ABSTRACT

This chapter explores how a distinctive writing voice can be discovered and determined, a voice authentic to the writer and appropriate for his or her audiences. It discusses style and its two different contexts—writing style and visual style. The chapter presents the principles for planning and designing webpages and apps, principles that are applicable to most digital environments. Digital spaces put unprecedented burdens on writers and editors because the exercise or activity of "reading" these spaces is so different from reading traditional print. An important aspect of a writing style is voice, or the personality that is expressed in writing. For all, voice must be appropriate for the content, the medium, and the audience. The media formats themselves provide some cues as to what kinds of voices are appropriate. For example, one of the great promises of social media is their capacity to convey personality and to reward an authentically human voice.