Voicing Your Feelings

Finding my “voice” is something that I’ve never personally had a problem with as a writer. Even when I was a little kid writing silly stories that featured myself and my friends, I always wrote the words the way they appeared in my head, the way that I would say them if I was telling the story out loud. I’ve actively fought against my own voice because sometimes it just doesn’t suit the story, but I’ve never had a problem actually utilizing my own voice.

Regardless, today’s Writing 101 challenge is a good one.

Think about an event you’ve attended and loved. Your hometown’s annual fair. That life-changing music festival. A conference that shifted your worldview. Imagine you’re told it will be cancelled forever or taken over by an evil corporate force. How does that make you feel? Today’s twist: While writing this post, focus again on your own voice. Pay attention to your word choice, tone, and rhythm. Read each sentence aloud multiple times, making edits as you read through. Before you hit “Publish”, read your entire piece out loud to ensure it sounds like you.

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This is ridiculous! I can’t believe they cancelled the summer fireworks! Forever! We’ve always had fireworks during the summer festivals for as long as I can remember! In fact, they’re the only part of the festivals that I actually look forward to!

I mean, really, of all things why would they cancel the fireworks? They’re supposed to be the big, fun finale to each of the festivals. Now what is the finale going to be? The concerts? Pssshhh… They’re nice, but they aren’t a finale by a long shot.

Is this all about money? I know that good fireworks are expensive, but geez, it’s not like they’re a weekly thing. Surely to God if we can afford to have festivals in the first place we can afford the fireworks to light off during them. How cheap can you be?

But you know what the worst part is? It’s not that I won’t get to see them; it’s that the girls won’t get to see them. The daughter and the niece love the fireworks. They love staying up late, running around in the grass, and having treats while they wait. They love to sit in their little fold-out chairs or snuggle with Poppy. It’s so friggin’ cute when they ooh and ahh over all the bangs and colors. It sucks that they won’t be able to do that anymore. It sucks a lot.

We should string up whoever made this decision and let the kids use him as a pinata. That’s what I think.