Unveiling the Fossil: Understanding Voice as the Skeleton of Fiction Writing
By Olivia Salter
Voice is one of the most enigmatic and essential elements of fiction writing. As Chuck Wendig eloquently puts it, “Voice is not just the result of a single sentence or paragraph or page. It’s not even the sum total of a whole story. It’s all your work laid out across the table like the bones & fossils of an unidentified carcass.” This metaphor encapsulates the essence of voice: a cumulative, living imprint left behind by the writer, recognizable across their body of work. It’s not a single vertebra but the entire skeleton—the structure that defines and supports the shape of a writer’s creations.
The Anatomy of Voice
In writing, voice is both intimate and expansive. It’s found in the rhythm of your sentences, the choice of your metaphors, the cadence of your dialogue, and the energy of your narrative. However, no single line or scene can fully encapsulate a writer’s voice. Instead, it emerges from patterns and subtleties, like piecing together a fossil from scattered fragments.
Imagine a paleontologist dusting off a bone fragment and speculating on the creature’s size, shape, and movement. Similarly, readers pick up on the small nuances in a writer’s work—the sharpness of their humor, the lushness of their descriptions, the bitterness or warmth in their tone—and from these fragments, the voice takes form.
Voice as an Unintentional Artifact
Voice often feels elusive because it’s not something a writer sets out to construct deliberately. Like the fossils Wendig describes, voice is an artifact of who you are as a writer—your influences, worldview, and personal quirks. It emerges naturally over time as you write, revise, and refine your craft. It’s the residue of your imagination, shaped by your obsessions and idiosyncrasies.
But how do you ensure that your voice isn’t just an incomplete skeleton, but a fully realized organism?
Unearthing Your Voice
1. Write Prolifically
Voice doesn’t emerge fully formed; it’s refined through consistent practice. Each story, paragraph, and sentence adds another piece to the fossil record of your work.
2. Embrace Your Obsessions
Writers are often drawn to recurring themes, settings, and ideas. Instead of resisting them, explore them deeply. These preoccupations are part of what makes your voice unique.
3. Be Honest
Voice thrives on authenticity. Let your passions, fears, and truths seep into your writing. Readers connect with work that feels genuine, even if it’s dark or strange.
4. Experiment
Like fossils, voice takes on different shapes over time. Experiment with genres, perspectives, and styles to uncover new dimensions of your voice.
The Living Skeleton
While Wendig describes voice as the bones and fossils of a writer’s work, it’s important to remember that these remains hint at a once-living creature. Similarly, your voice should feel alive—dynamic, evolving, and organic. It should not merely support your stories but breathe life into them, making your work instantly recognizable to readers.
Voice is not an end point; it’s an ongoing excavation. As you dig deeper into your craft, you’ll discover new fossils to add to your collection, each one revealing more about the unique creature that is your writing. So, lay your work across the table, piece by piece, and let your voice emerge—a living artifact, full of mystery and power.
Cultivating a Voice That Resonates
Developing a strong voice is about more than just standing out—it’s about creating resonance. Readers don’t merely consume stories; they experience them, and voice is the bridge between your imagination and theirs. A compelling voice ensures your work lingers long after the last page, echoing in the reader’s mind like the faint outlines of a fossil yet fully unearthed.
To cultivate a voice that resonates:
1. Pay Attention to the Details
The smallest choices in syntax, diction, and imagery shape your voice. A sentence as simple as “The sky was dark” becomes something uniquely yours when you render it as “The sky, bruised and heavy, sagged under the weight of the storm.” These choices create texture and reveal your perspective.
2. Trust Your Instincts
Writing workshops and critiques often focus on fixing what doesn’t work, but your instincts are what guide your voice. Trust the sentences that feel most natural to you—the ones that flow as if they’ve been waiting to be written.
3. Read Widely, Write Often
Exposure to diverse voices sharpens your ear for nuance, while frequent writing helps solidify your own. Let the authors you admire inspire you, but don’t mimic their style. Instead, use their work as a mirror to understand what resonates with you.
4. Accept Imperfection
Fossils are rarely pristine; they’re fragmented, chipped, and weathered by time. Similarly, your voice may feel uneven or raw at first. Embrace this imperfection—it’s part of the process. Over time, your voice will become more cohesive, like a skeleton slowly reconstructed.
The Legacy of Voice
The beauty of voice lies in its lasting impact. A reader may forget the specifics of your plot or characters, but they will remember how your words made them feel. Voice is what transforms a good story into an unforgettable one, what allows readers to identify your work even when encountering it out of context.
Like the fossilized remains of an ancient creature, your voice leaves a trace of your creative essence in the world. It tells future readers who you were, what you valued, and how you saw the world.
Voice as a Journey
Ultimately, the discovery of your voice is a lifelong journey. As you grow, change, and evolve as a person, so too will your voice. What remains constant is the commitment to laying your work across the table, piece by piece, with honesty and courage.
So, don’t rush to define your voice prematurely or force it into a mold. Let it unfold naturally, through the rhythm of your words and the stories you choose to tell. In the end, your voice is not just the bones of your work; it’s the soul that binds them, the invisible force that animates the skeleton and gives it life.
Your voice is your legacy. Embrace it, nurture it, and let it speak.
Voice as Connection
At its core, voice is about connection. It’s the writer’s hand reaching across the page to the reader, saying, “This is how I see the world. This is what I feel.” Voice bridges the gap between individuality and universality—it is deeply personal, yet it resonates because it touches on truths that others recognize in themselves.
When a reader is captivated by a writer’s voice, they don’t just follow a story; they step into the writer’s mind. They see through the writer’s eyes, hear the rhythm of their thoughts, and feel the pulse of their emotions. Voice turns storytelling into communion, creating an intimate bond between writer and reader.
Protecting Your Voice
In the pursuit of a career or audience, it can be tempting to dilute your voice to fit trends, expectations, or algorithms. But sacrificing authenticity risks losing the very element that makes your work distinctive.
To safeguard your voice:
1. Resist Overediting
In the effort to polish, it’s easy to sand away the unique quirks and textures of your voice. Leave space for imperfections—they are often what make your work memorable.
2. Write for Yourself First
Before considering the market or potential readership, write what excites and challenges you. A voice that stems from genuine passion will resonate far more than one crafted for approval.
3. Be Patient
Voice isn’t something you “find” overnight. It’s an organic process that unfolds with time, practice, and self-discovery. Trust that every word you write brings you closer to its full expression.
4. Honor Your Evolution
Your voice will change as you grow, and that’s not only natural but necessary. Embrace these shifts—they are signs that you’re engaging deeply with your craft and the world around you.
The Fossil That Breathes
Chuck Wendig’s metaphor of voice as a collection of bones and fossils reminds us that while writing often feels like a process of excavation, it’s also a process of creation. Fossils tell stories of the past, but in fiction, they come alive. Your voice is not static; it’s as dynamic as the living creature it represents.
When you sit down to write, think of your work as assembling the skeleton of something extraordinary. Each word, sentence, and story adds to the framework. Over time, the fragments come together to form something recognizable, something uniquely yours—a living, breathing testament to your creativity and vision.
Final Thoughts
Voice is the signature you leave on your stories, the fingerprint that marks your work as unmistakably yours. It’s not just the sum of your sentences or the shape of your stories—it’s the life force that animates them.
So, embrace the process of discovery, lay out the pieces of your work with care, and trust that your voice will emerge—raw, authentic, and undeniable. One day, someone will look at the bones of your writing laid bare and see not just a skeleton, but the unmistakable shape of a legacy.
