Finding Your Writer's Voice by Frank, Thaisa, Frank, Yitzchak Ed., Wall, Quinton published by St. Martin's Griffin

by Thaisa Frank

An illuminating guide to finding one's most powerful writing tool, Finding Your Writer's Voice helps writers learn to hear the voices that are uniquely their own. Mixing creative inspiration with practical advice about craft, the book includes chapters Accessing raw voice- Listening to voices of childhood, public and private voices, and colloquial voices- Working in first and third discovering a narrative persona- Using voice to create characters- Shaping one's voice into the form of a story- Reigniting the energy of voice during revision

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Reference

Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

The fiction of Enchantment is Thaisa Frank’s third collection of short fiction and includes two semi-autobiographical novellas as well as thirty-three stories. Her most recent novel, Heidegger’s Glasses, takes place in the mythical haven of an underground mine during WWII, the safety of which is threatened forever. It was published in 2010, reissued in paperback in 2011 and sold to ten foreign countries before publication. She is also the author of Sleeping in Velvet and A Brief History of Camouflage, both on the Bestseller List of the San Francisco Chronicle. Thaisa has received two PEN awards and her stories have been widely-anthologized, Upcoming are in Nonrton's Micro Fiction and Bloombury's Creative Short Forms. Others are in A Dictionary of Dirty Words, Harper/Collins Reader’s Choice and Rozne Ksztatly Milocsi. She has published critical essays on writing and art and is the author of the Afterward to Viking/Penguin’s most recent edition of Voltaire. Her poetry, which she writes secretly, appears in small publications. She is a member of the San Francisco Writers Grotto.

Thaisa has also co-authored Finding Your Writers Voice: A Guide to Creative Fiction, translated into Portuguese and Spanish, and used in writing programs. She has taught writing in the graduate departments of San Francisco State, the University of San Francisco and the University of California as Visiting Associate Professor of Creative Writing.

Thaisa grew up in the Midwest and the Bronx, the granddaughter of a Presbyterian theologian and a Rumanian Chassid, who consulted each other about Aramaic texts. Her fiction, sometimes characterized as “domestic magical realism,” draws on a bi-cultural childhood, in which she lived in a sedate suburb of Illinois for two-thirds of the year and the colorful, immigrant world of New York for the remaining third. In her stories a child has too many mothers to remember, a woman orders an enchanted man from a mail-order catalogue, a circus performer has feet that can see, and a lonely vampire adjusts to life the heartlands. Her novellas are about the journey of a daughter and her parents.

Thaisa wrote her first story when she was eight—an “unremarkable story, except it made me feel connected to a vast world, far beyond my family.” She majored in philosophy of science and perfected her writing privately, turning down fellowships and working as a copy-editor, ghost-writer, and psychotherapist. One interviewer has claimed she once gave psychic readings, but this was only a rumor, started by one of her characters.

You can follow her on Twitter and on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thaisafrankb....

Reviews

[Rocío · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sería un 2,5 aproximadamente.

He tenido momentos donde solo pensaba en estrangular la "voz". Se me inflaba una vena asesina. Me daba un tic en el ojo. Quería estampar el libro contra la pared. Pese a todo esto, tiene cosas interesantes entre mucha, muchaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa paja para mi gusto.

[Merce Cardus · Rating 4 out of 5]

It contains many exercises and whispers you how the stories get written. http://goo.gl/Y1rlN

[Hanje Richards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book on writing. My writing workshop leader recommended this book and I found it packed with suggestions and ideas for exercises to use in an effort to find your writing voice. It happened to address something I am struggling with at this very moment in the section on "Revision" and in particular the subsection: "When to Rewrite From Scratch." I still have to figure out what I am going to do, but it was like the authors were speaking directly to me in that moment. I am glad I purchased this book rather than getting it from the library. I suspect it is one I will refer to again.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has some helpful exercises, it's a great tool for teachin and thinking about how to get fiction going. Of the genre, which is not a genre I generally trust or am drawn to, it's a good pick

[RE de Leon]

Pretty good so far. Hasn't really solved any of my writer's block problems yet, but pretty good so far. Will get back to you when I finish.

[Riversue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and inspiring. There is much here to take away and use.

[Francisco Hidalgo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una lectura interesante para escritores amateur con varias tecnicas y ejercicios con los que se pretende esquivar el "bloqueo creativo". Me hubiera gustado realizar los ejercicios a cabalidad pero este es un libro que requiere varias revisiones para llegar a aplicar varios de los consejos. Me brindo de un par de herramientas que espero sean de mucho valor.

[Barbara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow. I bought this book for inspiration and a nudge to get back to my writing. What I got was grammatical errors, misuse of punctuation, lack of punctuation, capitalization where it was not appropriate, run-on sentences, and much more. That all occurred within the first eight chapters. My jaw was probably hanging open. I won’t be finishing this book.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, full of exercises and examples to help you find the voice of your narrator and characters as well as the craft of writing.

[Sabrina Hofkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is inspiring and I enjoyed reading it. I'm going to read it again and work through the writing exercises, which will be very helpful.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

A writer's voice is as unique as their signature; like those movie lines immortalized by great actors, the voice evokes a certain persona and oftentimes attitude. Focusing on and honing your writer's voice is in many ways the life-long journey authors embark on when they first put pen to paper.

Thaisa Frank and Dorothy Wall's Finding Your Writer's Voice: A Guide to Creative Fiction creates an environment of reflection, rumination, and ultimately renewal. Dedicated to the development of a writer's voice, this book discusses the many aspects of writing and ways in which authors of all ages and experiences can improve their voice and at the same time improve their works. Many chapters end with writing prompts and exercises to inspire writers to focus on one aspect at a time. I found many of the exercises to be helpful in shifting my perspective on writing, including aspects of the process itself (such as revision, planning, etc.).

I would recommend Finding Your Writer's Voice: A Guide to Creative Fiction to any author looking to improve their craft. Try out a few exercises and see where they lead you! I am a better author for reading this book and I know it can help you too!

[Cabiria Aquarius · Rating 5 out of 5]

This guide was amazing. I believe it could help me in the long run of being a writer and a reader. The only thing that I would've liked is for the writers who wrote this advice and tips is for them to know their audience. Adults aren't the only ones who love to write and who look to books for tips. But other than that. This advice helped me.