Flashes of Panic

Sliding back and forth between voices is actually easier than I thought.

The Reuters story, which was apparently on the front page of the China Daily sports section, was telegraphic, choppy, and very bare. Another writer I know who has done Reuters work before said, “Think one-sentence paragraphs,” and in many cases that’s what I did. The editor actually added more than he cut.

Then I wound up with a pretty lengthy piece for the IAAF, of which the editor said, “It’s obvious that you enjoyed watching the meet, and it’s good to see that coming through in the report.” Utterly different voice.

There’s no such thing as unaccented English, but by and large my speech lacks an obvious regional accent. If I talk to a person who has one for long enough, I will half-consciously mimic aspects of what I hear; for example, while in Pennsylvania I found myself using the inverted question structure that’s peculiar to parts of that state. And when I’m at home, I will flatten and stretch my vowels according to the accent of the person I’m speaking to, in the same way my father does, without noticing it.

I’ve found myself doing the same thing with reporting, zooming in on the style and cadences of an outlet and fitting myself into them.

Still, I got a secondhand compliment from another track writer earlier this month, suggesting that I had a distinct voice. And with all the other voices coming from my mouth and my keyboard, I don’t know where it came from.

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