Read to Create Your Voice

When you write, you have decisions to make. First, find your voice. Developing a strong narrative voice takes time and practice. As you read, notice how writers influence you and help shape your scholarly identity. If you are reading to find gaps in the literature, you are already doing this, introducing an additional layer you may not even realize is there. Here are a few people who influenced me.

Monica Rankin and Jeffrey Pilcher were the first writers who truly showed me what a historical narrative could be. Their books drew me in and made me want to pause and take everything in, instead of rushing through. As a PhD student, I was used to skimming for arguments and pulling out evidence as quickly as possible. But with Rankin and Pilcher, I found myself slowing down, fully immersed in their stories.

Rankin showed me how diplomatic tensions play out through popular culture: art, radio, posters, magazines, and more. I already loved political art, but she’s the one who made me fall in love with propaganda, especially the “glittering generalities” device. I love writing about it. I’m not going to lie, it’s fun to say aloud.   As my mentor, she made it feel natural to pick up a topic she’d worked on and push it in my own direction.

Pilcher writes about one of my favorite things: food. He shows how food is more than just something we eat; it’s a map of culture, history, identity, and power. Reading his work made me realize that the everyday things in our lives are full of stories, even before we ever try to write them down.

I kept going back to Thomas Leonard and Leslie Bethell—not just because I’ve used them as sources (even though I did), but because they have a way of showing the big picture while still weaving in those smaller details that make history feel real and alive. When I need a reminder about how important narrative structure is, I turn to John Bratzel and Ian Roxborough. Then there’s Max Paul Friedman, who showed me you can be critical without sounding cynical. His work taught me that it’s not just about what you say, but how you say it—and that there’s more to history than just the version told by the winners.  

I should say that I do enjoy the works of William H. Beezley and Peter Guardino, but I’m not sure they influenced me directly. Figure out who you love and see how they influence your work. Don’t copy their style; rather, learn from it.