Comments on: Switching voices

By: hope101

hope101 — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 19:03:29 +0000

When my wip is mostly complete, so that I’m happy with the overall story structure, themes, etc., I plan to read through each character’s scenes to watch for consistency of voice. To that end, I’ll follow only the heroine, for instance, from first chapter to last. Then I’ll repeat for the antagonist, and so on.

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By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:06:07 +0000

My experience as a writer is small, so far, but I find it natural to *speak* in different “voices” (dialects, speech styles) depending on who I’m, talking to (or conversatin’ with). If I’m comfortable with a particular style I just naturally fall into it if I’m talking with somebody who uses it. (I think it’s probably a little like being bilingual.) And the writing voice I use on things like emails and blog comments is real context dependent. I tend to internalize an audience and just write in whatever style I imagine is appropriate to them.

In my aspiring YA novel, I write in the first person voice of a 14-16 year old female (I am a 63 year old male). That’s been interesting, and quite fun.

Years ago I spent some time playing Dungeons and Dragons. We were encouraged to game in the persona of our character, rather than as ourself. That gave me a basic familiarity with adopting a character other than myself. Then, when Yahoo was big, I did up some fake profiles (my favorite was anarchy_gurl_2004) and these were a lot of fun as well. But the line between fantasy and reality began to blur when I found real people becoming emotionally involved with the character I was portraying, so for ethical reasons I no longer pretend like that online.

For me it’s just all about imagining myself as somebody other than my real self, and then thinking and writing as that person.

-Steve

P.S. My personal inclination is to take The Hills and its ilk with a grain of salt as a guide to teen culture and language. It’s probably a good guide to southern California, affluent/upscake media-centric teens – the “beautiful people”, and the “normal” teens who look to such stuff as a role model. But plenty of teens don’t. (I suspect punk, hardcore and alternative teens hate MTV almost as much as they hate Disney :)

When I used to hang out with my friend’s teenagers and their friends, the thing that struck me is that they really are all individuals. I sort of agree that there is a “teen culture” of sorts, but it varies by region, social status, your music, and what clique you identify with (if any). And an individual teen may react against it as much as other teens identify with it. (And one of the themes of my novel will be to highlight that very fact).

-Steve

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By: Kristan

Kristan — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 22:20:51 +0000

Great tips, and something I’m struggling with now because I use two first person POVs in my new WIP and it’s really hard to distinguish them.

One thing this made me think of (in particular your point #2) is an old Disney animation book I have that shows how initially a lot of Disney princesses end up looking like whoever the princess was right before them. Jasmine like Belle, Pocahontas like Jasmine, and so on. It’s interesting because it’s similar to our process, but you can really SEE it.
.-= Kristan´s last blog ..Working and waiting for dreams =-.

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By: Todd Thorne

Todd Thorne — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 18:49:35 +0000

Well stated for how this happens at the macro level, across multiple books and stories.

Writers can sometimes exercise their ‘voice-switching muscles’ within the same story too. In my first novel manuscript, I used chapters and major scene changes to switch POVs across characters. Each time, the voice changed as well, and not just the dialog but exposition, inner thoughts, and tone. It almost felt to me like each character was taking center stage for their dose of the spotlight and I had to be faithful to who they were. In fact, I have a draft of that manuscript dotted with colored sticky notes to mark where a given character came on stage. That trick helped me review for voice consistency and balance across the whole story.

So if you’re writing a story that spans multiple POVs and it’s appropriate to do so, try nudging your voice with the shifts.
.-= Todd Thorne´s last blog ..Sale! "To Soar Free" to The Lorelei Signal =-.

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By: Terry Odell

Terry Odell — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 17:52:23 +0000

I haven’t strayed to far, but I think there is that difference between the ‘authorial’ voice and the ‘character’ voice. The latter is usually easier to manage; it’s getting the cadence, the flow, and the vocabulary to reflect the particular genre that takes a lot of work and practice.

I can write a male homicide detective and a five-year-old child, but it’s still “me” writing. I go back and check the narrative portions, and try to keep everything in the appropriate POV for the scene, which would also translate to genre.

There was a good post on this about a week ago at Murder She Writes, where Roxanne St. Claire quoted 3 passages that at first glance appeared to be written by 3 authors, but they were all pen names of the same writer.

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By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 17:49:18 +0000

I recently finished a medieval historical MS and have since started a Jazz-Age MS. Although both are historical, their voices are very different. My process for getting into a voice is usually similar to what you suggested (research and reading). I have found that, for the Jazz-Age MS, movies help me… well, movies made during that time period, anyway. Also, reading books that were written in the year I’m writing. So I re-read “The Sound & The Fury”, and “To the Lighthouse” (even though it was ’27), but skipped “Farewell to Arms”… just because.

But to write the medieval historical, since there are so many historical romances out there, I just read several of those to get the feel for the cadence they created. And I also read “Pillars of the Earth”, which is not a romance. Interesting how different the voices of the historical romance were from the historical fiction.

Anyway, great post! Thanks.

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By: Kathleen Bolton

Kathleen Bolton — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 16:31:40 +0000

Jennifer, try watching MTV shows to get a feel for contemporary teenage lingo. Stuff like The Hills. It helped me.

My natural writer’s voice is probably closest in the horror novel. But I love the challenges of the different voices, it certainly keeps me on my toes!

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By: Jennifer Bailey

Jennifer Bailey — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 15:28:33 +0000

I’m having a heck of a time making my YA MC’s voice not sound like a 30-something woman… One of my problems is that I didn’t talk like a teenager when I was one, so now it’s even harder for me.

Someone recommended that I hang out somewhere and observe other teenagers to learn their speech patterns, but when I try I feel like a stalker and very, very old.

Thanks for this post–it really does help!
.-= Jennifer Bailey´s last blog ..Continuing Education =-.

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By: Melanie

Melanie — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 15:08:09 +0000

I’m preparing to start my first YA and everyone who knows me says that I would be great at it. I think that means I talk like a teenager, lol. One of the POVs in my current wip is a teenager and I will say, she’s the easiest for me to slip into.

Great post!
.-= Melanie´s last blog ..Kelly Meding’s Three Days to Dead =-.

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By: Lydia Sharp

Lydia Sharp — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 15:01:42 +0000

Ah, good question. I thought I was a “one voice gal” until I started my current WIP. My usual clipped sarcasm just didn’t work for this particular MC’s voice. I had to train myself to use a more fluid style. It’s been a treat, though. Always nice to find out you really are capable of doing things you’ve never tried before. And number three on your list has been helpful for me as well, especially when trying something new.
.-= Lydia Sharp´s last blog ..ARE AMATEUR WRITERS WORTHLESS–AND WHAT’S WITH THE CHAINSAW?!? =-.

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