This is a tough one, yet so important. In storytelling, "voice" refers to a combination of things. It's your writing style, your personality, and your view of the world. It's how you string words together to express it all. It's what makes you (or your characters) distinct from other writers (or other characters).

In the following examples, you can sense the differences in voice, even though they are all basically saying the same thing:

- This heat is going to be the death of me.

- It's hot as balls out here.

- I step outside. My shoes practically melt on the pavement. Fuck this. I'm going back inside.

- I swear the devil escaped and sat on the world today.

There are so many different ways to say the same thing. This is why you shouldn't be afraid to write a story that may have already been written. No one can write it the same way you will.

Just as important as expressing your voice, it must also be expressed consistently across the entire story. You can use a different voice in different stories, or for different character points of view within the same story, but be consistent. Maintain the tone and the particular word choices that paint a personality. People often have certain phrases that they favor over others. Maybe it's "I told you so" or "for the love of Pete!" Sprinkle those phrases in throughout the story to help cement your character's personality. (I don't mean every chapter, but you know, here and there. Randomly, so it doesn't look forced.)

Now that you know what voice is and what you should do with it, how do you find yours?? I'll get to that in Part 2 next week, otherwise this chapter might get uncomfortably long.