The Sound of Story: Developing Voice and Tone in Writing

Voice in writing can seem elusive and hard to define. It’s more than just style―it’s rhythm, energy, attitude, and the unique fingerprint of a narrator or character. Voice is shaped by culture and history as much as the mechanics of language.

In The Sound of Story, author and writing teacher Jordan Rosenfeld demystifies voice and its close companion, tone, offering writers the tools to develop and refine their own. Through contemporary examples, this book explores how syntax, point of view, and emotion (to name a few) shape voice on the page.

Whether you’re crafting fiction or nonfiction, this book will help you shape and refine voice to create compelling, authentic narratives. The Sound of Story empowers writers to wield voice and tone with purpose, increasing their chances of publication, yes, but delivering the optimum story for readers.

About Jordan Rosenfeld

Jordan Rosenfeld is author of the novels Fallout, Forged in Grace and Women in Red, and seven books on the craft of writing including the forthcoming Sound of Story: Voice and Tone in Writing, How to Write a Page-Turner, the bestselling Make a Scene, Writing the Intimate Character, A Writer’s Guide to Persistence, Writing Deep Scenes and Write Free. Jordan’s articles and essays have been published in hundreds of publications, such as The Atlantic, LitHub, The New York Times, The Rumpus, Salon, Scientific American, and many more. Jordan teaches online writing classes and at numerous writing conferences. She is a freelance manuscript editor and writing coach, and author of the popular Substack, Writing in the Pause. Learn more: jordanrosenfeld.net.

Praise for The Sound of Story

“Warning: The Sound of Story by Jordan Rosenfeld is the only book on writing an authentic story you will ever need. It’s a joy to read and a revelation about voice, tone, and how everything—grammar, dialogue, and language—fit together to enrapture the reader and create a spell. What a treat—the writing is beyond most craft books, an art in itself brimming with tips for memoirists and fiction writers alike. You need this book! It’s going to be forever by my side as I write!”

—Linda Joy Myers, founder National Association of Memoir Writers, author of Don’t Call Me Mother, Song of the Plains, The Power of Memoir and the WWII historical fiction book The Forger of Marseille

“Rosenfeld offers a fresh and accessible look at voice in the writing of fiction, clarifying key terms and most importantly providing writers with examples, prompts, and practical suggestions for deepening characterization in the service of complex and multi-layered storytelling.”

—Sonya Huber, Voice First: A Writer's Manifesto

“Few writing teachers understand the subtleties of voice and tone as deeply, or can explain them as clearly as Jordan Rosenfeld. Jordan has helped hundreds of writers hone their skills, and now with the help of The Sound of Story you can learn how to actually deepen the way you write stories through your understanding of voice and tone and so much more. A great resource for fiction and nonfiction writers alike.”

—Martha Alderson, author of The Plot Whisperer and Parallel Lives: A 60’s Love Story

“Peppered with insights, examples, and creative exercises, The Sound of Story is chock full of excellent advice from seasoned author Jordan Rosenfeld. This voice-centered resource is a must-read for writers at any stage of their careers.”

—Laura Stanfill, author of Imagine a Door

“Rosenfeld takes the ineffable quality of voice, the very quality that sells novels and stories, is demanded by agents and editors, and breaks it down into practical tools and approaches that can help any writer at any stage in their work dig a little deeper and make their prose sing.”

—Kate Maruyama author of Alterations, The Collective, and Bleak Houses

“A craft book with its own compelling voice, Jordan Rosenfeld’s The Sound of Story opens the toolbox for “the sound…the energy, motion and rhythm…the emotion” of voice. Rich sample passages suggest a wealth of strategies and her brilliant prompts offer ways to create a narrative voice true to character and story. Your writing will be changed, no question.”

–Beverly Burch, author of What You Don’t Know