Be true to your element.
Your voice grows out of your basic element, so it's important to know it and stay true to it. Otherwise, it's hard to find your voice.
I have a confession to make. Last week I changed my way of writing my first draft, and as a result my text changed with it. It came out differently than usual, and I didn't see it until a few days later.
The thing is that your voice grows out of a certain combination of the five elements that's unique to you. That's why you have to know your basic element to find your voice.
Coherence
When you do, you find a specific way of accessing your voice. Your method and voice develop a coherent behavior, and it all leads back to your basic element.
If you change your method, your voice needs time to adjust, and that's what happened to me last week. I didn't give my voice any fair warning of the sudden change in method. A serious error that runs much deeper than it sounds.
Because underneath what seems to be a small misstep as a writer, lies a much more fundamental mistake that could have been devastating over time if I hadn't caught myself in it.
The mistake I made was this,