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Topic: How do you create your persona?
| Author | Message |
| Blossom | Posted – 4/19/2008 7:36:42 PM | show profile | email poster I've been reading the string (which got a bit side-tracked) about the importance of a writer's persona and am curious about how individual writers have created/developed their personas. I imagine it is sometimes simply a by-product of what you have written, and other times purposely created. I like the idea. Any advice? |
| writesonwater | Posted – 4/19/2008 8:08:47 PM | show profile | email poster I'm not the best person to talk to about this, but for what it's worth: I set out to write about everything. I wanted to experience all kinds of writing. I have accomplished this generalist position to ridiculous degree: In addition to editing everything from a determined little weekly to a regional magazine group, I have written articles for a major daily and a national business magazine. I have penned award-winning feature series, I have composed a theme song for a state campaign, I have been paid for blurbs in TIME magazine and for the back cover of a Harlequin Romance. I have co-authored a career guide that is doing well, at last count. This is the profile of a VERY well-rounded generalist. It looks ridiculous on a resume ;) However, over two decades, I have added to such generalism my own interviewing style, and the way I get people to talk to me, and how I write. Personally, the way I come across is how I want to come across, and it's a combination of those above style issues and my own personal style. Does persona drive work or vice versa? They're utterly intertwined, if you ask me. |
| writesonwater | Posted – 4/19/2008 8:11:32 PM | show profile | email poster I'm not even sure we've correctly defined persona. According to Dictionary.com's definition, you may not wish to adopt a persona, depending on your preference for transparency/WYSIWYG: in the psychology of C. G. Jung) the mask or façade presented to satisfy the demands of the situation or the environment and not representing the inner personality of the individual; the public personality (contrasted with anima). 5. a person's perceived or evident personality, as that of a well-known official, actor, or celebrity; personal image; public role. |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 4/19/2008 8:59:29 PM | show profile I've done the generalist thing in a much different way than writesonwater. I write all sorts of material in all sorts of subject areas -- from fiction to essays to magazine articles to corporate writing to direct mail pitches to scripts and on and on. I write humor, detective stories; I write on topics as diverse as technology, marketing, insurance, law, business, health. But when I pitch myself to clients, I do so as an out-and-out specialists in the area they are looking for. If they want a health writer, my marketing material makes me look like I've done nothing else for 20 years. Ditto for a technology writer or a business writer. I love being a generalist. But I find being a specialist brings in better, higher-paying work. And then, over time, I reveal my other specialties to clients, if it can help me expand my business with them. |
| writesonwater | Posted – 4/20/2008 1:37:45 AM | show profile absolutely agree with dribble on marketing self as specialist in any given area. i have several resumes: one for business writing, one for editing, one for ... the list goes on. I can't help it that I like to write about almost anything. but i need to focus in when i market myself. but i'm still not sure if we've addressed the word 'persona' as such. |
| snappiness | Posted – 4/20/2008 8:14:24 AM | show profile I'm still not even sure I get this whole "persona" thing. It seems to me we're talking about reputation, experience and specialty. For me, I focused on a few specialties and made sure I always got work in on time with lots of research, so now that's my reputation. I do what I think of as "hard" journalism (business, technical, adventure, immersion, investigative) and I do a lot of research and get it in on time. When I made my web site I looked at my work and tried to figure out what over-arching things I could say about it, so I pulled out a few themes. I guess that was me "creating" a persona. |
| writesonwater | Posted – 4/20/2008 2:17:45 PM | show profile really, I think the idea of a persona or publicly projected image becomes more of an issue at the higher levels -- when people are noticing you lunching at Michael's, when you're a top gun brought in to do a big piece for THe New Yorker or Texas Monthly, or when you're a hotshot novelist and that sort of thing. |
| sunnyskies | Posted – 4/23/2008 11:10:17 AM | show profile The word isn't persona, it's voice. You develop your voice over a period of years. It's nothing more than your writing style. Can you tell the difference between Dominick Dunne and Tom Wolfe? Then you know what a voice is. Your voice is your brand. A brand is the differentiating factor that sets you apart. |
| sunnyskies | Posted – 4/23/2008 11:10:21 AM | show profile | email poster The word isn't persona, it's voice. You develop your voice over a period of years. It's nothing more than your writing style. Can you tell the difference between Dominick Dunne and Tom Wolfe? Then you know what a voice is. Your voice is your brand. A brand is the differentiating factor that sets you apart. |
| caitlinkelly | Posted – 4/23/2008 11:23:03 AM | show profile And your voice is who you are, authentically. (Or, if you are committed to this notion of "persona", it is the artificial voice you create and keep repeating until people conflate it with "you." Seems unilkely.) The challenge for some writers is finding enough markets to consistently publish your voice -- and not some mashed-up version edited by committee. Or avoiding magazines insisting on house style. It's tough to convey voice in a service piece and other sorts of features. So your brand may also be that of someone willing, when necessary, to silence their voice to just get the job done. |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 4/23/2008 1:02:45 PM | show profile Voice is a distinctive writing style. In the case of a novelist, voice is an important part of persona. However, there are many successful writers and journalists who don't have much of a writing voice -- they may rely more on outstanding reporting or expertise in a field and produce clear, clean copy. For someone who writes, say, marketing copy or health service pieces, voice isn't necessarily their persona. Persona ultimately is the image you project to the buyer that makes you stand out from competitives and want the buyer to buy from you rather than them.. --The word isn't persona, it's voice. You develop your voice over a period of years. It's nothing more than your writing style. Can you tell the difference between Dominick Dunne and Tom Wolfe? Then you know what a voice is. Your voice is your brand. A brand is the differentiating factor that sets you apart.-- |
| writesonwater | Posted – 4/23/2008 1:12:37 PM | show profile In the movie, As Good As It Gets, Marvin Udahl, the main character played by Jack Nicholson, has a persona (grumpy, difficult, eccentric, OCD) that is very different from his voice (think more Nicholas Sparks.) Asked by an emotional woman how he writes women so well, he said something akin to taking away all reason. Grumpy guy who has figured out how to write for an emotional market, that's all. When I read the Nicholas Sparks autobiographical piece, Three Weeks With My Brother, I realized the persona he presents is kind of like his voice. He comes across as just as empathetic and emotional as his writing (which I'm not a huge fan of.) I don't know him personally, so I don't know if his persona is really what his personality is like when he is alone or with his family. When I first read one of his books (after seeing two of his movies) I cynically concluded here was a guy who had figured out how to make millions by making people cry. Book after book. After reading Three Weeks With My Brother, I concluded he is definitely an emotional kind of guy who feels things deeply -- or at least his persona is of that kind of person. |
| JC | Posted – 4/24/2008 5:07:56 PM | show profile When I think of "persona" I think of the whole package: The performer (writer in this case) has the voice, credits, their website/blog/media kits and sometimes a certain "look". Take Stephen King: A visit to his website, his dark, brooding eyes, house with black iron fencing, it's obvious he's not writing children's bedtime stories! Other performers like Drew Carey have a persona. He's got that certain look (little kid cute and those black frame glasses) and the sense of humor. It's where he fits and he's immediately recognized. I think of persona as the package you present yourself to the world in. The trick is to have a persona but not allow it completely pigeon hole you. |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 4/24/2008 9:59:39 PM | show profile Well, creating a persona is fairly easy when you have a hugely successful first genre novel as King did. In the case, the novel mostly creates the personna. My guess is most people in this thread are talking about creating a persona that will resonate with editors or people at company who will purchase their work. It's rare for a magazine writer to develop any kind of reputation with the general public. --When I think of "persona" I think of the whole package: The performer (writer in this case) has the voice, credits, their website/blog/media kits and sometimes a certain "look". Take Stephen King: A visit to his website, his dark, brooding eyes, house with black iron fencing, it's obvious he's not writing children's bedtime stories! -- |
