The Voice of a Storyteller

Shannon Dittemore is the author of the Angel Eyes trilogy. She has an overactive imagination and a passion for truth. Her lifelong journey to combine the two is responsible for a stint at Portland Bible College, performances with local theater companies, and a focus on youth and young adult ministry. For more about Shan, check out her website, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

I have a thing for real life history that plays out like fiction. Lately, I've been reading up on Robert Hanssen and Aldrich Ames. Two men, one from the FBI and one from the CIA, who sold American secrets to the Russian and Soviet intelligence services during and after the Cold War. Traitors, both of them.

The two men weren't working together, but their overlapping activities made it difficult for the CIA and the FBI to find their leak. Ames was found out first and his capture made it clear that they had not entirely solved their problem. They still had a mole.

In the end, you know what outed Hanssen?

His voice.

The FBI purchased a recording of him speaking to the KGB. Agents working the case recognized the voice, but could not recall who it belonged to. Pilfering through a stack of documents they had obtained along with the recording, the agents found an off-color, racist comment--a comment they had heard Robert Hanssen use in conversation. Listening to the recording once more, they realized that it was indeed the voice of their coworker.

His voice, you guys. That's what did it.

I love this story and when I read it the first time, I couldn't help but draw parallels to the literary world. You could tear the covers off books written by my favorite authors, change the font, try to convince me they were written by people I'd never read, but you'd never, ever succeed.

I know their voices.

I've read Tasha Alexander enough to know when I've picked up one of her stories. I can decipher Maggie Stiefvater's writing without even trying. And Ted Dekker and Jenny B. Jones and Kate Morton and oh, my, gosh Jennifer Donnelly.

These authors have collected words as they've traveled through life. Words they've polished and played with and turned on the tips of their pens. There's a cadence to their writing that I recognize. A swagger. A fingerprint-like uniqueness that declares ownership of the tales they spin. They'd have to pull off a magic trick to disguise their voices from me and I sincerely hope they never try.

I pick up Tasha Alexander's books because I want to hear her tell me a story. And I'm working hard to develop my voice so people will pick up my books to hear me do the same.

Developing your storytelling voice is not an easy thing to do. Like going through puberty, almost. And no one thinks that's fun. Your voice deepens as you grow and with every story you tell it takes on nuance and sheds old habits. Sometimes we sound awkward and stilted, but we improve if we continue to live, and read, and try. Like our favorite authors, we collect words along the way and we weave them together in a way only we can.

Your voice is yours and yours alone. And though it will change and grow, it will always sound just like you.

So, continue collecting words and studying stories. Read for pleasure and for growth. Write because you want to and because it's a challenge. Stretch yourself, put pen to the page, and appreciate the gift that demands a journey.

Because that's exactly what the voice of a storyteller will require of you.