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The first page, part 8 - Reveal your voice

This is continuing my series on things to look for in your first page.
Click here for part seven.

Reveal your voice

When I have talked to editors and agents, they always tell me that the first thing they noticed about their clients/authors is the writer’s voice.

Voice is what jumped out at them from the very first page. Voice is what captured them and compelled them to keep reading.

If you’re not sure about your own writer’s voice, it’s really worth it to spend some time developing it. Voice is something that can be learned.

I wrote a series of blog posts with some good exercises for developing your writer’s voice. I compiled them all into one blog article here: Developing Your Writer’s Voice

Back to your first page. Utilize those opening paragraphs to showcase your unique voice. Your voice will grab the editor by the throat and make them keep reading past that first page.

The great thing about voice is that you don’t have to alter the story to add voice. It’s there in how you show the action, the character’s thoughts and movements, in dialogue, in emotional tension.

Take a good look at that first page and make sure your voice really stands out from sentence one. If you don’t think your voice is very strong yet, spend time developing it with exercises. In my article above, I mention a really good book that you can borrow from the library or buy on Amazon.com. Whatever you do, make sure your voice is strong on that first page.

Click here for part nine.
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Comments

  1. Katie GanshertFri Jun 26, 04:27:00 AM 2009

    I purchased Finding your Writer's Voice from Amazon. Can't wait to get it in the mail!

    ReplyDelete

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