Some people have an addictive writing style. Some people don’t. It’s a fact of life. It seems like more and more people don’t of late, especially in blogs- probably because it’s not like you have to have someone else’s approval to get your work out there like you would if you were submitting to a publisher’s house; instead, all you need is a Blogger account. (Let’s face it, pretty much everyone, including my grandmother, who has never owned a computer in her life, can use basic online blogging tools.)

I never had any idea why it seemed like some people could write and others couldn’t. The blogs that didn’t capture my attention- well, the writing quality didn’t suck, exactly, but it was flat. Boring. Sort of like that one time you tried to read that book but you kept falling asleep because you just couldn’t get involved in it. (Admit it. You’ve read at least one book where every page- actually, make that every paragraph- had to be read about six times because you couldn’t concentrate.) The blogs that kept my attention the best had a way of writing that made me feel passionate, excited or angry about whatever point they were making, even if I disagreed with it. Sometime this year, I realized exactly what it was that made the boring writers fall flat and the exciting ones stick out.

The light bulb lit up when my English teacher told the class after we turned in our first essays this year that “the difference between a mediocre writer and an exemplary one is a clear and original voice.” Basically, good writers have a style. They say what they have to say exactly the way it is in their heads (or almost, because if we all said exactly what was in our heads at the exact moment we thought it, the world would be a pretty chaotic, messed up place.) What I’ve noticed- and this was pointed out by my English teacher, too- is that a lot of people who don’t use their own, original voice adopt this sort of detached, semi-formal passive voice style that doesn’t really belong in most places- least of all, your personal blog. I mean, really- shouldn’t a blog sound like its author, as opposed to that detached little “report-esqe” voice in your head that seems to take over when you’re writing for your English class? (FYI, that little voice is probably a bad thing, even in your English class.)

Basically, your writing should channel your personality. A reader should be able to take a stab at who you really are just by reading what you write in your blog. Not only does it make it easier to get to know you, but it’s easier to read. It’s actually interesting. It makes me want to continue to read. If you’re having trouble, just experiment until you get it right. Look at it this way: if you’re trying to develop your own voice, there’s no better place to do it than your personal website. (Hey, it’s not like you’re being graded.)

And that little voice in the back of your head that says to you when you write: “This is the way you SHOULD write things, if you want to be noticed and sound like you know what you’re talking about: -insert pompous, formal sentence here-”? Squish it. Get rid of it. It’s boring and it’s hard to read. Worst of all, it’s not you. And isn’t that the point of writing in a personal blog?

Today, I was feeling a little stuck for a blog entry. After thinking on it for a bit, I realized that I’ve never posted any of my creative writing here: almost everything I’ve written is an informative, article-type or opinion piece. So I opened up the narrative essay that I turned in as a draft for my English class last Wednesday, with the idea that I would post that in place of an actual entry. (Not that I’m lazy or anything like that.)

I’d copied the entire thing and was entirely ready to paste it into FanUpdate when I was momentarily distracted by something (shininess may or may not have been involved, I can’t remember.) I came back to my essay and scrolled down a bit when I realized that my essay made rather blatant, obvious references to the high school I attend.

And that I very nearly announced to the entire world exactly where I go to high school, and thus exactly where I live. I’m comfortable giving out limited information about myself, but that just takes it a bit too far, even for me. Oops.

Here’s my unedited draft for my English narrative essay. The instructions were to write an essay about an experience we’d had and give it some kind of meaning/lesson. I think I did pretty well, but she still hasn’t given us back our first drafts. Ah, well- I like the essay as it is anyway; I think it’s one of my best pieces I’ve written for a class.

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