northern voice 2 - julie
Julie is a welcome friendly face at the front of the room this morning. Her talk spins between topics so deep we cannot process them in our peanut buttery throats, and lightweight topics such as sneaking pepperoni from one's vegetarian boyfriend.
I do not know if most people will have her gift of having a natural voice. Most people are awkward writers just like they are awkward programmers. Only some develop a voice, which means something to programming as well as text. Whatever the file extension, there is a process of translation in between thought, emotion, and the reader (or compiler's) interpretation. Sometimes people want to have a few instructions on how to piece together a voice. And of course, Annie Lamott nothwithstanding, this instruction set does not exist. Read a lot. Write more. And want it enough, almost more than anything. See it as part of your identity.