“Tone” is one of those intangible qualities of writing voice. Is your writing voice witty? Warm? Critical? Despairing? Even if you have a clear intention, the readers decide for themselves. They may bring context or baggage that you haven’t planned for.
The river of voice
Rivers change as water flows through them. To change the course of your writing voice, fill it with words.
Relating to the reader
We automatically shift our speaking voice based on the situation and our relationship with the listener.
We should make a similar shift when writing: we tune our words based on our imagined relationship with the reader.
A Day’s Work
Maintaining forward momentum is often our only option. Keep writing before the plaster dries.
Playing with presence on the page
When does it make sense to show up as yourself in the work, and when is it better to recede for a while? What serves the reader best?
Planning the writing expedition
When we write, we embark on a journey through ideas—ideally bringing a reader along with us. Depending on the journey, we need different levels of planning or preparation.