Grammar vs. Voice

I was watching a PBS show about comedians (Pioneers of Television, I believe), and Cloris Leachman was featured.  She said something about actors that stuck with me. (I will paraphrase, because I’m not sure I have it exactly right.)  She said a lot of actors will ‘know’ the ‘right’ step, or the ‘right’ reaction to take for each circumstance.  And, because if this knowledge they’ll think they are good, but in actuality they are cliché.  When I heard this, I thought, how great an application for writing. And, more specifically what a great application for the Diction element of Aristotle’s 6.

Grammar vs. Voice. For me at least, they seem to butt heads—I guess they don’t technically have to.  I have a poor attention-to-detail set of skills, especially concerning those nagging grammar quibbles.  In my scatterbrain mentality, I rush-read the words as they are supposed to sound, not as they are written. So, I miss a few things. I’m constantly, going back through my blogs finding little grammar nuggets that goad despair. “I can’t believe I missed that. What was I thinking?” These nicks bother some more than others. But, if you spot an author's mistake, you may want to point it out. Here's a good article by Alanna Rusnak about the matter.

Now, rate this sentence:

Passed the antiquated tombs looming at the base of the hill, I past what remained of the prospector’s house.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how much did the proceeding grammar mistakes bother you? (1 being ‘I don’t see a mistake’ to 10 being ‘how dare you rape the English language like that’).  So, I ask myself, “If you keep screwing up, should you even write? Or, at least make sure your grammar is perfect first?”  I have had that mentality for too long, and it has gotten me nowhere.  I don’t care anymore. I don’t have the resources to get someone to proof read everything I write, so I’ll let the grammar demons nip my toes until I’ve kicked them all away.

But, proper grammar is not the most important element of good writing (not to say it is unimportant). A pre-teen can correct bad grammar—I’ve actually had middle school youth correct my grammar. Yes, you need to follow an agreed upon set of rules in order to be understood. And, the rules are objective, so one can feel superior if he or she can catch a ‘poor’ writer breaking a rule.  But, good writing lies in Voice. And, Voice is a subjective, diction minefield. Step too far to the right, the audience will be bored. Too far to the left, and they will label your work ‘purple’.

Of Aristotle's 6, Diction spotlights the other elements. Grammar is the rough sketch. Voice is the shading, shadowing, and painting.  Voice attempts to describe that which seems beyond what words are capable. Personalities. Emotions. Colors. Voice is the fuel of the writer’s rule: ‘show, don’t tell.’ Diction’s overall purpose is to reflect an artist’s every shade of meaning, not just the denotations, but the connotations. With bad grammar, audiences can often figure out what you meant. With bad voice, they won’t be ‘feeling what you’re feeling.’

How do you establish compelling Voice? I don’t know. If I knew that, maybe I’d be that multimillion-dollar writer.  Even the great writers tear each other apart on their Voice. Literary agents speak of not liking a writer’s Voice. Could there be a greater insult? That’s like telling a person you don’t like his or her personality. Now, some (I'm assuming they're authors) have written how-to books about Voice. Others have established rules. But, they are all over the place and often contradictory. I find many bothersome. I get so dizzy trying to figure it all out. Personally, I found Sin and Syntax by Constance Hale helpful.

The Voice I like the best is C. S. Lewis. I liken his writing to a road trip. There is a clear destination, but he’s not afraid to pull over for a quick stop at a place of significance. He freely uses the em-dash—I love the em-dash, some hate it. While he pulls to the side, he never forces a reader to endure an exhausting tourist trap.

In the struggle to make your writing compelling, Diction serves its role. Know your grammar, but realize that if breaking grammar rules establishes a compelling voice, then do it, just make sure you don’t confuse your audience.   And (as I must remind myself) some people won’t like your Voice. (But, what do I do if no one likes it?)

Even ‘great’ authors trash other ‘great’ authors. Check out this list to some author-on-author slams. I’m trying to think if this is encouraging, or despairing. If the 'greats' are trashed by the 'greats', how can we really know if anything is quality? To be a successful writer, doesn’t someone, somewhere have to like your writing?  Clearly, from all the Stephanie Meyers comments, popularity isn't the key to great writing. But, do some authors create a shell of arrogance, by saying their unliked works are unliked solely because an audience isn't sophisticated enough to like it? Is it because they can’t hear the voice, or is it actually a voice issue?