They say that every author adds a piece of his soul into everything that he or she writes. That it is a true expression of who they are and what they feel inside. Considering that we're all individuals, different from one another, that must make for one heck of a variety, right? That level of personal involvement shines through, and it's truly beautiful. However, there are certain stories that are considered 'run of the mill', or 'typical'. Why is that? The question this week is...

=Do you find that an author's work has a unique voice in it? Or are a majority of stories following a certain standard guideline?=

Are there writers that you can pick out of a line up simply by seeing what they've written? Why? How does an author go about creating this 'voice' in their work? Or...is that written personality more of a gimmick? Is the art of the written word more a manipulation of everyday words and phrases, or is it a personal experience that you can connect with the author without even blinking?

The board is open! Let us know your feelings!

I don't believe that most stories have the writer's true voice in them, but those are the ones that really get through. The others just feel too formulaic to register with me.

Heh. I read this week's topic before this one's. I'd say that all stories do communicate a bit of the author's personality. The better ones communicate more. Or rather, the ones that don't communicate anything give the indication that the author is either shallow or unskilled in communicating those details that make a story more than a dry fictional history.

I believe that there's definite 'feel' to a lot of writers that have a passion for what they're doing. I've seen a lot of authors on Nifty who have a certain vibe about the way they write. It's in the little things. The way they write sex scenes, the situations they create and how they approach them, sometimes in the words and expressions they use. Some authors are more flirtatious than others, some are much more graphic, some are rather subtle. Whenever I see two different stories written by the same author, and can feel that similarity between them...it feels so 'honest'. You know? It feels like a piece of them has been translated on the page. I remember feeling that for a lot of Jaxsper Finn's work in the very beginning. And the Eggman has a distinct style as well. Grasshopper has that vibe, Tyrel from Storm Nation, Dean Lidster, CrackerWriter, Underthehoodster, and a bunch of others, including our very own Myriddian. If you ever get a chance, try reading one of their stories...and then read a different one by them. (If they've only got one story, of course, read one chapter, and then skip down about five or six chapters) You'll see what I mean. They way that they write literally has a flavor all its own, and yet the authors all different from one another. That's when you can see someone writing from their heart. It brings its own imprint along with it. And I love that.

Don't forget yourself in that list. Like I always say, there's reading a story, and then there's reading a story