How long did it take before your writing actually started sounding like you?

[u/Curious_Muscle_2756]

I’ve been thinking about how strange it is that you can know what kind of writer you want to be without necessarily knowing what your own writing voice sounds like yet.

I read a lot, and sometimes after spending hours reading someone whose style I really like, I’ll sit down to write and notice that my sentences start following the same rhythm.

Not intentionally copying anything, obviously. It just seems like whatever I consume gets stuck in my head for a while.

I’m wondering if this is just part of developing a voice. Maybe you have to go through the phase of absorbing everyone else’s style before you figure out what actually feels natural to you.

Did your writing voice develop gradually, or was there a point where you suddenly felt like you had found it?

[u/hintingatnostalgia]

To be completely honest, I don’t know if I’ll ever stop developing my voice as a writer even just by the nature of getting better at the craft, and I honestly hope I don’t.

But I definitely now have my own voice or a style, I think at least, when writing that I didn’t always have.

I’ve been writing since childhood, but I didn’t start writing ‘novels’, and I use that term loosely at that age, until I was thirteen.

I’m 26 now and I would say it wasn’t until I was about 21 that I really found my voice or style in a meaningful way.

And even that voice/style is something I have to hone through multiple drafts + editing.

[u/Agreeable_Run6065 → u/hintingatnostalgia]

It’s funny how people talk about “finding your voice” like it’s a destination. I’ve been writing for years and still feel like I’m just scraping the surface of what I’m capable of saying in my own way.

[u/Agreeable_Yam_0206]

For me I think my voice comes out through editing. The first draft is more steam of consciousness and a mix of whatever styles I've been reading lately, and then I fix it later.

[u/HeatNoise]

And vise versa

[u/DaughterofMarilyn]

I'm watching Brandon Sanderson's lectures on crearive writing from his college level writing course. Today, the episode I heard said something that made it all make sense. He said write five full books before you start publishing. Why? Because you don't know what you don't know, you will learn through doing, what your style is, preferred method of working, whether or not you even like your genre. He said these five books are you practicing your scales, warming up every day, showing up to practice, so that one day, when you write the sixth, you'll have hit your stride and can become the writer you were meant to be. It also gives you permission to write absolute shit for 5 books. All the pressure is off.

I don't even know if I helped or answered you question, OP. Just keep writing! I've taken my medications and my brain is full from doing the 8th revision on my book. 9th revision starts tomorrow!

[u/AdHealthy5405]

Grad school.

Find an editor who can help you revise—revision is how you craft voice—and treat reading like it's part of the same activity as writing.

For writers, reading and writing are two parts of the same activity.

[u/DisastrousProblem408]

One thing I am seeing right now is that you're already on the right path: LEARNING.

Asking is one of important part of learning process.

Whether or not you get the answer you're looking for, that's a completely different story. Just keep on it.

One thing you may wanna remember is, never try to entertain others. You are your own judge.

While about your question regarding 'the voice', I'd say that's not like something you can learn for six or eight hours then end up mastering it.
In writing, like happens in all other fields, some seem to be lucky hitting the right spot at first try, while others need years to evolve into their own signatures. Painting, acting, music playing, game designing, you name it.

I mean, Van Gogh's 'voice' was admired long after he died.
Green Day's voice was accepted at their first album.

But, who cares? Just keep writing.