Finding Your Voice

“Why do writers write? Because it isn’t there.”
-Thomas Berger

“If there is a chance in hell that someone is reading this, then what I write will live on.”
-Gabriel Brimstone

One idea that I have always tried to instill in student writing is significance and depth. Ever since I have started teaching, I have allowed the writers I have worked with to choose their own topics. “You can write about whatever you want, just as long as you show the reader the significance in your words.” At first, many students are comforted by this. Some are even excited by this! However, once reality hits them, they realize just how important it is to choose the “right” topic. What is the “right” topic? How does a writer know when they have stumbled onto the right one?

All writers want to create something with depth, something that has meaning, and something that is relevant. No matter if it is an essay for a Composition class, a creative writing piece, or any variation between, they want to make sure that the send an appropriate message, plus create a piece that is worth their time.

When approaching writing (creative or otherwise), I tend to look for patterns in the world to create themes. For example, when writing Demon in My Head, I wrote of the world of a vampire hunter. Any “average” vampire story has the traditional blood-sucking storylines. Stories that simply focus on the monster killing people, only to be executed himself/herself, have been done to death. How can one put in their voice to make the story their own? I looked around in my real world to see themes that I could use in my fiction. In short, I looked within myself and my life to place my voice into the story. My grandfather was a reformed alcoholic who struggled with his addiction. I heard of this secondhand, of course, since it was something that he never talked to me about.

It is rather easy to see a similar theme of addiction of within the vampire subgenre. So, I created Gabriel Brimstone, a vampire hunter/vampire who is remorseful of his fall “off the wagon” (i.e. drinking the blood of the innocent). In the opening pages of Demon in My Head, Brimstone is found going to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. Writers (new or otherwise) should know that depth is found within one’s own discovery of patterns. I played upon the pattern of addiction that is inherent in vampire fiction, but I would not have seen it had it not been for learning of addiction within my family.

So I tell my students to look for patterns within their own lives and backgrounds. There are always patterns (humans are very logical creatures). What patterns do they see? It is like playing “connect the dots” with abstract concepts. It is these patterns that allow me to see the reality of the world around me and address it in the truths that come from my own mind.

Lately, I have been swamped with student essays to grade. Each essay has a truth in it that comes from the writer’s own mind. On many occasions, I will ask myself “What drove this student to write this particular essay?” Whether it is about gun control, a biography of John Quincy Adams, or a summary of a thought-provoking essay, there is a kernel of truth that acts as the driving force behind the project. On most occasions the essays include examples of events that have occurred in the students’ lives that have a relevance to the topic that the student has chosen. As such, the writer has a direct connection to the topic and realizes that they indeed have a voice to bring to the essay.

It is important that the writer knows that they have a valuable and valid voice. Writing is very empowering. To write something, it implies that the writer has a voice. As a writer, one must know what they care about. If it is important enough to occupy the writer’s thoughts, then it is important enough to write. Always keep the pen moving! Listen to what you write and your will hear your voice.

The Schizophrenic In Me

“Are you really sure that a floor can’t also be a ceiling?”-M. C. Escher
“Just because you can’t see them doesn’t mean they aren’t looking at you and licking their lips.”-Gabriel Brimstone



Just this past weekend, I attended a wedding shower and it was discovered, by many of those who attended, that I had recently published a novel. I felt like a celebrity (something that doesn’t happen very often) and was excited to answer many questions about writing a novel. One of the questions was “How close do you feel to your characters?”

Many people have asked questions regarding to my process and where I come up with ideas, but that was the first time someone had asked me about how close to my characters I was. On the heels of publishing Demon in My Head and nearly completing The Modern Prometheus (both of which feature the vampire hunter Gabriel Brimstone), I had to think about how I felt about finishing Demon. In short, I was depressed.

It took me exactly 365 days to write the first draft of Demon in My Head (then titled Addicted). Before that, I had written many short stories featuring Gabriel. After I edited Addicted for publication in Night to Dawn Magazine, I found myself rewriting the manuscript, changing it into the version that is currently out for “consumption”. That rewrite took a good two years to complete. As such, Gabriel and I spent many, many years together.

So when this dear, sweet woman asked me about the closeness of my characters, I told her that I felt “schizophrenic”. Much like Gabriel, I, too, have demons and voices in my head. Some of them are friendly, and some of them are very, very dark. These are the characters that make the inspiration for my stories. I have eaten, dreamed and slept with Gabriel Brimstone (much to the chagrin of relationships that I have had). It took me a lot of effort to continue the conversation and refer to Gabriel as a character. Otherwise, I would have sounded like a person with severe mental issues to the curious woman.

“They are a part of me, and I am a part of them,” I remember telling her. Before Brimstone, I had published very little writing. It mostly consisted of mystery tales. However, when I jumped into horror fiction, which was when my writing received the most amount of attention.

My fiancé has mentioned many times that I should write something more romantic or (as she puts it) “real.” The problem for me is that the definition of “real” is a very ambiguous term when I dip my pen into the ink well of my imagination. Even though Gabriel Brimstone is a vampire hunter and spends his nights keeping the things that go bump in the night away from the rest of us, he is very “real” to me. At a risk of giving some of the plot away, there are some very real facets of Demon. On many occasions, I have had to work at separating myself from my characters (Gabriel Brimstone being one of the most prominent characters). Mr. Brimstone and I have philosophized on many occasions the meaning of life, the definition of reality, and our hopes and dreams. Demon tells reality through the eyes of a man who looks at the world a little different than most of us, but to him, it is no less real. After all, what does “real” mean to you?

I don’t attend wedding showers very often (in fact, this was my very first one), but I had a great time justifying my psychosis to a dear woman who wanted to get inside the mind of a writer, but got more than she bargained for. The next time you ask a writer how close they are to their characters, see what their answer is.

If you’re a doctor, don’t be afraid to prescribe something.