Writing Voice 101: Add Color and Richness … Without Making Us Want to Barf

Writing Voice 101: Add Color and Richness … Without Making Us Want to Barf

Reader Comments (17)

    • I think the main issue is that when Everything! is Exciting! then nothing is exciting. 🙂

      I cut them out of my writing by the bushel. I use a lot of them in my drafts, because I get all worked up in my drafts!

      And I confess I was a two-space writer for many years. I blame learning how to type in the Flintstone era. Took forever to break the habit …

  1. I really enjoyed your article. Great tips, reminders, etc.
    I am just venturing into the world of writing – online. Very thankful for great advice!
    Um, I use too many exclamations, dashes, too. Yikes… I will definitely pay more attention to my “penchant” for over punctuating.

  2. I am a writer too. Giving a message and getting readers to actually read your content is like feeding a baby! Some like their veggies and some don’t. It about feeling the vibe of what your readers enjoy!

  3. Great article. I especially liked the part about showing more vulnerability. I see many bloggers talk about their wins but they never share the hard work and long hours it took to get there.

  4. Hey Sonia,

    In the past few years, I have always focused on having an insight about what my audience wants.

    You’re right, no one can put the same pen for all.

    Using the short forms can be glitchy for many. Not everyone is used to read WTF. I never do that.

    Bluffing isn’t the solution, people should work hard to sharpen their writing skills for the better responses.

    Thanks for shedding some light.
    ~Ravi

  5. Hey Sonia–
    This post is spot on! I think we might all be able to see ourselves in some part of it. I agree with you about drafts–mine are often quite “different” from the final copy. These are great reminders to all writers. In book editing that I do these same embellishments are some of the first items to get the red line! Thank you so much for sharing!

  6. Hi Sonia,

    Thanks for the article! You brought up a lot of points that whisked me back to 12th grade English class with our teacher drilling them into our heads.

    One of my favorite points you made was that everyone has a different audience who reads their content. Currently, I write for a blog that provides financial and life skills to students, so my tone is generally along the lines of what you described – professional but with a light-hearted tone.

    I also can’t help but use a few memes in my posts, with time and place in mind of course :).

  7. Thanks, Sonia. This was such a fun and enlightening read.

    My take-home point was about exclamation marks. I used to think they were necessary to make it clear I was making a joke, but you didn’t have a single exclamation mark in your entire post and yet I still recognised all of the jokes as jokes. (And laughed out loud many times.)

    Fantastic stuff. Thank you! (Oops, one snuck in there…)

  8. Oh my! I’m such a fancy Nancy! Thanks for pointing it out, I bet that will be hard to shake off! Great post, many things to look out for in our drafts, thanks so much!

  9. Hi Sonia! Pointing out that we’re there to help our audience and not the other way around helped me. The entire article helped actually, of course! Thanks!

  10. i’m SO guilty of overabuse of exclamation marks.

    and yeah… whenever I hear someone say “awesome” or “epic” anymore… over it.

  11. Clear, concise, yet entertaining – nice article. I try to focus on removing adjectives and adverbs in exchange for the perfect noun or verb. Often tricky, always rewarding.
    Thanks! (…want a few more? !!)

  12. This is just the post I needed. Adding more character to writing is what always draws me in. It’s definitely an art that requires practice, but I’m working on developing this skill and incorporating it into my writing. Great tips here!

This article's comments are closed.