If you’ve been following along with these weekly ramblings, you probably know by now that my favorite podcast is You Are A Storyteller with Brian McDonald and Jesse Bryan. It’s the only podcast that I listen to regularly, and it’s the only one where I’ve listened to each episode multiple times. I think the draw for me is that there is a correlation—a connection—between storytelling and creativity. I think that at the root of our need to create is a need to tell our stories, and I am always finding inspiration from McDonald and Bryan about how I can tell my story and spread my message.
In the latest episode, McDonald interviews comic book writer John Arcudi, and at one point, they talk about voice and how finding your voice is an internal thing. After all, your actual speaking voice comes from within, and finding your voice for the things that you make has to come from within as well. But like style, many creators feel that voice is an external thing and that it’s about your choice of words or the way you use color—not about that you say and how you say it.
Communication and Sharing
I’ve written about style before, and I think style and voice are closely related, but they're not exactly the same. Style is the way you do things, and MacDonald describes style as the way you solve problems. Voice is what you say and how you say it, and like style, voice is not just limited to writing. All creators have a voice, and what you say is translated through your chosen medium, whether it’s song, or imagery, or even food. No matter what you create, you are trying to communicate something. The wedding ring quilt that my grandmother made for me was all about communicating her love for me. The meal prepared by a good friend was communicating the bond and the joy of our friendship. The drawings that my younger students occasionally give to me communicate their appreciation for what I offer them.