How to find your voice and why

The elements of one’s voice are style, skill, subject, matter, medium, and consistency.¹ Consistency is key. These are like your own set of rules, or rather, the way you like to work, which makes your work identifiably your own from piece to piece.² And yet, one’s voice is not something one can control—it just comes out of you.³ So don’t think or try too hard about having a style.⁴ I remember the first time this anxiety crept up on me. I was a 13-year-old guitarist realizing I liked too many different genres to be willing to just camp out on one, and yet, the thought of synthesizing such disparate genres seemed incredibly daunting and even disingenuous (though 13-year-old-me didn’t use words like “daunting” and “disingenuous”—more like “poser” or “cheesy”).

How

• Find your voice in obscurity and solitude
• Don’t worry about having a style
• To find your voice, practice
• Imitation is an exercise in finding one’s voice
• Make a creative family tree
• Learn the tradition
• Explore all your varied interests
• Develop your artistic and inspirational vocabulary
• Find a place you trust, and then try trusting it for a while
• Weird is wonderful
• How to navigate influences
• Make what you like
• Imperfections are part of style

Why

• Creativity is a pathway to self-discovery
• Sharing your story is important
• Having a voice is essential for a sustainable career