Find the Words Only You Would Say

Your Signatures

Yesterday, we were on the mental side.
Today, we'll be on the practical side.
Most writers think they have to "find their voice."
Like a sacred scroll buried deep in a cave.
But, you already have a voice.
You use it every day.

• When you text your best friend.

• When you rant into your notes app at 2 a.m.

• When you whisper things you'd never say out loud.

• When you're being yourself, unfiltered. Happy to feel your deepest feelings.

The problem with many writers is that as soon as they sit down in front of a blank page, they try to become someone else. They are their own creative jailer.

"Ah, you can't say that."
"Ah, I can't dare write that way."

They want to sound like a "real writer."
Disaster.

They become:

• lifeless

• emotionless

• as good as a dry cake

They want to please everyone. They don't want to upset Karen behind her Ipad.
The result: it sucks. Fastest way to be ignored.
Your true voice is already within you.
No need to unleash it. Just stop holding it back.

Your writing = your words

• What are your expressions?

• What are the weird things you say?

• What are your signature phrases?

• What are the things that come from your culture?

• What are those things that only you can say?

You say cool things all the time.
You're not building a brand.
You just have to be yourself.

Let your obsessions guide you.
If you can't keep quiet, you should write about it.

Everyone is looking for topics to write about, when the easiest way is to write about what you're passionate about. We can talk for hours about the things we love. And we do it without looking for results. These are the places you want your writing to linger.

Stop aiming for "building an audience".
You don't need to write for everyone.
You need to write with a voice so clear...
...that your readers instantly find you.

The moment a reader reads you, they either love you or hate you.
A true fan or a hater.
Your writing generates emotions just like your personality.
Exactly like in real life.
And if you don't generate anything, it's because you don't dare to be yourself enough.

I'm a nice guy. (I swear). And yet, people hate me just for existing. Why? I don't know. Maybe my personality annoys them. So what? Do you need Bryan's approval to live your life? Who cares about him?

How to refine your voice?

Your voice is cool. But you're a human being and a personality in flux. Like a good wine (or cheese, depending on your preference, but I prefer to think of myself as a wine), you get better with age. How? With work. But also because you feed your mind properly.

Recently, I was reading a novel by Romain Gary. For the first time, I discovered a writing style like his. Few authors have the strength to have such a unique style that you've never come across it anywhere. Certain of his sentences are full of genius.

Unique, inventive, creative, very subtle... He has developed a fantastic style, and that's probably why he's the only writer to have won two Goncourt prizes.

Reading many great authors is a way to immerse yourself in new techniques. To blend their genius with your own. I would have liked to tell you that there's a great secret to writing well. But there isn't.

Apart…

Work. Reading. Being yourself. Having fun. Repetition.

Gurus want you to believe that templates and methods, while abusing soulless robots, are the way. "Diantre. Que nenni." (I love this French expression). The method is to be yourself. To put a big smile on your pen. To have fun. And to work.

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Today Exercise: The Voice Trap

Simple.

• Open your most recently published text.

• Read it aloud.

• Ask yourself: Would I really speak like that? Or am I wearing another mask?

If it’s not your voice.
Rewrite the first paragraph as if you were sending it to your favorite person.
Use slang. Use anger. Use jokes. Use poor grammar.
Make it sound like you.
Have fun.

Your writing is you.
Time to dare to be who you are.
With love.

See you tomorrow.

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