Authorial Voice

The authorial voice is something that protects us from being altogether vulnerable to the world; in a sense, it keeps us from standing naked on a sidewalk, bearing our innermost parts. The funny thing about it is the way in which people use it to hide themselves. Last semester, a professor from our creative writing department came to speak and warned us against the danger of using our lives as fodder for material. She warned against the over-indulgence of reaching into one's life and putting it all on paper. Life is for living and as writers, we are the best of liars.

In my own experience, I have noticed that I often reveal the feeling without the details. My truth is the emotion felt at the time and this is what is written. Hardly ever do I put down name places or events, specific dates or times; everything is in what was felt. And maybe that's why I can be vulnerable without really having to be. For you will never know the exact circumstances, only the emotion. And. Without contextualization, who can really know what I am really talking about. Writers are the best of liars.