How to Get Your Voice Into Your Writing

Are you afraid to open up?

If you’re trying to stay straight-laced and chase an idea of perfect professionalism, it’s very hard to write long form content. It’s okay if you are, it’s not something most people can do easily. Frankly, it's taken me many years of therapy to be open about my perspective, who I am, and what I've been through.

When I started writing, it was with the goal to write perfectly professional pieces that I would be completely fine with any of my coworkers or family members reading.

As you can guess, trying to please everyone meant that I held back a lot.

"Our expectations and experience shapes us. When we write we must find a voice that expresses our sentient self, not some idealized version of a cogent self, devoid of the exacting life-altering lessons that come with enduring a variety of experiences.”

― Kilroy J. Oldster

My writing was essentially one giant dam against the tumultuous river of everything it was hiding.

Subsequently, my earliest pieces are painfully bland. It almost feels like I let Siri or Google Assistant write my thoughts out for me. Even Lord of the Rings jokes programmed into AIs have more personality than my early writing.

You can’t be too afraid to tell your story.

Fear is a big part of what can hold you back. If you’re afraid to open up, you aren’t going to be able to let your personality shine through into your writing.

For me, I actually got a job at a startup strictly because of my content writing. This almost gave me the exact opposite reinforcement I needed; I felt like this was a sign that being primly professional was the way to go.

But it wasn’t. It may have been enough to get me hired, but it wasn’t enough to get lots of people to want to read my work.

It’s hard to be both open and professional in your writing.

“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”

― Kurt Vonnegut

When your writing is your work, it seems to make sense to keep things professional. At first glance, it makes sense.

Why risk your online writing costing you any potential jobs or clients? It feels risky. Yet if you write everything with the prim professionalism you’d have in the office, people aren’t going to get a good sense of the writer behind your words.

In a traditional work context, it isn’t too hard to crack the door open.

You can reveal a little about yourself, and build a friendly but professional relationship with someone. Reveal one detail in that water cooler chat in your office and that is probably enough to get a deeper conversation going.

Yet if you take that same mindset into your writing, it’s not going to be enough. You can’t just crack the door open and think that people are going to care about what you have to say when you’re obviously holding back.

When you’re writing, you can’t stress about what people might think if they read your work. You just have to tell your story and your truth to the best and most honest of your ability.

People would read instruction manuals if they wanted dry, bland writing.

“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter. ’tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”

― Mark Twain

No one subscribes to a publication or browses for stories online to read because they want bland instructions. Yet as much as I know this, it’s still hard to be completely open in my writing.

Despite that dilemma, it’s something I’m working on. If you’re bailing water out of the bilge of the same boat, then it’s something you should work on too.

Be yourself. If you let your voice come through, if you allow yourself to be open, your writing will get a lot more exciting to read.

Start with small truths and work your way up.

If you can’t confess your deepest and darkest desires and aspirations right away, start smaller. It’s hard to be utterly open and honest without keeping some unpleasant memories a secret.

Start telling stories about your past that taught you lessons. It’s the kind of valuable story that will help people truly learn from you.

Start writing about the topics that mean the most to you. It’ll be easy to have the words flow and the honesty come through when you’re passionate about what you’re writing about. Share your opinion without apologizing for it when you don’t need to.

See if that controlled opening up and lead you into greater opening.

“Make your ego porous. Will is of little importance, complaining is nothing, fame is nothing. Openness, patience, receptivity, solitude is everything.”

― Rainer Maria Rilke

It’s starting to sound like I’m talking about stretching a muscle in a yoga pose, but like a stretch, it’s best to start slow and work your way out.

Start with the stories that are easy to tell. Then work up to the ones that are deeper and more personal.

Use phrases and mannerisms that you would in conversation with friends.

If you’re still working on being more open, start by treating your writing like you would a conversation with a close friend. Use any funny phrases that you would when speaking casually.

If that means you curse a little here and there, that is surprisingly acceptable in content writing, as long as it’s tasteful and not overly done.

For the most part, readers want to feel like they’re learning something from a person who isn’t too different from them. No one wants to feel like they’re being talked down to.

It's going to take time to cultivate your voice.

“Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.”

― Louis L'Amour

I’m tentatively starting to let my voice into my writing more. It’s scary, but I know it’s something I need to do more if I want to be authentic in my writing. I’ve heard of people not getting hired for jobs because of things they’ve written online. In that climate, it’s intimidating to be utterly open.

In real life, I curse like a sailor. I grew up by the sea and find it quite justified. I recently started letting a damn or similar mild profanity slip into my writing here and there, when it feels appropriate. It’s a small way for me to put my true voice into my writing and let my emotions show when I feel strongly about something.

It’s not something I would put in an office memo. But you’re not sharing your words with the world just for it all to read like a boring note faxed to a doctor’s office.

Make the choice to be more open. Once you’ve made that decision, you can work toward sharing your story in your words. You can tell your life’s truths with all the uniqueness that only you can share.