Hearing voices
As a writer, I want to hear voices. That's a good thing, really. It's important for the people I write about to speak. When they don't speak, I'm just imposing my own thoughts on them. At its best, writing creates characters who are so fully developed they create and act through their own situations.
There's also another voice I want to hear. It's the voice of narrative and it should be confident, without being arrogant. It should be conversational, but not chatty. It should never sit on a high horse, but it can't be trifling, either.
Whether I'm writing fiction or magazine articles, there's a voice I have to hear inside, a voice I have to bring to the desk everytime I make a sentence. It's the concept of "voice" that is central to writing.
Sometimes, though, you'd like the voices to be more clear. Sometimes you'd like them to say more. Those are the days you just have to sit and wait for someone to cough it up.
