Advice/Help Finding Your 'Lost' Voice

[Woebegone]

No, I am not talking about getting your vocal chords back from a cruel sea witch nor am I talking about sore throat problems. What I mean to say here is: how do you find your old writing voice? What if you already established a voice in writing but lost it along the way thanks to years of break from writing? How do you regain that way you describe how horrendous looking dress Mary was wearing during the Grand Ball?

Also, you're free to share how you found your voice in writing as well!

 

[Idea]

Perhaps a more important matter is SHOULD you "regain" your voice. Everyone has their writing style because that writing style is characterized by one's own experiences and knowledge, tastes and personality. Trying to go back to a past way of writing, I believe, is not a goal one should strive towards, but rather change towards simply better quality writing- nomatter how different from before- is what one should aim towards.

Just my two cents on this

 

[Bone2pick]

Perhaps a more important matter is SHOULD you "regain" your voice. Everyone has their writing style because that writing style is characterized by one's own experiences and knowledge, tastes and personality.

I like this advice. You very well could end up chasing a ghost by trying to reanimate the old you. Your "voice" comes from your passions and preferences, and those can change over time. Keep writing, brush the rust off, and embrace the new you.

 

[Necessity4Fun]

I'm pretty much just reinforcing what the other two just said, but really, just let it flow! Don't worry whether it was something and now it's something else...
Think of your writing as a living being, it grows, it develops, it changes and that's absolutely normal!

Instead of looking back and feeling sad it has evolved, look forward and see what new things it has brought you! Don't make it into a full return to form, but maybe bring back some of the good 'traits' it had and fuse it to your new writing style. And more importantly, rule number one of ANY AND EVERY hobby...!

Relax and just HAVE FUN! ;3

 

[fleurdelys]

totally agree with everyone else before me! I believe that your writing matures with you as time goes on - you never really "lose" your voice, but rather it changes. I feel that writing is something where it's difficult to regress and you're almost always moving forward and improving, so long as you keep at it. sure, you definitely might be rusty after a few years of not writing a thing, but you can pick it back up and find a new voice for yourself with even a bit of practice. not only that, but I think it's more productive to focus on your present self and improving your current skills, rather than trying to emulate the past.

personally, while I have enjoyed reading my writing from when I was younger, I've always looked over it from a perspective of "how have I improved" rather than "how can I write like that again?".

 

[MechanicalSnake]

I must say I get this, because I believe in some ways I used to write better when I was younger. Not in all ways... right now, my writing is better technically, I am able to plot better, set a better pacing and I tend to think about stuff much more.
On the other hand, I have lost much of the passion, when you just sit down and write without thinking and often things you accomplish are much deeper and raw.
I don´t know that it is possible to regain something that has been lost, but it is possible to improve regardless.

 

[Woebegone]

Thanks to everyone that replied! I honestly never saw it in that light. It's because I always compare my past performances with my current ones as a basis of improvement. I expected myself to lose my writing touch after not practicing it for more than a year or so, and found myself struggling to re-invigorate that spark I had years ago.

Perhaps in practice, I'll develop a new style that's better suited for my current self -- instead of chasing after my more youthful self.

Thanks again!

 

[Necessity4Fun]

Thanks to everyone that replied! I honestly never saw it in that light. It's because I always compare my past performances with my current ones as a basis of improvement. I expected myself to lose my writing touch after not practicing it for more than a year or so, and found myself struggling to re-invigorate that spark I had years ago.

Perhaps in practice, I'll develop a new style that's better suited for my current self -- instead of chasing after my more youthful self.

Thanks again!

"Practice makes perfect!" and with writing it really shows through~

It's that thing we say to differentiate 'Talent' and 'Skill'. Writing, as well as drawing, is something that relies on experience more than any 'innate' aptitude, it's a skill. The more you do it, the better you develop it and is able to make it yours (As in, come up with a style that matches your personality, again, just like art)

As someone who abandoned RPing (and pretty much any hobby) due to my studies and came back 3 years later a 'blank' slate, I know exactly what you're going through. But trust me, you'll be back in that saddle quicker than you think~ Write for a year straight and then come back to your very first roleplay post of this year, compare them and be utterly mind-blowed by how much it has progressed and matured in such little time!
I sure was!! >w<

Good luck on your journey~! o/

 

[Bacon is fluffy]

For me writing diffuculties stems from a lack of inspiration. If there’s nothing that I “absolutely” must rp and there’s no strong gm, then it’s becomes exceedingly hard for me. I don’t think you can lose your voice. I think you can just hit a motivational wall that can occur for a number of reasons.

Losing your voice is like saying you lost yourself. Writing is partially a commentary of your own views. Even if irs being expressed through a fictional or rp context.

 

[AtlannianSpy]

I think what everyone is saying here is true, your voice is going to naturally evolve over time and that's a good thing!

That being said there's no harm in going back over your older work to see if there are elements of it you want to recapture or iterate on. You might also try rereading or watching some of the stuff you were interested in back then that was probably influencing your writing. Take a critical eye to both your own work and the stuff you were into, try to pick out what was exciting you about it or was working well.

You might find that you've actually improved more than you realized and your older ideas don't really interest you much. Or you might find devices or threads that you'd forgotten that you can incorporate into your new style and improve upon.

 

[mister_fawx]

Growth is not always linear, especially in the creative arts. Who you were and the way you saw things changed, and your voice changed because of that. What's important is that you learn to be okay with your writing, because you can never be anyone but yourself, and no one else will ever be you. Your perspective and thoughts are unique, and so your voice will be too.

 

[Avinix]

Well, just write. I think when you’re writing skills are rusty, the only way to improve them is to just write about anything, really.