I took this photo just moments before the audience were asked to return to their seats ahead of a panel I was speaking on this past Saturday called ‘How to find and refine your voice’. The panel convenor was Wendy Tuohy and my co-panellists were Kate Forster and Lou Pardi; they are all fabulous, talented women and it was a pleasure to be there talking about what I think is one of the essential parts of blogging.
So what is ‘voice? To me, voice is knowing not only what you want to say but how you want to say it.
The ‘what’ is generally obvious – it’s the call, the lure to our keyboards in the first place; a story, an outrage, a triumph, an injustice, all these and many more. The ‘how’ is what intrigues me. It are the bloggers and writers who develop their voices, sometimes right in front of the reader’s eyes, be it over weeks (or years), and work on their craft are the bloggers who command my respect.
Because it’s not easy.
We’re writing in a public forum and very many of us who are personal bloggers share our opinions, sometimes secrets, in the spirit of helping or supporting others. On the other side, nearly any blogger who has been around long enough can share a horror story of how things have gone wrong: trolls, objections, relationships jeopardised. That’s just a sampler. I have a story or two myself. As Wendy said, ‘Be wary of offering someone a stick”.
As the panel was also about how to refine your voice, and – with my editor’s hat on – I talked a bit about structuring and editing. “Arrive late, leave early” is my motto when it comes to short stories and it’s increasingly my motto about blog posts as well. And use that ‘edit’ button! It’s there for a reason!
Wendy asked what my favourite blogs are, and my answer was that many are the ones I’ve been reading since I began almost seven years ago. These are the blogs I listed off the cuff on stage:
But here are others:
(I hesitate to name Australian blogs because I don’t want to risk hurting anyone’s feelings if they get left off the list. This makes me a big chicken, I guess. It’s true all the same. However, last year, I interviewed personal bloggers who have made a significant impact on our Aussie landscape: frogpondsrock, Sleepless Nights, Magnetboldtoo, AllConsuming and Stuff with Thing.)
Then, in the second panel, I can’t remember if it was Kate or Pip who said, “I want it {her blog} to be one element of what I do”, but whoever it was I remember nodding vigorously. This blog is only a part of my life; a significant part, but not everything. Reading and writing, the kids, my doddering and generally weird mind that occasionally needs a little help and that’s fine – they all contribute to my voice.
It also, through this blog, has afforded me a lot of opportunities and the confidence to pursue others. It has found me friends, like-minded gems who I mightn’t have otherwise had the fortune to meet. It’s why I continue to love blogging gatherings, and going to the pub afterwards, because some of us can’t quite bear to part company, not yet.
And we go home again a little more resolute in the knowledge what we’re doing is worth doing.
I’d like to thank Kidspot for inviting me to participate in the day and say a big hello to everyone who I met on the day x
And for those people who are interested, I have a very special offer of Crying in the Car: Reflections on Life and Motherhood currently available. It’s my latest book, and I’m quite proud of it.
Click here to buy…
