How to find your writing voice.

Recently I had breakfast with a young writer, and he asked me a question:

“How do I find my writing voice?”

My answer was simple:

“You write.”

The only way to find your writing voice is to write. Fear will tell you that you must have your writing voice figured out before you write. That you need to know who you are as a writer, where you’re going with a certain bit of writing, and how you’re going to get there long before you put a single word down.

Nonsense.

Fear is a liar.

And this particular lie extends far beyond writing. If you want to find your parenting voice, you have to parent your kids. If you want to find your half marathon voice, you’ve got to run. If you want to find your new job voice, you’ve got to apply for new jobs.

Don’t let fear tell you to wait for your voice to show up first. It only shows up after you’ve started.

Want to find your writing voice?

Write.

Question:
What “voice” are you trying to develop right now?