Lost in a sea of ideas and questions, we all struggle to find our voice. After months of searching, I’m finally finding mine.
When it comes to writing on the web, there are a lot of things to consider. Be it your site theme, writing style, choice of audience, topic, etc…there are a slew of questions that we, as both readers and writers, ask ourselves. Before I headed off into the great void of anime blogging, I wanted to interrogate myself and make sure that a few months from now, I wouldn’t be hating what I was doing or feeling trapped.
So what did I do to find my voice? How does it pertain to anime? And how can you find yours? Try asking yourself a few of these questions:
How do I talk to other people? What values do I maintain during conversations?
I know that my most important priority is to be a real as possible with people. I hate putting on a front or a mask or feeling like I have to pretend to be someone I’m not. If I’m having a bad day then you’ll know about it, if I’m having a great day then you’ll know about that too.
However, it’s important to me to maintain respect for those around me. While I may try to be real, I don’t strive to be an asshole or an ignorant fool. Everyone has opinions and they’re all entitled to them as far as I’m concerned. I don’t need to take my bad days out on you.
What do I strive to present visually?
I’m a jeans and T-shirt kind of guy. I don’t go out of my way to try and impress people with beauty or dazzling accessories (like watches…you weren’t think I wear jewelry were you?). I go for the simple, honest, down to earth look. One that says “You don’t have to dig through 100 layers to find out who I really am”.
At the same time, I’m not a bum. Simple and honest does not equal trashy, haphazard and awkward. I don’t go out of my way to impress, but I don’t try to play down my confidence or garner sympathy from anyone.
As you encounter people throughout the day, what impression do you want to leave?
That Riex, he was a funny guy. Humorous, but full of valid points and good, solid opinions. He never took things too far or jumped in over his head. A rational and intelligent young man full of a great deal of silly.
Any of the above statements would be welcomed at the end of a conversation I’ve had with someone. I’d love to make your day.
So now you ask yourself, how does this pertain to anime (in the case of typeZERO) and finding my voice on the web? It’s pretty simple, and once again I’ll use myself as an example.
I want to write a real opinion on anime. Without the extra fluff that I honestly don’t give a rat’s ass about. Seiyuu’s? Fuck ‘em. Directors? I couldn’t name ‘em. Studios? I could probably name 3-4 off the top of my head and maybe 1-2 shows they each did. I don’t care about that stuff enough to go research it and spend my time clicking through page after page of lists on who did what, where, and when.
What I can do, however, is bring a solid opinion on the shows that I’m watching and relate them to the tons of other anime that I’ve watched in the past. I can toss in a good deal of silly/random humor while I’m at it. Hopefully I can get you to come back here expecting a good read and a side order of laughter.
I changed the site theme to reflect this. It’s simple, it’s easy to read (big fonts FTW), and it’s has plenty of whitespace. In my eyes, it practically screams honesty. If you can’t come here for the pretty, image-filled layout, you’ve got to be coming for the words.
So try finding your own voice, honestly…you can’t be someone else and no one really wants you to be. The people in my blogroll, they all have their own voice, and they wield it well.
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