You know that je ne sais quoi some authors have, where you read their words and think, "I could never write like that"?

Maybe that passage hits because of sheer, natural writing talent. Or maybe the author just nailed their line edits.  

Realistically, it's probably some combination of both talent experience and skillful editing. Every single writer has a "voice" that is unique to you. And strategic line editing is how you hone and practice layering your signature storytelling voice into your manuscript drafts. 

A good line edit hits the sweet spot between giving a reader the most possible clarity in the least possible mental effort and sinking deep into the well of emotion that your hero authentically carries. 

But line editing is a DEEP topic that can feel overwhelming to learn. (Click here for an overview article if you want a full-on explanation of what line editing is and isn't.) So today, we'll focus on one example, inspired by a romance book I recently read.

Before you line edit, know your writing voice.

I know it's tempting to just jump right in and start editing. But before you can understand how to line edit, you need to first know why you're making those nitpicky word-level choices. I am going to show you that example I promised, but we can't really talk about line editing without talking about your storytelling voice. 

Because every decision you make in the line-editing stage should be guided by your own deep knowledge of your personal writing style. That might sound intimidating, but once you start to recognize what makes your work appeal to your perfect-fit readers, you can lean into those style choices and make informed edits.  

But one of the biggest misconceptions about a writer's voice is that it's just your "style". And by style, I mean the cadence of your words, the way you use punctuation, and other grammatical decisions that might intentionally break some of the accepted rules of grammar. There's more to style than that, but the literal choice and order of words on the page is what most people mean when they talk about their writing style.

So why am I talking about writing voice and style? Because the line-editing demo below is a great example of why you need to know your voice before making edits. 

Want to learn exactly what writing "voice" is and how to map out yours? Click here:

This example phrase pulled me out of the story.

This example was inspired by my read of On The Edge by Julia Connors, a second-chance sports romance book about two ski racers with a traumatic past, who find a way to trust one another again after years of separation, misunderstandings, and living with what could have been. 

The sentence below is a paraphrase of something the heroine, Jax, thinks (internal prose) when her friend makes a comment that breaks through Jax's comfortable, friendly mindset and reminds her that her current conflict with her ex-boyfriend, Nate, is as much her own fault as it is his.

It was like a shot to the gut.

The first word my mind focused on was "shot". And I immediately thought of a gunshot. As in, "it was like a gunshot to the gut."

Does Jax have a history with guns? Are guns something she grew up with (and is comfortable enough with to casually mention)? Is her hometown culture gun-friendly? Did her parents use colloquial phrases like "a shot to the gut" with reference to guns? 

(Can you see how one offhand reference—that feels natural to you, the storyteller—can send an eagle-eyed reader on a whole other train of thought?)

It's possible that Jax meant a different kind of shot—an unexpected fist punch or even the burn of tequila—but the fact that this word choice took me out of the story is a sign that this phrase might need some line-editing love.

Because at this point in the story, there is not a single other mention of (or reference to) guns.

As a reader, instead of wondering whether Jax has a history with guns, I should have been pulled directly into the next sentence. Your prose keeps readers in the moment, not only with the message the words convey, but with the flow of those words and (most importantly) by the vocabulary your hero instinctively chooses in their unguarded moments.

So let's look at a few ways we could revise this sentence to give different reader experiences as a result of strategic line editing choices.

Here are 4 ways to line edit that same sentence.

In these examples, I'll share a possible revision of the phrase "It was like a shot to the gut", then list the character or situation that phrase embodies. See if you can guess the scenario from just the revision.

The simplest way to spot Intrusive Author Voice is...

Intrusive Author Voice happens when a section of text "sounds" or "feels" more like you, the author, than the hero that the scene attributes it to.

It can happen with a single word choice, with a regional colloquial phrase, or even with the grammatical styling of a sentence. Intrusive Voice can show up in both dialogue and prose.

I see this style error most commonly in stories written from deep perspective or told in first person perspective. But it can happen even in omni perspective, where there is a "god voice" style of narrator who dips into the heroes' heads to tell their story.  

Basically, if your hero is drastically different from you, the chance of using Intrusive Author Voice is much higher than if you write stories about characters who are very similar to you, your background, and your personal preferences.

So, as you're writing and revising your manuscript, watch for words or phrases that you personally use often or without thought. If you would have to explain to a reader what that word or phrase means (out of context), then it might be something your hero wouldn't naturally use. Especially if you're writing a character from a different background as yours.

What to do if you think you're making this style mistake

The easiest way to avoid letting your own storytelling voice creep into the hero's perspective is imagine yourself stepping into your hero's body. What do they see? What do they feel? Where are they from? How do they perceive the world, and how have their past experiences shaped their instinctive reactions?

Then think about the hero in the specific situation you're writing, and ask yourself how they would react. Then double check that the reaction you just imagined is theirs and not yours. 

This style error can be difficult to spot in your own work, so I dedicated an entire stage to it in my Elev8 line editing method.

Here are some examples I give in my Learn To Line Edit Like A Pro workshop:

3 resources to help you write more authentic characters 

Line editing is one of the most difficult writing skills to master, because there's no style manual or set of rules you can follow when you're making word-level decisions. Every author's storytelling voice is unique, and every hero character is different from you in at least one small way.

So the best way to make healthy line-editing decisions is to verify three things about your work-in-progress:

1. Your hero's backstory is developed deeply enough that they feel like a real person, with real experiences and opinions.
2. You understand the difference between your own personal instinctive writing style and the storytelling brand voice you use in your fiction work. 
3. You've followed all 8 stages of the Elev8 line-editing method that I teach in Learn to Line Edit Line a Pro.  

Need some help with one (or more) of those three? Pick your path below!

Let's discuss!

Is this a style mistake you find yourself making? How do you handle it? 

Or, if the idea if Intrusive Author Voice is a new-to-you concept, which technique for spotting it do you think will work best in your story?

Leave a comment below, and tell me what you think!