I’m writing an email to a friend when I start to wonder if I actually sound like myself.
It’s early morning-ish and I’m sitting in the dining room. The light’s on, but usually I wouldn’t need it. Today’s a washout—gray, wet, dark, and dreary. So I’m sitting at the table with my laptop, peacefully and purposefully click-clacking away.
I’d been reading The Correspondent by Virginia Evans beforehand and I don’t doubt it had something to do with feeling inspired to reach out to a friend. The book shares the story of Sybil, through various letters, emails, and messages between her and the people in her life. She has a very bespoke writing style. So, I’m three-quarters of the way through my email and I’m wondering: do I sound like me or do I sound like Sybil? I was reading Theo of Golden before I started The Correspondent; do I sound like Theo?
I sit back in a huff.
I’ve always been a collector.
As a kid, it was impressions of movie characters. And not just their words, but their mannerisms, too. With snowboarding, it was trying to emulate certain riders’ style. I like figuring out how people think. Or rather, I like understanding what makes someone approach something they way they do. Mind maps... I’d say, mostly, I’m a collector of mind maps.
I don’t know if my writing voice changes based on what I’m reading at the time, but I like to think I’ve harnessed my voice such that it remains unmistakably mine—even upon run-ins with avant-garde influences.
Our Daily MAP Year Prompt
231/365
Have you ever met someone with an accent and started copying it by accident? Cool cool cool... me neither.
onward.
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