More about Voice? Really?

Three weeks ago, I wrote about voice, saying in part that voice is the way you make your characters sound real, how you enable them to come alive instead of lying flat on the page. It is the way you differentiate your characters through what and how they think and talk. Not just their word choices but their cadence, whether they speak in full sentences most of the time, whether they trail off often or interrupt others a lot. Whether they use slang or curse words. Whether they use a lot of long or short sentences or if they have a nice mix. Whether, to boil it down, they have attitude. Whether, to bring us back to the beginning of this paragraph, they feel real.

In response, commenter Bruce W. Most made the following excellent point:

“When we speak of voice, there are really two types of voice: individual characters and the voice of the author/story. Raymond Chandler's voice in his stories is very different than say the voice of Michael Connelly or James Lee Burke. Creating a unique author voice is as critical as character voice--and often harder in my view.”

A fellow writer sent me an email addressing the same issue, asking:

“I thought voice related to the writer. That is, you have a different voice than John Floyd or Josh Pachter or Michael Bracken. Voice is why a reader can pick up something at random and know it was written by Westlake or Wodehouse or Louis L'Amour. […] Are there two kinds of voice? One belongs to the character and the other to the writer? And if there are two, how does or can a writer develop his voice?”

To answer the questions in the email, are there two kinds of voice, one belonging to the characters and one to the author? Yes. How can a writer develop his author voice? I wish I had a good and simple answer. It isn't easy--as the commenter mentioned above said.

My immediate thoughts regarding developing your author voice is to tell you to write the way you talk and think. If you aren't sure if you're doing that, read your work aloud. Does it sound like you? Voice aside, I recommend always reading your work aloud so you can see if your characters sound different from each other, as well as if anything sounds awkward or if you have overused any words, etc. You often can hear a problem even if you cannot see it, and this is especially true with your own voice. Reading aloud enables you to hear if what you wrote sounds like you.

I discussed this question with my friend Donna Andrews, who writes novels and short stories. She suggested authors trying to develop their own voice should immerse themselves in the writers they think they write like or want to write like--and she isn't talking about wanting to write like every good author out there. She is talking about writing like the authors who feel like who you are when you're talking with someone you feel comfortable with.

Hemingway, for instance, sounds and feels very different than Faulkner does. You might think both are great writers, but it is highly unlikely the way you talk is similar to both of them. The way you talk also might not be similar to either of them. The point is, when you are reading the authors you love, keep your ear open for which ones sound like you and then immerse yourselves in them. Don't do this with the goal of copying their voices but with the hope that they may flavor the way you come alive on the page when you set your fingers on the keyboard.

For more on this worthy topic, I refer you to a recent blog on the Wicked Authors blog by author Barbara Ross. After you read her insightful thoughts about voice, be sure to read the comments too.

You also might check out the thread on Reddit on this topic.

And to all you authors out there, I welcome your thoughts on how to develop an author's voice.

Before I go, I'm happy to mention that my multi-award-winning short story “Dear Emily Etiquette” has been republished in the anthology Twisted Voices, an anthology of stories previously published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. You can buy a digital copy on Amazon and you can buy a paper copy through bookshop.org. You also can find a print version on Amazon.

Giving Voice to Your Characters

Last week a fellow writer early in her career asked me about voice. Could I explain it to her?

I told her that voice is the way you make your characters sound real, how you enable them to come alive instead of lying flat on the page. It is the way you differentiate your characters through what and how they think and talk. Not just their word choices but their cadence, whether they speak in full sentences most of the time, whether they trail off often or interrupt others a lot. Whether they use slang or curse words. Whether they use a lot of long or short sentences or if they have a nice mix. Whether, to boil it down, they have attitude. Whether, to bring us back to the beginning of this paragraph, they feel real.

The author asked if I could offer any examples. She learns better through examples. In case you do too, here are some from three of my recent stories.

From “Beauty and the Beyotch,” published in 2022 in issue 29 of Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine: 

        I smoothed my shirt as I neared the lobby at lunchtime the next day, hoping it hadn't wrinkled. You're overthinking things. Kids don't care about stuff like that. I just wanted them to like me.

Can you tell that character, Joni, is a nervous teenager who often doesn't fit in? She is worrying about wrinkles, for Pete's sake. Her desperation oozes off the page.

Let's turn to the two other main characters in that story. Here's a bit of dialogue between Elaine, the first speaker, and Meryl.

        “A teapot? You expect me to be happy playing a teapot?”

        “Well—”

        “So you think that ho will steal the lead from me.”

Does Elaine come across as a bitch? Her attitude is snarky and entitled. She cuts Meryl off, not letting her answer the very question Elaine asked. She uses mean words about another girl, Joni. She may not be likeable, but Elaine certainly has attitude. She feels real.

From “Real Courage,” published in 2023 in issue 14 of Black Cat Mystery Magazine     

        Four years later, on a warm spring Saturday night my sophomore year of high school, I ended up down the block at Dereck’s house. He was throwing another rager. Kids were everywhere, smoking cigarettes and weed and other stuff I didn’t want to know about. Someone had smuggled in a keg, and someone else had made Jell-O shots. Music was pumping, and I was glad to be there. Glad to be out of my tomb of a house, where the lights were always dim and it was always quiet and my dad was always reading in his study. He’d retreated there after my mom died and pretty much hadn’t left. Books were his escape, he once said. I understood. But sometimes I needed to let loose.

That was Connor talking. He's a fifteen-year-old kid who fits in socially, who loves his dad and doesn't rag on him, but who also wants to live differently than his dad does. His dad would describe their house as peaceful. Connor calls it a tomb. He talks about his need to let loose. Imagine if Joni from “Beauty and the Beyotch” were at the this party. Okay, Joni would never go to that party, but imagine if she did. She would never think she needed to let loose. That idea wouldn't would cross her mind. Joni would be focused on what to say and who to talk to so she would fit in, and chances are, her awkwardness in what she said and how she said it would make her stand out as a girl who didn't fit in.

From “A Matter of Trust,” published earlier this year in the anthology Three Strikes--You're Dead!:

        You can do this. It’s not like I was incredibly out of shape. Just sported a little extra padding around the middle. Cycling shouldn’t be any problem.

That's Ethan. He promised his wife he would start riding his bicycle regularly to try to get his blood sugar under control. He's talking to himself, and I hope he comes across as a man who thinks highly of himself, a man in denial. 

So those are some examples of using voice--using attitude--to bring characters to life. You may not like attitude coming from your kids or coworkers or customers, but you want it in the characters in your fiction. That's not to say characters have to be snarky, but from reading what they say or think, the reader should be able to find some adjective to describe the character in question, be it neurotic or mean or narcissistic or chipper or some other descriptive term. Your characters should feel like real three-dimensional human beings, emphasis on the word real.

Before I go, I had a guest cover my column three weeks ago, so this is my first chance to share here that my story “Real Courage” has been named a finalist for the Macavity Award. To those of you who received ballots, I would be honored if you'd give it a read and consider voting for it if you like it. You can find it on my website. Just click here.