When do you lose your voice?
I’m not talking about singing ten solos for the church musical; I’m talking about your wonderful, delightful, nobody has the same as you—writing voice.
So, when and how do you lose it?
Your crit partners get first crack at it, well, after mom and any other person who will tell you how absolutely wonderful you are, reads it. Then, hopefully, an agent. And then, joy of all joys, an editor!
You are asked to make changes.
Some you like, some you don’t, but this is an editor talking—about YOUR book. So you make them. A few are really great and your novel soars to what it could have been all along, but then you’re asked to change the essence of your story.
And you know that by changing the essence, the voice will no longer be yours.
What do you do?
There’s a fine line between tweaking and destroying your uniqueness. How do you walk the fine line? When do you say enough?
1 comment:
I've been very fortunate to have great crit partners who don't try to change voice. I did have that experience with an editor once, and ended up withdrawing the book.
Post a Comment