How to find your voice on the page

Don’t be so formal, write conversationally, find your voice – you’ve probably heard it all before.

Written content today isn’t necessarily about good grammar and following the style manual you were trained on in high school (author’s note: AP style is correct now and always). But what does it mean to write conversationally? Real conversations are verbal – full of tics, “ums” and “errs.” They don’t look good on the page.

Instead, think about how you interact with others on a daily basis. Are you sarcastic, excitedly educational, friendly? Inject your personality into your writing. You might start writing conversationally without noticing.

– Dan Stefano, The Pittsburgh 100