Character Voice

Hey all! Here's the newest installment of GPF. Today's guest's blog is always full of fun and interesting views. So please head over there and tell Devin hi for me. :-)

Character Voice

When you write, do you think from your mind or your characters?



It may seem weird--writing from your characters mind (we've created them after all, shouldn't we think the same?)--but if you think about it, our characters aren't us. Way to state the obvious, right?

Most writers that I've met call their stories their babies--their precious brain child. But what about the characters? They should be just as much our babies as our plots. Even more so, in my opinion. You could have the best Victorian era mystery plot EVER, but if your main character is talking like a valley girl? If they're describing things as clean and bright, it's not going to be right. Again, this is probably obvious.

When it comes to describing things, I think, at first, that writers go for the words that they know. I also think that we describe the people/places/things to reflect its history and personality. Alcatraz looks lonely because it hasn't been used. London is dreary because of its notorious grey skies. The villains are devilishly beautiful or ugly as heck. This is how we want our readers to get a feel for people. This is how we show.

But is your character going to think London is dreary if they've lived under grey skies their entire life? Let's say your MC is a guy that just does not like women. If your villain is a lady, would he really call her beautiful--whether she was or not?

It doesn't just stop there. What if your MC's biggest dream was to be a chef (or they could really just love food)--would those green eyes look like summer leaves or would they look like cucumbers? Is someone going to be blushing a lady bug red or are they going to blushing a bell pepper red?

One of the easiest ways to get a start on character voice is to think like them. If they're a foodie, use food! If they're into plants and botany, use nature. If they're the mathematical sort, use numbers and logic. If they're a shopaholic, use clothes and shoes and name brands. You get the idea.

It may seem obvious--redundant to say, even--but this is one of the things that helped me the most when I began writing. One of my first characters (this was a paranormal story) had the ability to touch something and know exactly what made it up. So, after awhile, I finally realized that touch should be the sense I used most. Not sight. Not smell. Not hearing. Touch. It had to be the most important, because it was the most important to him.

So, take a look at your characters--interview them if you haven't already--and look at your manuscript. Are they matching up?
 
 
 
 
 
Thanks Devin!
 
Anyone else, if you want to do a post on Fridays, please contact me as soon as you can, as the Fridays are going fast. I'm booked until June so far. :-) My e-mail address is: mishagericke@gmail.com (mishagericke(AT)gmail(DOT)com).
 
So... What do you do to match the voice to the character?