My Multiple Writing Voices

I write this blog and a few web oriented things at the TV station. For the last few months I’ve also been writing for AppScout.com and Gearlog.com, both owned by Ziff Davis, the parent company of PC Magazine.

Unlike my other writing, those two websites have an editor. Someone is looking at my work and making sure it passes muster.

It only took a few entries to figure out most of what Carol Mangis (my editor) wanted. I changed my voice and the structure of my writing to fit their website–but I’ve only changed it there. I’ve tried to leave my voice on this site as it was. It’s the literary equivalent of an actor performing in dialect, right?

This site uses very short paragraphs.

Carol likes longer paragraphs, which is what she gets. Posts for her also, contain, fewer, commas. I’m too free with commas. My tone there is more snarky and openly opinionated.

I find it interesting my own blog is less opinionated than what I write for others.

I’m not complaining. It’s actually fun to write for an editor. If you’ve read this blog for any length of time, you know I’ve often wished I had one here.

I had no idea I could adapt my style to fit someone else’s expectations. As with writing in general, there’s satisfaction in that for me.

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