Writer's Voice Part II

"Polly," my friend from the South drawled in her soft sweet voice, "you are discouraged because this edit has wiped out  your voice." She handed me a box of Kleenex.

"You know what voice is?" I wiped my tears and sniffed. "I've taught on voice, but I couldn't see or hear it in my own work. It's funny that  you should discover that and I'm glad you did. Can you help me?"

"Of course, this editor has begun to insert her own voice into your work and I can see it clearly, the difference between the two of you. You talk like you are from the west, this editor is from the east and she's inserting words that you don't use in  your everyday speech. Remember, your husband once told you to write like you talk. Don't try to pick up vocabulary you don't ordinarily use." Jodie continued, "Every time I read something that  you've written, I can tell that you did it and I can also "hear" when someone has changed something that isn't you."

"Hmmm you can "hear"?

"There's a cadence to your writing and an expected way that only you do things. As  you bring your characters to life, they can be heard by the reader. For me, it's a heart thing. Heart to heart,  ya know sweet thing?" Jodie hugged me. "There's critiques and edits that help your work sing with constructive criticism but you should never change things if it's cold and unfeeling delivery or you don't understand what the editor has done." Smiling, she patted my hand, "You aren't Jim or Jodie, you're Paulette. Don't forget that fiction is different than non-fiction. You can take a few more liberties with fiction and someone that doesn't understand the differences, should not be editing your work. It will only discourage you. This editor doesn't have a  handle on the fiction yet. But, I will give her credit, she is excellent in her editing for punctuation. By the way, I can always tell when you are tired when you write your beginning drafts."

 "How so?" I raised an eyebrow.

Jodie laughed, "You get messy with your punctuation, especially dialogue."

Her warm honey words soothed my troubled heart and fed my soul. It was a deep southern love and care for me that struck me most. She was being her self and her personality is predictable. Just like our writing should be.