Switching Writing Voices

3 tips for moving from “professional” to “personal”

Have you ever breezed through composing a message for a friend, only to hit a wall writing an email for your manager? Maybe a “corporate” tone creeps into your creative writing after a long day working.

You’re not alone. Many of us juggle multiple writing roles, each with distinct voices. This is a trial for multi-dimensional writers-the marketer who writes mysteries, or the programmer who pens poetry.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could switch writing voices for the purpose as easily as changing jackets for the weather? You can-with practice and a few simple tactics.

Create a cheat sheet

Audiobook narrators often keep careful notes about each character they encounter when recording fiction. They may even record samples to create consistent voices for characters throughout a book or series.

You can adopt this strategy in your writing.

For each “voice” you regularly project, make a quick reminder sheet.

• Curate samples: Identify a passage that best represents the voice and read it before drafting or revising.
• Characterize it: Identify three adjectives that describe the target voice, and review them before…