You’ve gotta make your own kind of music
“Make your own kind of music” by Mama Cass
Sing your own special song
Make your own kind of music
Even if nobody else sings along
A famous chef, half Syrian and half Brazilian, opened a fusion cuisine restaurant. Every dish had a wonderful mixture of spices and cooking techniques from his two roots. I remembered him this week when I thought about strategies to develop my unique voice in writing. When it comes to cooking, it may be easy to mix and fuse, but how can I follow Mama Cass’s advice and display a unique writing voice?
Author William Zinsser has some suggestions in his book “On Writing Well.” He suggests avoiding breeziness, condescension, and falling into too many walking clichés.
When it comes to breezy writing, it makes sense. There is no value in informal, casual, relaxed, or carefree writing. Imagine a gourmet restaurant that serves apples, a glass of milk, and protein bars. If we remove those from the menu, customers could focus on the restaurant’s signature pastries. Similarly, eliminating breezy noise from my writing could “clean” my genuine writing voice.
As for condescension, there is no need to treat the reader as inferior, less intelligent, or incapable of understanding the topic. Unless the writer is a condescending guy. If so, wouldn’t this recommendation impact the authenticity of his voice?! Imagine a chef who insists on serving medium-rare steaks, so his customers can appreciate the real taste of the meat. If we force him to provide a well-done option, aren’t we diminishing his culinary voice?!
Same goes for clichés. They exist for a reason: people like them. Writers like them. The Hallmark channel, which airs 24/7 cliché movies, is quite popular. Sometimes setting limitations on writers and forbidding them from using clichés or pretentious voice has a price called authenticity.
Perhaps it’s a matter of balance. We can consider Zinsser’s guidelines, but those are not set in stone. I do believe, that the path to my true writing voice would come from my roots, culture, values, life experience, and personality. This is how I can make my own kind of writing, even if nobody else reads along.
