The other night I
was watching The Vampire Diaries (my latest TV show obsession) when this
random thing popped into my head. I stopped the show and contemplated on how
each of those characters expressed themselves different. Then, being the whacky
writer I am, I sat there and tried to describe all their different voices in my
head. In the process I realized just how important it is to describe a person’s
voice and how fun it is.
I’ll use my characters from the first book in my Star Times
Trilogy as an example.
Lindsi Stargazer, my main character, is an inventor and
lives in a tower of a castle. And so when she talks she usually sounds unsure
and often rambles. Also she’s only come in contact with people she could trust
her life with and so Lindsi is also very naïve and trusting. Which means that
doesn’t ever lie. She always tells the whole truth.
“I don’t know. We’ve been making plans but you know how it
goes. Dad can never settle on one thing… plus he’s constantly away and so I
have to do most of the work.”
This quote is from Stargazer, the first book in my trilogy,
and when Lindsi is talking to her best friend Kayly.
Whereas with Lindsi’s love interest, her dashing Keane, has
seen more of the world and knows that not everyone can be trusted. But his
voice is very smooth and calm, silky and charming. You can already tell his
personality. He’s the smooth lady’s man that can easily hide secrets and
therefore he talks the part.
His smile was as
smooth as silk.
“You know what? You look like a damsel in
distress. And you know what else? I am an expert at saving those said damsels.
You want to know my secret?”
That’s when Lindsi
just met Keane for the first time. You can tell that he is smooth and charming.
I think you can see what I mean but I’ll mention one more
character. Hans is Lindsi’s guard and protector. His voice is ridged and firm
and won’t take no for an answer. He’s the soldier and you can tell just by the
way he speaks.
“Lindsi I don’t
care what your father says. I don’t care if you haven’t seen him in an eternity.
All of these rules are put in place for a reason. There are two princes coming
tomorrow and if I see you down those stairs I will lock you in the room. Under
no circumstances are you to leave this tower tomorrow. At all. Do. You.
Understand?”
Hans is talking in this quote. He
just discovered Lindsi had snuck out of her room to visit her friend.
Your character’s voice is very important and helps to paint a
picture for your readers. Small clues, little descriptive words help to
describe how your character speaks, what they would sound like in real life and
for me personally I love putting in those small details to make my people more
vibrant.
What does your character’s voice sound like?
This is really cool. ^ ^ Voice is essential and I haven't really grasped the concept until this year. To me you know when your character's voice are distinctive enough when you show a reader a sentence of their writing with not even action beats and the read can tell which of your characters it is. My character Bryce is very uneducated so he uses simple words, short sentences, a lot of slang and atrocious grammar. His younger brother on the other hand wants to learn how to read and write. He tends to have better grammar and to use any long words he's picked up even if it's incorrectly and has a kinder disposition as opposed to Bryce's rougher one.
ReplyDeleteStori Tori's Blog
Yes! I really want to get to that level too of a reader knowing who is talking without even using an action beat. :):)
DeleteThat's really cool. Those sound like very unique characters. :):)