While writing my article recently regarding tips and techniques for new writers, I began to wonder about voice and tone, and why it is important to the process of writing. It may come as a surprise to many people, but your voice and tone will influence everything you write. So, what is it? 

To explain it in plain terms, your voice is the way you speak or write and this never changes. Your voice represents your personality, whereas your tone reflects the mood you are in. Your tone will change in accordance with the different emotions you are feeling at any one time. Think about your voice for a moment; the pitch, the volume and the body language you use. When you write, your voice comes across in the grammar, punctuation, and choice of words you use. All of these things will reflect your personality. It is important you understand the importance of voice and tone because if the way you speak is inconsistent with the way you write, then people will notice. Inconsistency builds lack of trust in people and, if you are a writer, this means your readers will be less likely to listen to you or buy any of your novels.  

For example, take this section from Wuthering Heights:  

I have just returned from a visit to my landlord, the solitary neighbour that I shall be troubled with. This is certainly a beautiful country! In all England, I do not believe that I could have fixed on a situation so completely removed from the stir of society. 

Using my voice, I would write the above passage like this: 

I have only just returned from catching up with my landlord. Which was great, because he is the only neighbour I have for miles. I love living here with all of the countryside around me, I am one lucky girl. Being here, I can be who I want to be with nobody around whom I have to try hard to impress.  

Both passages are basically saying the same thing, but the way the words flow will be appreciated by two different types of readers. 

As I mentioned earlier, your voice is who you are and this should always remain the same, but your tone must change in accordance with the circumstances. If you have a naturally upbeat personality or dry sense of humour, you must keep that in check if, for example, you are writing a scene dealing with an upsetting subject. Make your tone of writing appropriate to the situation. If you are in any doubt which tone to use, put yourself in your readers' shoes and ask yourself how they would be feeling right now. Once you know which tone is suitable, go back and write your scene in that tone, but using your own voice to express it.  

So how do you find your own unique voice? This is a gradual process and the more you write, the more you will find your own voice. But there are ways to help you speed up the process. Begin by writing down every word that describes the author you would like to become. Don’t worry at this stage if they sound silly or out of reach, just write them all down. Now discard all of the ones that either make you wince or are too general. When you have three words these will become your authorial brand and they will be the key to your writing voice and the content you create. Just to remind you, these words do not have to be adjectives, they can be any word or phrase that reflects your desired authorial brand. They will reflect different aspects of your personality but if you know what your brand is, your voice will remain constant no matter in what genre you write.