Journal 5

To me, tone is the color in a work of art, while voice is the expression of that color. For example, if I paint a painting with dark colors, the tone is somber. The way I use those colors to paint the picture is voice. If, with dark colors, I paint a sad person, then the dark colors indicate a serious and dark tone, while the voice is the sadness of the person. It is the feeling that speaks out to you whilst you observe the painting.
First, the main thing that constitutes a well developed tone is consistency. First, I think to myself, “what is the mood I want to use in this paper? Do I want be serious, laughable, articulated, boring?” When building a house, it is best to start with a foundation, and then build up. Once I have chosen the tone I want to take in my paper, I begin to write. But, keep in mind, while I write, the tone stays constant. I won’t write a paragraph that is completely serious, and then write a second paragraph that has a happy tone. It will confuse the reader, and diminish anything stated in the serious paragraph.
My favorite part of writing is the voice. It is the feeling I pour into my paper. It is the flow of my words, the construction of a sentence, and the meaning that sentence beams toward the reader. My voice is the poetry of my soul. The best advice for establishing a voice is just write what you feel. Write with your heart. A body cannot exist without blood to provide the heart with life. Likewise, a paper cannot breathe without what makes it alive, which is the feeling. Don’t write papers halfheartedly; write it with the energy and feeling that moves from your heart to your hands.