Wattys 2021 Bootcamp

Workshop 1 (cont) -- Tips on Voice

HOW TO WRITE A UNIQUE CHARACTER VOICE:

In the real world, everybody has their own unique personality, worldview, and manner of speaking. So too should the characters in a novel. A strong character voice is the means by which your characters express themselves and interact with the world around them.

WHAT IS A CHARACTER'S VOICE?

Character voice refers to the unique way that a character in a novel or short story expresses themselves outwardly and inwardly. A character's voice can be communicated through a character's personality, a character's thoughts, and the way that character sounds. Fiction writers can create unique voices for different characters through a narrative point of view, spoken dialogue, or through other characters' perceptions.

VOICE AND POV:

First-person point of view: The first person narrative voice allows the author to explore the voice of the main character by telling the story entirely from their perspective.

Stream of consciousness narration: Stream of consciousness is a narrative technique where the thoughts and emotions of the narrating character are written such that a reader can track their thought process and fluid mental state.

Unreliable narrator: An unreliable narrator is narrating a character who withholds information, lies to, or misleads the reader, casting doubt on the narrative as a whole. In creative writing with an unreliable narrator, the character voice is marked by deception and exaggeration, which in turn informs our understanding of the character.

Third-person limited: The third-person limited narrator is only privy to his own thoughts or feelings. The narrator presents the story with an observational tone. With this perspective, character development and voice is expressed mostly through the action and dialogue of the characters.

Third-person omniscient: In a third person omniscient story, the omniscient narrator knows everything about the story and its characters. This means that the author can express character voice via the internal thoughts and points of view of any character within the writing.

Deep POV: Deep point of view is a way of writing fiction that silences the narrative voice and takes the reader directly into a character's mind. While first person and third-person limited writing attaches to a single character, deep POV takes it one step further— eliminting filter words and writing as the character instead of about them.

TIPS FOR DEVELOPING CHARACTER VOICES:

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. The ability to write credible dialogue in many types of voice will help your characters feel grounded and convincing.

Special tip for deep POV:

Get rid of dialogue tags. The first time you establish that you're writing in deep POV, the reader knows we're in the character's head, so you don't need dialogue tags attached to thoughts. Cut phrases like "she felt", "she thought", "she wondered" because they keep the reader at a distance.

Be specific when choosing how your characters sound. 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.

Special tip for deep POV:

Use internal dialogue to place the reader in the character's head. Deep POV allows readers to be included in a character's thoughts. Cut out filter words to get the reader into the character's head.

Example:

Marc stared at the pizza and debated whether or not to eat another slice (non-deep POV).

Marc stared at the pizza. Should I have another slice?

Notice how the internal dialogue in deep POV slips into the present tense while the other text remains in past tense. Writing character thoughts in present tense takes the reader into the moment as if it's happening in real time.

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.

Use the active voice. The active voice keeps the character's voice at the center of the scene. The passive voice pushes them to the periphery. For example: Active = Monkeys adore bananas. Passive = Bananas are adored by monkeys. The monkeys are the subject and they adore bananas. When the bananas are being adored by the monkeys, it feels like the bananas are in the spotlight.

Make sure your character voices are unique. This is particularly important if you write from multiple character POVs in third person limited or first person narration. Each character needs its own unique voice that readers can easily distinguish. If all the characters sound the same, it's hard, if not impossible, for readers to easily follow along and relate to the various characters. If you can't pull this off, it's best to stick to just one main character, regardless if you choose first or third person limited.

Okay, it's time to practice what you've learned. If you want to participate in this week's workshop, hop over to Discord for feedback on your character's voice. Hoping to see many of you there.