Read Jason Half’s short, thoughtful article on the writing process and voice here!
Here is a little excerpt:
Writers might not spend a lot of time considering and defining their individual creative voices, and that’s probably a good thing. As often with the writing process, overthinking and overanalyzing can become a liability. But taking a few minutes to identify your own artistic voice may strengthen your future writing and offer a new perspective on previous work.
On the surface, a creative voice seems like an easy feature to spot. Stephen King’s voice is markedly different from Raymond Chandler’s, and Agatha Christie’s voice would likely not be mistaken by faithful readers with those of P.D. James or Ruth Rendell. Some of the elements defining voice are obvious signifiers, like narrative style or tone or type of story. Algorithms could be built, using word choices and genre structures and character types, which could reliably identify the data-driven aspects of voice. This one must be Charles Dickens. Hello there, Shakespeare.
More about Jason
Jason Half is a graduate of Ohio University’s M.F.A. Playwriting program. His stage plays have had readings in Chicago and Pittsburgh and performances in Maine, Ohio, and Minnesota. He is the recipient of the 2010 Scott McPherson Playwriting Award and, as writer and director, his film THE BALLAD OF FAITH DIVINE won the Best Feature award at 2009’s Colony Film Festival. His one-act play LOCKED ROOM MISERY has received productions at Marietta College and Washington State Community College in southern Ohio. Recently, two television scripts have been finalists in national screenwriting contests. Jason has taught film, theater, scriptwriting, literature and composition courses at colleges in West Virginia and southern Ohio.
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