OUTLIERS ONE MORE THING: Your Voice Is Yours, and Yours Aloneby DP Lyle
- D. P. Lyle
- Oct 23
- 3 min read
OUTLIERS ONE MORE THING: Your Voice Is Yours, and Yours Alone
by DP Lyle
What is this elusive thing we call voice, and why is it important?
Let’s address the latter first. When an agent or editor says they’re looking for something “fresh” or something that “speaks to them,” they’re talking about voice. They constantly search for new ones. It is voice, more than the story, the plot, and the characters, that grabs their attention, and sells your manuscript.
So, what exactly is it?
It’s the “sound” and “feel” of your work. It’s how the story affects the reader, and how the reader engages with and falls into the story world. It’s your story, told your way. Contrast the clean a simple voice of Elmore Leonard with the poetic nature of James Lee Burke. Voice, like art, is something you know when you see it.
Let’s look at definitions from a few Outliers’ instructors:
Voice is the part of you that is heart and soul coming out on the page—-Heather Graham
Voice is the distinctive writing style and unique perspective that saturates your story—Steven James
Voice is your distinctive way of telling your story. It comes from three things: Knowledge, Experience, and Confidence—DP Lyle
Finding your voice is like learning to ride a bike. Remember those days of wobbling and falling and scraping your knee? Of gaining a sense of ability and confidence so that soon you are ripping around the neighborhood and no longer thinking about how you do it. You just do. It becomes natural. Voice is the same.
Most writers begin their writing journey by reading books on writing, or attending classes—like the Outliers Writing University. These give you the tools and techniques that are essential for your fiction. But as you keep writing, day after day, these become second nature. And then that day occurs. When you write something that’s easy, and smooth, and that sounds like you. The bike feels balanced, and natural.
For me, the 3 essential elements are what I outlined in my definition above: Knowledge, Experience, and Confidence.
Knowledge comes from books and classes, of course, but even more so from the books you read. Writers must read. When you embark on writing, your reading is no longer just for pleasure, but it becomes a classroom. You see how other writers construct stories, lay out plots, create dialog, and how the author’s voice sounds and feels. You take away something from each story you read. Even more so if you read in all genres, not just the one you chose for your work. You gain knowledge from every story and every writer.
Experience comes from writing. Sitting down and creating stories. Producing scenes, dialog, action, narrative. Each day, your skills improve. Your storytelling strengthens. It’s hard work. It takes time. No one ever said writing was easy. But as you produce those words, your attitude evolves. You “relax”—for lack of a better word—-and all the rules you’ve learned ease into the background and you begin to tell your story, your way.
Confidence comes after the first two. When you feel you’ve finally learned how to craft a story. How to tell your tale. How to use the words, and style, that feels right to you. How to ride that bike. When that happens, and eventually it will, go with it. Your writing will truly become yours. Your voice will become yours, and yours alone.
DP LYLE
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