Mellifluous
How do we Describe our Online Voice?
“Read through your piece and find your voice.”
I shrugged as my writing instructor prompted us to reflect on our drafts. Can I choose my voice and will it make a difference?
I combed through the piece looking for clues. Thoughtful; I’d describe my piece as thoughtful.
“Go ahead and write your piece in the opposite voice.”
What? How can I do that? How can I change my writing voice? I can’t change my tone, pitch, or volume, how is voice going to help? I wondered about this as I chose an opposite voice.
She went on to describe the different voices and roles we have in life, “Sister voice, friend voice, mom voice, spouse voice, professional voice.” We can change our language depending on the context. We can also change our voice.
What is our Online Voice?
Is our “voice” friendly? Hostile? Do we come across as welcoming or judgmental? Grateful or envious?
It’s easy for me to hop online and send a quick email without thinking about the ramifications of my words.
As I’ve pursued writing, I’ve been thinking more about voice and the responsibility we have. The responsibility to speak up for those who can’t1 and offer a gentle word that turns away wrath.2
“There are generous and inventive ways to enjoy words and to reclaim them as instruments of love, healing, and peace. All of us who speak, read, write, and listen to each other have opportunities to do that and to foster the kinds of community that come from shared stories and surprising sentences.”
― Marilyn Chandler McEntyre, Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies
//
Excited, I go back to my piece and edit. I tell the same story, but with different language. The same point but with different prose.
What voice are we using and what changes do we need to make? Is our voice malicious or mellifluous?
This post is part of a blog hop with Exhale—an online community of women pursuing creativity alongside motherhood, led by the writing team behind Coffee + Crumbs. Click here to view the next post in the series "Mellifluous."
Helpful Verses about Voice
“The tongue has the power of life and death” (Proverbs 18:21).
“Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (James 1:19).
“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” (Ephesians 4:29).
Proverbs 31:8-9
Proverbs 15:1
Such a good reminder!
Oof, this is a good word!