Lending A Helping Hand: Writing Tips

4 tips for Developing Character Voices

Character voice can shine through via dialogue, intonation, and body language. Here are some writing tips to help you develop your character's voice:

1. Focus on dialogue. Dialogue defines your character's voice, establishes their speech patterns, and outwardly reveals their innermost thoughts. Realistic and credible dialogue is an essential element of writing a compelling character, and your character's dialogue should sound like it's coming from a real person. In order to accomplish that, you should gather inspiration from real life. Spend time in parks or coffee shops, paying attention to how real people talk. Record your own voice during casual conversation, and listen closely for any vocal tics or affectations. The ability to write credible dialogue in many types of voice will help your characters feel grounded and convincing.

2. Be specific when choosing how your characters sound. When writing fiction, one of the best ways to convey character voice is through the way they speak. A vivid description of a character's speaking voice can be as illuminating as their word choice or sentence structure. If a character has a raspy speaking voice, we might assume that they're older or in poor health. If a character has a commanding, strong voice, the reader can infer that this person is boisterous and confident. Make sure your own writing is filled with detailed descriptions of the way that your characters speak.

3. Pay attention to body language. A character's voice is more than what they say. Body language can convey just as much about a character as their literal speaking voice. How does your character walk? What is their posture like? How does their face react to bad news? When they're on a fancy dinner date, do they sit differently than when they're by themselves playing video games? Answering these questions can be as integral in determining a character's voice as the literal words they speak.

4.Make sure your author's voice is separate from your character voices. An author voice is the summation of that writer's own particular style, point of view, attitudes and tones. Though it's not uncommon for a character in a novel to mimic the writer's voice, you should be sure to include characters whose voices do not reflect your own. In the real world, not everyone shares your attitudes, opinions, or manner of speaking, and the world of your novel should mirror that diverse reality.