Last year I executed my first-ever workshop on finding your voice through writing. With a small group of five, we spent an afternoon dissecting what it means to use language as a form of self-expression, why it’s hard to do, and techniques for better connecting with your unique and individual writer’s voice.

Today, I’m going to share my methods with you.

These exercises should take a few hours to complete and can be repeated as often as you need to in order to find your way back into creative flow and a comfortable and safe writing mindset.

Intentions: Finding Yourself Through Writing

Writing, in its simplest form, is a method of communication. With the aid of a pen or keyboard, you can turn your abstract thoughts into physical and sharable language. This is notable for a few reasons:

• Writing is a direct link between your internal and external self
• The words you use will change the way you are perceived
• Writing in every medium is a form of self-expression

Learning to have intentionality when writing is the difference between using language by default and harnessing it as an extension of the self. It can be difficult to understand even our own minds with many people turning to techniques such as meditation, walks in nature, or art to better know themself.

Many people do not realise writing can be a powerful tool for finding ourselves.

The process of connecting to and using your writer’s voice will help you to better understand yourself as well as be able to share a more accurate, succinct, and cohesive version of your thoughts, ideas, and information with others.

Fears and Challenges

Writing seems simple enough. For most people, it is a skill learnt at a young age that is taken as a fundamental ability. The truth is, however, that many people find writing to be a difficult, intimidating, and inaccessible practice.

The thought of allowing others to read your writing might be overwhelming, not to mention feeling confident writing as a personal means of self-expression through journalling creative projects.

It is important to acknowledge that being self-conscious when it comes to writing is an extremely normal experience. As children, writing is one of the first things we are ever judged on. From the age of 5, we learn that there is a right and wrong way to write and that we are either good at it or we’re not.

This is a fallacy.

Writing is for everyone. It is both a necessary life and work skill and a tool for self-expression. Particularly when it comes to personal or creative writing, there is no ‘’good’ or ‘bad’. It is simply a practice to improve the process of turning thought into language. The easier this transition is, the clearer and more powerful your writing is going to become.

For these techniques, I recommend adopting an open mind and non-judgemental attitude. Remember, your writing will be completed as part of a process and not with the intention of perfection. The goal is simply to complete each prompt.

Just by starting, you are succeeding.

Techniques to Find Your Writer’s Voice

Keep reading to learn a series of six techniques that can be used to help you to find your writer’s voice, access your creative flow, and level up your communication potential.

These exercises should be completed in order ideally in one sitting over an afternoon or morning. During the process, I encourage you to check in with yourself and be aware of any blocks, challenges, or unlocks that happen along the way.

To start, you will need something to write on, something to write with, and the ability to highlight in three colours. You can use physical paper and pens, or write digitally with something like Google Docs.

Where Are You Now

To ease into the session, begin by setting a timer for 2 minutes and respond to the prompt:

Where are you now?

Try not to overthink the question and write a response in whatever form feels most authentic to you.

Freeform Writing

Turn or create a new page and set a new timer for 10 minutes.

In this exercise, you will be using the technique of freeform. The intention is to write non-stop for 10 minutes without stopping. Try to sync up your thoughts with your writing so that there is as little breaking of the circuit as possible. As soon as a thought enters your mind, try and write it down on the paper. You should aim not to read back your words as you write but focus your energy on each new word as it comes.

Freeform writing is a great tool to improve flow by removing the pressure of structure and disallowing space for mental barriers or overthinking. The exercise also works to create space for unexpected insights and breakthroughs in writing as you start with no specific content goal or direction so could really end up anywhere.

Shift Prompt Perspective

For this next exercise, we are going to return to the original prompt but not the original answer.

Without a time limit, try to respond to the question:

Where are you now in life?

You can take this in whichever way best resonates with you right now, and again aim to answer without intention or expectation. Instead of working to a time limit, aim to fill a page with your response. It does not have to be organised or planned, the only goal is to be authentic.

Language Uses

In this step, we will consider the three ways in which language can be used in writing.

Information: Factual words or phrases that are objectively true, for instance, ‘London is a city in the UK’.

Description: Writing that evokes a sense of what something is, beyond just factual. This is typically using adjectives or comparisons to convey how something looks, sounds, smells, tastes, or feels in both an abstract or physical way. An example would be ‘London is a bustling city that comes alive at night. Skyscrapers juxtapose Victorian architecture in the quintessential modern meets historical London experience’.

Opinion: Unlike description, this is language based on the writer’s subjective experience. There are no rules when it comes to expressing an opinion and language tends to be based on a personal or an emotional response. Opinion language might look like this, ‘The city of London is a place unlike any other. The city is amazing for creatives and business minds alike it is impossible to regret a visit to the greatest city in the world’.

Now that you have an understanding of what language can represent, it’s time to look back at your response to the prompt ‘Where are you now in life’ and highlight the different ways you have used writing.

With three different colours, highlight the informative, descriptive, and opinionated language.

Reflect on the ratio of each type of writing and whether it is what you would expect.

Creating Meaning

From your highlighted response, choose three words or phrases, one for information, description, and opinion, and write them out on a fresh page.

Separating these words and phrases from their original context, write 2-3 sentences for each based on your immediate response to the word. What do the words mean to you at this moment? Remember there is no right or wrong response. You may feel pulled to write a short story, lean on informational language, or write about the word as a reflection of yourself.

This exercise is designed to help interpret what your writer’s voice wants to say. These are words or phrases you have already written naturally, now it’s time to explore what they mean to you.

Prep Longer Piece

Finally, it is time to prep a longer piece of writing, this time with intention.

What do you want to write?

Reflect on this question and try to accept whatever answer comes to mind. For inspiration, this piece might be a letter to someone, a journal entry, or a blog post.

Before writing, simplify your intentions with three bullet points. Consider how you want to use language, what you hope the finished piece will achieve, and why it is what you want to write at this moment.

The rest is up to you.

If possible, now would be a great time to dive into this piece, but if that isn’t possible, don’t worry. You have set yourself up for success and have everything you need to seamlessly dive into this piece at a later time.

What Comes Next?

If you’re ready to continue the journey of improving your relationship with writing as a form of self-expression, you might be interested in How to Build Your Writing Confidence or 10 Exercises to Access Your Creative Flow.

Alternatively, you could consider starting work with a Writing Coach to assist you with the challenges of self-doubt, accountability, and writer’s block. Learn What a Writing Coach Is or feel free to Get In Touch directly to ask me your questions.