Finding your voice

Four months ago I took the plunge and publicly declared myself a writer. I published my first post, spent some time thinking about what I might want to accomplish as a writer, and jumped right in. I just read my “Introduction” post and I’m happy because I think I’ve actually held true to what I wrote in September. I have written about a variety of topics, shared openly and honestly, listened to and benefited from your comments and feedback.

If you are a regular reader or follower, you know I have participated in blogging challenges to help me gain practice and experience. One of the common topics in all of these challenges is the importance of “finding your voice.” I wrote about this in October as part of the Intentional Blogging challenge.

As a speech-language pathologist I know a great deal about the human voice. I can explain how the muscles of the larynx contract to shape the airflow; how the sound is resonated in the oral and nasal passages; how the tongue, teeth and lips modify the airflow to create sounds and words; and how pitch and prosody are used to add layers of meaning. Ask me to modulate my speaking voice and I can complete any number of tasks, altering tone and resonance on command.

I have devoted much time and attention over the years to my actual physical voice but I continue to find it difficult to describe my writing voice. I come back to “conversational” because my goal with this blog is to encourage dialogue and communication. It’s what any good speechie would want! “Conversational” is also an adjective many readers have used when I’ve asked them about my writing voice.

Once again I am introducing myself to a new group of fellow blog challenge participants. I have a few more answers now than I did four months ago. I know with certainty I am meant to write. Today is Day 121 of my participation in My 500 Words. Not all those words are worthy of publication, but the daily habit is helping me discover who I am as a writer. This is an enlightening period of discovery and I am encouraged by the response I have received from the other members at My 500 Words.

I am grateful to you – the readers who have permitted me to explore and experiment. Some topics have been well received and have sparked great dialogue. Some topics were important for me, even if they did not spark a personal connection or reaction from you. I have several disability related posts in draft form. While there will be several travel related posts this year, this will not be a travel blog. There may be a few baking or cookie posts, but this will not be a food blog. I will be experimenting with layout and design, now that I’m more comfortable with the blogging platform.

For now, DeeScribes remains focused on me and my writing dreams, as I originally planned. The challenges I participate in and the posts I write are the result of my dreams to be a writer. So many of these have come true. Thank you for helping me fulfill them and for encouraging me along the way.