TECH: A Variety of Voices (moldy oldie)

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Original Posting Feb. 17, 2015

Digging into my stack of sepia colored pages torn from my collection of Writer's Digest when we were moving some years ago...

Writer's Digest, June 2002, pages 28-29 and a little bit on page 54, had an article with the title "A Variety of Voices" by Chris Rogers. The little subtitle said, "Distinguishing your fictional characters' speech habits will captivate your readers and deepen your story's reality."

The article starts out by reminding us of Eliza's "Oawoo!" In My Fair Lady and Yoda's "Stubborn you are" from Return of the Jedi. "Distinctive characters not only come instantly alive and draw us deep into their fictional worlds, they also live on in our minds."

He suggests that viewpoint characters, the ones that we get to eavesdrop on their thinking, should sound the same in their thoughts and in their words. This probably means that strong dialect isn't exactly the right way to go. You need some simple linguistic choices instead.

Chris tells us that he develops character profiles. Where is he from? What does she read? When did he marry? Who does she trust? And then he adds a speech profile. This makes characters more engaging and their dialogue easier to write.

A speech profile? Well, people with different backgrounds talk differently! Even similar ethnic derivation, educational level, and socioeconomic scale still allows for personal variation. So what techniques can you use to develop unique voices for your characters?

First, word choice. Think about interests, vocations, hobbies, marital situation, family background. Where did they grow up? What about their schooling? Expletives? Do they repeat themselves?

Second, sensory preference. People frequently are visual, auditory, or kinesthetic (touchy!). Which sense does your character prefer? Then make sure that their word choice matches that sensory preference. A little goes a long way, like spices.

Third, interests and hobbies. These often provide metaphors and linguistic frameworks. Don't overdo it, but... "Get into the character's head. Imagine yourself a Texas fisherman, retired, arthritic, cranky. How would you answer a simple question like, ' How are you doing?' differently from a disabled coach who still turns out to cheer the high school football team to glory?"

Cadence or rhythm. Consider phrases, adverbs, multisyllabic words, articles... "The rhythm in which your characters speak is also a reflection of who they are and where they've been."

Chris ends up, "Fashion a character's voice as you similarly invent clothing style, body type, mannerisms, social structure, education, psychology and attitude. Allow speech to spring from the character as a whole.... The result of the characters who come alive on the page and linger in a reader's mind long after the story ends."

Now, there is a sidebar practice! An exercise to help make perfect. Chris suggests "Consider how two neighbors, similarly educated, might discuss erecting a fence between their yards. First, give each a specific vocabulary." Chris lays out his two characters, Sara and Britt, with their backgrounds, interests, jobs, and vocabularies.

The issue? "Sara needs the fence to keep her dogs in the yard. Britt enjoys her garden in its relation to the neighboring yards. Choosing words from their respective vocabulary lists, how would each woman express her views?" There you go, write some dialogue, show us these two women talking about the question of erecting a fence.

Obviously, Chris has quite a few more comments and details both in his article and the exercise than I have mentioned here. Still, especially since dialogue and internal monologue make up such important parts of our fiction stories, you might want to think about the way your characters talk.

So, write!