am reading a tremendous book at present, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. The author, Jonathan Safran Foer, uses many different voices and styles as if he wants to cram everything he knows about writing into one book.  I love it, although I have to work hard to see who is speaking in each chapter.  His style includes the inclusion of fuzzy photos mentioned in the novel, taken by the child protagonist.  I am finding it is an incredible book so far - although not to everyone’s taste.  [And since first publishing today’s post this morning I have read more and found that at least one love scene is rather explicit.]

So will books sell well if they never display a writer’s particular style of writing?  Will a writer be able to build up a following? I am an eclectic reader so I can’t tell.  A wide variety of books appeal to me and when I don’t feel like reading a familiar writer I may find something completely different - often discovering unique treasures inside the pages.

In my writing, I haven’t even stuck to one genre.  Do other people flit about like me?  Published so far are three contemporary novels but one of those is aimed at 13-17 year-olds.  Then my WiPs include a young adult science fiction novel, another teen or adult contemporary fiction novel plus the third in the Dr Mike Lewis series. Even in that one the story is told by two completely different characters whose only link is the therapy room.  The only common themes are that they are all Christian novels - perhaps not with overt Christian content but always written from a Christian world view and with themes such as redemption and renewal there to be discovered.

So maybe I should stop worrying about finding my voice.  I am a Christian writer of thought-provoking novels.  Or is that my identity?

Inside every writer are many voices - let's release them to be heard.

Annie Try is the name used by Angela Hobday for her novel-writing. Annie lives in rural Norfolk with her husband, Old English Sheepdog and cat. Her garden is often filled with wildlife including deer, hares, rabbits along with pheasants and other birds.