Finding Your Voice

photo by Susan Yee of En Pointe Photography.
This one says "I'm letting it all out!"

Thanks all for your comments on yesterday's post. 

Some got a little heated (let it out, I say!), some made me think, and others made me laugh out loud. 

The whole point about having Anonymous Tuesdays is to allow ourselves  be completely and utterly honest with ourselves and the world. 

It may not be everyone's cup of hot chocolate but such is life.

There was one comment that stood out in particular and I thought I'd address it because I have a few things to say about it. Here's what Anonymous wrote:

I'm having trouble deciding what I want to "do" with my blog and lately it's keeping me up at night. I don't know what direction I want to take it in or if I've actually found my true blogging "voice." I'm having a deep existential blogging problem and I'm not sure posting this will help! Ahhh! Does everyone go through this at times? Maybe we need a blogging support group!

How do we find our blogging voices?
I am no expert (this blog is mostly trial with multiple errors) but I do have three suggestions for anyone trying to find their  blogging voice. 
(Again, I am no blogging expert. Seriously- have you seen my side bar?)

1. Tell a story.

It doesn't have to be long. In fact, call it an anecdote instead.

See if you can condense a crazy story in one or two paragraphs.

That way you can cut out the non-essentials and let the essence of your voice shine through.

 Have a beginning, middle, and end.
Have some dialogue. 

Have fun with it.

They say to write like you talk.

I'll take it one step further and say write how you wish someone would speak to you.

2. Comment on other blogs.

I know we don't have a lot of time to comment on every single person's blog, but for me blog commenting has been invaluable.  Doing so has taught me how to articulate my feelings on all kinds of different subject matters, subjects and things I would never have thought about otherwise. 

In that way I have absolutely found my voice because, in a sense, I'm talking to others about things and my reactions to them. And isn't that what blogging is about anyway?

3.  Sign up for Pinterest.

I'm not sponsored by Pinterest. 

Ben has no clue who I am even though I receive multiple emails from him a day. 

But Pinterest and other photo streams are great for knowing what your style is and what direction you might want to take on your blog.

Seriously, go on it, start pinning photos you like, look at your board, and then find a theme.

Et, voila! For me that theme is a pretty good indication of what my blog is about.

Pinterest is such a great look into what catches your eye and what pulls at your heart.

It's your visual voice.

Some Strong Voices

Some of the bloggers who I think have the most distinct voices around are Sabine from Pynopsis, Lenore from Lenore Nevermore, and Drollgirl. So if you gals are reading this perhaps you'll drop a few lines about finding your voice? Don't get shy now! 

(PS... I love all three of them. I look up to them. Drollgirl- now don't cry! I know you're getting weepy!)

And I will leave you with one last quote to give you perspective.

It was meant for aspiring writers but I think it applies to bloggers also.

Don’t try to guess what sort of thing editors want to publish or what you think the country is in a mood to read. Editors and readers don’t know what they want to read until they read it. 

~WILLIAM ZINSSER

Any other tips or support for this awesome blogger?

Did you go through this or are you currently going through this yourself?

And whoever you are I want to thank you for this comment!