Finding your blogging voice

Jan 30, 2014

Creating a blogging style or finding your voice can be a tough thing to do. When you start blogging you can easily fall into the trap of writing in a style that’s not natural to you or write in the wrong style for your blog. Let’s face it you don’t want to be writing showbiz gossip in the voice of a maths professor.

From the way I look at it there are three different types of writing:

  • Write how you speak.
  • Write how you write.
  • Write in a specific style.

Write how you speak

This is how I tend to write. I say things in my head and write them down with a slightly Black Country accent. This type of writing may not work for everyone as you may speak in a way that doesn’t suit the content of your blog. You can also find yourself ‘using far too many words in each sentence for what you want to say and end up waffling on and going way too over the top with lots and lots of extra words and general waffle’. See what I did there! I have the waffle problem and strip lots of words from my writing.

You will find that once your blog post is done it may not sound exactly how you speak but that’s not a huge problem as you’ll also develop you’re own editing style so hopefully your writing will be consistent.

Write how you write

We all have a certain style of natural writing and this could easily be your blogging voice. Once again you need to make sure that the style you’re writing in fits the style of your blog.
Remember you don’t need to be a great writer to be a blogger. Obviously it helps if you have a decent command of your language but you certainly don’t need degrees or formal training. Blogging in its very nature is informal and conversational.

You may find that the way you naturally write is the way you speak so we’re back to point one!

Write in a specific style

Forcing a style of writing out of your pen or keyboard can be the hardest way to write and you’ll need a lot of practice at it. If you’re writing showbiz gossip you may want to jazz up your style in that awful OMG, OMG, OMG type of speak so you can generate the showbiz persona you want. You may be writing comedy or satire or need to be sarcastic and full of irony. Whichever style you choose you’re going to need to practice at it.
One of the blogs I write for is in the fashion industry and the style of my writing for that blog is very different to what I write here.

At the end of the day it will take practice and a lot of writing to come up with your own blogging voice and this style will evolve as you grow older and wiser and let this happen naturally. None of us have the same views, thoughts and ideals that we had five or ten years ago so our writing will change over time, let it and your blogging voice will grow with you.