When I was pregnant with my son, I listened to a variety of music because I love music and I wanted him to share my passion. Parenting literature claims that if you expose a growing fetus to music they could possess artistic skills later in life. I have to say I am a believer in that philosophy. My son loves music, and all musical instruments. He loves to dance, and sing, and he shows promising musical talent. I’m not claiming to have cultivated a future American Idol, but I’ve provided the microphone, it’s up to him to develop his voice.

As writers, we cultivate things from the world around us to use as tools when we choose to write a story. The type of individuals we are, and sometimes want to be, helps to create our characters. We read books and absorb the style of our favorite authors, and then we decide with our own voice how to tell our story.

I’ve struggled with developing a plot for my WIP that doesn’t appear too clichéd. I don’t want to write a cookie cutter version of something that’s already been done. I learned from a brainstorming session that all plots have been done, but how I make it my own is with my personal writer’s voice. I’ve been too busy trying to formulate the plot for the next Great American Novel to see what has always been a given. We all use the same plot formula, but it’s up to us as writers to make it our own.

Mastering a writer’s voice is the same as a singer mastering their vocal range. It takes practice and a desire to perfect our craft.

Have you ever heard the old proverb The devil makes work for idle hands?

When my hands aren’t writing I find myself procrastinating. The longer I stay away from some form of writing the less confident I become, and the less productive I am when I do sit down to write. I have to think, live, and work like a writer in order to keep my voice.

A plotted outline is an idea; it doesn’t become a story until you breathe life into the words that unfold the plot. We can sketch characters all day, but you never truly do them justice until you bring them to life on the page. All of the pirates here at the ship could take the same plot and characters and write a story, but I guarantee one would not shadow another. It’s because we all possess our own individual voice. It follows the same pattern as the game of truth. I’m sure you played this game as a child. One individual whispers a phrase in the person’s ear beside him and the phrase is passed on down the line until the last person repeats what he just heard. It never matches the beginning phrase, because each individual hears the phrase and makes of it what they want.

Wouldn’t the literary word be dull if we all shared the same voice? Variety is the spice of life, and when it comes to writing for a living, perfecting your individual voice is the greatest investment of all.