| For many, tone and voice seem synonymous, | | | | The first might read something like this: Dear Mr. |
| and it is easy to see why people might feel this | | | | David C. Howson: Please be advised that your |
| way, however, the terms are decidedly different. | | | | attendance is requested on Thursday, January 11, |
| But before either can be differentiated, it is | | | | 2009, at 1:00 p.m., in the offices of John Carlton |
| important to take a close look at writers who | | | | Jones, Esquire, Attorney at Law, 201 West |
| mastered voice. | | | | Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60601, for the |
| Thomas Mann's Short Stories Showcase Voice | | | | reading of the Last Will and Testament of Horatio |
| One of the best ways to understand something is | | | | Clark Howson, etc. |
| to provide different treatments of the subject. | | | | Conversely, here is an invitation to the reading of |
| Thomas Mann's eight stories in the popular | | | | the will from a close relative: Dear Davey, your |
| Vintage imprint with DEATH IN VENICE as the | | | | uncle's will is going to be read next week at our |
| lead title is ideal to work from, since each story is | | | | attorney's office, and we look forward to seeing |
| written in a different voice. Yet Mann's | | | | you there. Jo Ann will call you for with the details. |
| masterpiece, THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN, depicts his | | | | Love, Aunt Mary. |
| voice as a separate entity unto its own--and one | | | | Style Establishes Voice, but There's a Lot More to |
| could say that it was his true voice. | | | | it |
| While the short stories in the DEATH IN VENICE | | | | Same message about the dearly departed, and |
| Vintage compendium enable a relatively quick | | | | although both are conveyed in what is considered |
| study of the range voice can take, this is far | | | | a soft tone in relative terms, they are written in |
| from conclusive. The reason is because voice is | | | | quite different voices. So while it's safe to say |
| without boundaries. This open architecture, in and | | | | that style creates voice as much as the words |
| of itself, leads to much of the confusion about | | | | which are used, what about an academic paper |
| voice. And this is the first distinction between | | | | written in an authoritative tone? Isn't this also an |
| voice and tone, since tone can generally be | | | | authoritative voice? Certainly, except it would |
| identified without too much of an argument. | | | | probably be easier for definition purposes to claim |
| So What is Voice? | | | | the voice as authoritative and the tone as strong. |
| When someone hears that a "new voice has | | | | Tone has Three Basic Mediums |
| exploded upon the literary scene," does one | | | | For practical purposes, tone is either soft, |
| automatically expect to read the next Marcel | | | | moderate, or strong. These areas of course can |
| Proust, Virginia Wolfe, Ann Rand, Ralph Ellison, | | | | have any number of gradients, from very soft to |
| William Faulkner, or Erskine Caldwell; or should we | | | | aggressively strong, but the three delineations |
| seek writers of a more current era such as Pat | | | | provide the basis for comparison. This is still |
| Conroy, Elmore Leonard, E. L. Doctorow, Tom | | | | speculative, because what one person considers |
| Clancy, or Barbara Kingsolver? | | | | moderate another might feel is strong (or |
| Each of these writers possesses a distinctive | | | | naturally vice versa). But it's much easier to come |
| voice, but what do we say about authors who | | | | to a consensus on a specific tone than to devise |
| work in the same genre and write in a similar | | | | a chart that categorizes voice. |
| style? Does each have a separate voice? Of | | | | So, Again, What is Voice? |
| course he or she does. Just as one singer can | | | | Voice is you. Should you and another person write |
| sound like another but not possess the identical | | | | a book about the identical topic, your story will |
| range in every key. | | | | reflect your way of telling the tale via words and |
| An Attorney Letter and Family Correspondence | | | | syntax that differ from what the other writer |
| on the Same Subject Illustrate the Difference | | | | has used. So when you write a book, and the |
| One of the best ways I can think of to express | | | | critics proclaim a fantastic new voice has roared |
| voice is to compare an invitation to the reading of | | | | onto the scene, these pundits are talking |
| a will from an attorney with the same request | | | | specifically about you, because you are the voice |
| from a close relative. | | | | of your writing. And a unique voice indeed. |