Fiction: Group 1
FOREWORD
FINDING YOUR VOICE
By Nury Vittachi
HEY. LISTEN UP, sweetheart. I’m gonna tell you somethin’ that you ain’t NEVER gonna forget, and
that’s the truth, so help me God.
Now. What do you notice about that opening paragraph? It could be this: The tone of it was
definitely NOT the usual tone for a foreword, which is usually a rather serious introductory essay.
Authors would say that it is written in a different “voice”.
That’s what this short piece of writing is about: your voice.
And it’s also what the Hong Kong Young Writers’ Awards are about: finding your voice,
developing your voice, and getting the courage and confidence to use your voice in public forums.
***
Some famous novels, like
The Catcher in the Rye
, are more famous for the voice in which they are written
than for the story they tell.
It was probably the first famous tale written in the voice of a young person. Before that book,
people usually assumed that the voice that would be the narrator in a book would naturally come from
someone that most people would classify as intelligent.
If you want an easier example of a book with a young person’s voice, think of Diary of a Wimpy
Kid.
***
But all pieces of writing have a voice: the essay you sent in for the competition had a voice.
Some books and essays, such as your entries for the non-fiction part of the competition, try
deliberately to be rather straight, avoiding metaphors and sparkling languages. Work may be considered to
have more authority that way.
Consider Wikipedia, the website: all articles are edited so that the author’s individual voice doesn’t
register.
If you looked up your favourite author on Wikipedia, say CS Lewis, you’d be surprised if the text
said: “I totally love this guy, he’s mega-geniastic.”
No, Wikipedia aims to all sound the same, as if all the millions of words on that website were
written by a single person.
***
Yet, every writer, including you, has his or her own “natural” voice. This is the writing style that you feel
most comfortable using, and which expresses your personality as an author. (This is not necessarily the same
as your speaking voice.)
What are the elements which make up YOUR voice?
If you want to analyze the issue a bit more deeply, consider this list.
1) Do you like to write in a formal, careful style—or in a chatty, conversational style? Or in-
between?
2) Do you like to sound authoritative and wise—or naive and high-spirited?
3) Do you like to be serious—or funny?
4) Do you like to be clever and thought-provoking —or clear and simple?
5) Do you like to stick to providing clear, dry facts —or do you like to drift off into writing which
is more poetic and lyrical?
***
