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KristineS
05-13-2016, 10:50 AM
Writing theory says that, like your physical voice when you speak, everyone who writes has a distinctive writing voice. Maybe you use certain words more often, or you're a fan of run on sentences and commas. Maybe you like short, declarative sentences and use little description. Whatever your particular quirks, the theory is that the little quirks will give you away and identify the work as yours. Having these quirks can also be an issue if you're writing for a particular piece or market or reason and the writing needs to be in a style that conflicts with yours.

If you're aware of them, what are your writing quirks? For me, I know one of the biggest is that I like long sentences with lots of commas. One of the things I always do when I edit a first draft is to go back and change some of the longer sentences to shorter, more declarative sentences when it's warranted and doesn't interfere with the flow of the piece. What do you guys do when you write?

Harold Mansfield
05-13-2016, 12:55 PM
Long sentences and reiterating a point. I always have to go back and removed repetitive sentences and paragraphs.

I also use sarcasm far too much, and can't help but toss a few one liners and comparison punchlines in there somewhere. If I can't throw a joke in there somewhere I'm not happy. Even if it's an obscure Dennis Miller style reference that only a few people will get.

Then at times I see an opportunity to shave an entire paragraph with one, short declarative sentence and let it stand alone to emphasize that there is no wiggle room on the point.

I do use some of the same adjectives a lot, but I'm also aware of not using the same descriptive word more than once in a paragraph or on a page (like I just did there).

Basically I write like I speak, then have to go back and reword it so that it's clearer.

KristineS
05-13-2016, 03:12 PM
Long sentences and reiterating a point. I always have to go back and removed repetitive sentences and paragraphs.

I also use sarcasm far too much, and can't help but toss a few one liners and comparison punchlines in there somewhere. If I can't throw a joke in there somewhere I'm not happy. Even if it's an obscure Dennis Miller style reference that only a few people will get.

Then at times I see an opportunity to shave an entire paragraph with one, short declarative sentence and let it stand alone to emphasize that there is no wiggle room on the point.

I do use some of the same adjectives a lot, but I'm also aware of not using the same descriptive word more than once in a paragraph or on a page (like I just did there).

Basically I write like I speak, then have to go back and reword it so that it's clearer.

I think a lot of us write like we speak. I've been accused of being overly verbose, so I suppose I talk in the kind of convoluted sentences I like to write. Like you, I'm conscious of varying my descriptors, and I have deleted entire paragraphs because one sentence could make the point.

YoannKehl.
09-19-2016, 03:49 AM
This is great topic you've started here. Writing is an art. In my opinion writing with long sentences is great when you want to be descriptive. The risk here is that people can feel lost in the information. The hardest thing for me is to write short sentences that contains everything I want to say. You know what advertising specialists say: Keep it short and simple.

Accidental Entrepreneur
11-21-2016, 11:39 PM
Humorous and friendly. And verbose. It took me a long time to memorize all these words, and darn it, I'm going to use them.

BizAdvisor
11-22-2016, 01:25 AM
I'm a BIG fan of semicolons and ellipsis. I always try to work them both into my sentences... Whether they are used correctly or not; such as in this sentence.

Accidental Entrepreneur
11-22-2016, 09:37 AM
I'm a BIG fan of semicolons and ellipsis. I always try to work them both into my sentences... Whether they are used correctly or not; such as in this sentence.

When disregard for punctuation inevitably brings about the fall of civilization, it will be know as the apocellipsis.

bella.lopez
01-02-2018, 05:57 AM
I am guilty of using a lot of bucket brigades and the word However in my posts.

Because I often write technical guides and posts, this helps to keep my users hooked to the post.

reade23
04-26-2018, 08:53 AM
Definitely semicolons - love it. Using it for my business and much more.

jeffscott
05-04-2018, 12:55 AM
I consider writers as a loud speaker for their target audience because they provide the needed information that the users wants to and benefits them in many ways in which the users can possibly improve and widen the range of the influence through creativity.

Mathewwhibe
01-07-2019, 08:19 PM
You all know mine by now, but there is little information on what you do, apart from making fools of yourselves on here.Must be more to it than that, so: Whats your line?

davidlee21
01-08-2019, 01:39 AM
I prefer using short sentences. Since I personally feel bored after reading long sentences.

Fulcrum
01-08-2019, 07:21 AM
You all know mine by now, but there is little information on what you do, apart from making fools of yourselves on here.Must be more to it than that, so: Whats your line?

No, we don't. This is your first post.

Willie Posey
02-19-2019, 08:16 AM
Though I got the point somewhat, still the concept is not exactly clear to me. If you don't mind, I just wanted to know "Writing voice" clearly.

davidlee21
02-25-2019, 04:46 AM
I know there are many kinds of writing voices. but I have no idea what kind of voice I have.

engage123
06-09-2019, 12:41 PM
I like being professional but at the same time, include some lightness and humor.

danbousho
09-17-2020, 05:27 PM
I spend a lot of time thinking about voice. There are so many reasons to try getting different voices for different styles of writing. When writing copy I go for short, punchy sentences. Fiction I tend to get more descriptive with a longer sentence style. The rules change for every situation with me. Generally speaking though, I find short punchy stuff ala Hemingway to be very effective. I do SEO copywriting (https://danbousho.com) for a living and that helps me when I'm doing website development and internet marketing (https://buildingwebsitesplus.com). I do a lot of work on small business websites (https://buildingwebsitesplus.com/how-to-use-a-website-to-promote-small-business/)
so my voicing needs to adapt with each client, but even then the short punchy model works the best. :)