I am a professional writer and I don’t know my writing voice.  Somewhere after graduating from the creative wonderland of Florida A&M University and stepping into the real world of hard news journalism I lost it.  I used to write poetry – but the pressure of paying bills sucked the romance out of my words.  Kind of how Ursula sucked the voice out of Ariel in the Little Mermaid, lol!I miss college for this sole reason.  There was so much inspiration on campus!

After leaving the newsroom behind in 2008 and moving on to public relations I became what you’d call a schizophrenic writer. I write what I need to convey.  Need me to pull at the heartstrings. I can do that. Need me to be succinct. I can do that too. My authentic voice? I’m not sure.

So here’s my attempt at answering today’s question: Is your writing voice like you or does it differ from you?
If I had to identify my writing voice I’d say it’s conversational with a mix of self-deprecating sarcasm. For some, pointing out their weaknesses and finding the humor in them might be terrifying. But this is how I cope –for better or for worse – in real life and on paper. Not to beat a dead horse, but when you’re living with a chronic illness (lupus) you do what you have to to keep from imploding. Besides my relationship with God, humor is my medicine.

 I want my voice back – whatever it is.  Even if I could I wouldn’t travel back in time to re-live my writing inspiration in college.  I have 31-year-old experiences now and somehow I have to find the creative wonderland in them. I guess that’s why I jumped head first into this BlogHer challenge. It’s becoming much more than a writing exercise or what I’ve dubbed “a blog revival”.  It’s a path to something new, that ironically I can’t put into words just yet.

In the meantime, here’s to finding our own voice and creative wonderlands.