Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Voice Matters with Cathy C. Hall

Thanks to everyone who left comments the past few days on my post about "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee.

One of Lee's biggest fans is Cathy C. Hall, a Southern humor writer with a great voice of her own. Let me clarify. I've never heard Cathy sing--although I've read on her blog that she sings in her church choir--but I'm a regular reader of Cathy C's Hall of Fame and have read articles, poems, and stories she has written in other media. Cathy's writer's voice has an uplifting touch of humor with an undercurrent of wisdom.

In the Fiction Writer's Toolkit feature in the July/August 2010 issue of WOW! Women on Writing, Cathy uses both humor and wisdom to craft her excellent article, "Voice: Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are." In her article, Cathy suggests one way to learn about voice is to read, read, read. She praises the voice of Scout in Harper Lee's timeless favorite, "To Kill a Mockingbird."

For her article, Cathy interviewed several writers and quotes them about their favorite writers'/characters' voices. One of the quoted writers--ahem, that would be me--mentions the unique and memorable voice of India Opal Buloni in "Because of Winn-Dixie" by Kate DiCamillo as being a favorite. Don't you just LOVE the first sentence of that book?

But wait, there's more! In her article, Cathy also suggests ways to help you, as a writer, find your own-- sometimes elusive but always unique--writer's voice. So, hop on over and read Cathy's article in the July/August WOW! to learn more.

10 comments:

  1. Sounds great - thanks for the link! :)

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  2. It is a great article! And not just because I'm quoted in there, too. :)

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  3. Hi Madeline,
    Your quote was great. I'm happy to be in such good company in Cathy's article.
    Donna

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  4. I enjoyed the article. Nice quotes, good information, and enjoyable read!

    Pat
    www.critteralley.blogspot.com

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  5. Humor AND wisdom! Me? I've got to run and tell the Beneficent Mr. Hall-won't he be surprised?!

    P.S. Thanks SO much for spreading the word, Donna! And yes, I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED Because of Winn Dixie!
    And I'm so glad your wonderful blog readers enjoyed the article!

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  6. Hey Cathy,
    You are so welcome. I'm happy to spread the word to my writer friends.
    Donna

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  7. Wow!! You interviewed the scathingly brilliant Cathy C.?? Loved it!! Now I gotta jump over to the link and read, read, read!! Thanks, Donna and Cathy!!

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  8. Actually, the scathingly brilliant Cathy C. interviewed me--and several other writers--for her WOW article on Voice.

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  9. Hi Pat,
    I'm glad you enjoyed Cathy's article. Her tips were quite helpful.
    Donna

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