Tone & Voice: What Your Writing Really Says

I’ve been thinking about how I use the literary devices, tone and voice in my writing as I help promote Jordan Rosenfeld’s upcoming “Nail Your Story’s Tone and Voice” workshop hosted by my California Writers Club branch. I’m working on writing my first novel, a historical fiction set locally in Niles, California when silent films were made in the Bay Area. The story is in the early draft stage, so I’ve been primarily concerned with the plot and character development. Fortunately, the tone of the story and the narrative voice are flowing without much struggle on my part. Hopefully it stays that way.

A story’s tone is the attitude in which it is told. You, the author, create the tone you use in emails sent to friends and co-workers. Often, the narrator or point of view character’s opinions and experiences shape the attitude in which fictional stories are told. The tone sets the overall feeling and how things are viewed by the reader. Here’s an example of tone from my work-in-progress:

I wonder why she’d want to be gawked at by the masses as a flickering ghostly screen projection. Real performance art is created in the flesh on stage, ever-evolving.

The main character’s attitude here is loaded. With genuine curiosity, the tone introduces elitism, an actor’s self-worth, a right and wrong way to create art, and the clash of established art forms versus emerging ones.

It’s difficult to define what voice is in writing. To me, voice is the creative part of writing. It’s how an author applies all of the technical tools they’ve gathered through reading other authors and keeping up their own writing practice. Voice is how you construct your writing when your brain is on autopilot. The first draft will look like a mess, but you can work with it. Add to it. Delete things here and there. Sculpt your writing to convey meaning and feeling how you want readers to experience it.

After graduating with a degree in creative writing, I didn’t like the short stories I attempted to write. They were dark and boring. So, over the years, I took comedy writing classes and learned how to write sitcom scripts, comedy sketches, and jokes for late-night TV. I can’t reliably write jokes anyone would laugh at, but my writing conveys meaning through action and flowing dialog, and most importantly—my writing style has lightened up considerably. I can’t tell you how I put my writing style on paper, but I can tell you I’m happy with how it flows and how it makes me feel when I read it.

To learn more about harnessing tone and voice in your writing, check out the details of Jordan Rosenfeld’s upcoming workshop. I’d love to see you there!