Don't You Backtalk Me: Your Characters' Voices
Hello, boys and girls, and welcome to your favorite day of the week. That's right, it's Character Building Thursday! It's been a while. Let's review. So far, we've talked about naming your characters, describing them, and backstory.
Today, for Thursday #4, I want to talk about something crucial to your story, and to rounding out your characters and making them seem believable: voice. I don't mean the low bass rumble of your romantic lead or the tinny shriek of the angry fairy, but the way your character talks; the words she chooses, the phrases he uses, the colloquialisms they get wrong. There are several factors that go into crafting a character's voice, and they can all help your characters to sound like distinct, unique, believable people.
One thing to consider when writing dialogue--or inner monologue, if the piece is in first person or sections where we see the character's thoughts--is the background of the character. If she's poor white trash from Kentucky, she probably won't greet her neighbor by saying, "How do you do?" Similarly, if your character is a wealthy, elderly businessman, he won't call anybody "homie." But this doesn't give you permission to stereotype, either. If they do break convention or defy expectation, this tells us something different about them as people, and should fit into the overall picture of them. A word of caution: don't assume that you know how people talk in certain places without looking into it. For example, don't have your Australian gymnast saying "G'day mate" to everyone she meets; that is a tired cliche, and isn't actually something people from Australia say. Likewise, if you have randomly decided to have your uptight governess come from Sheffield, and assume that, because Sheffield is in England, she will talk like the queen. Do yourself a favor and google "Yorkshire dialect."
Age, social status, and culture can also impact the way your character talks. I don't know exactly how to explain this, so listen to the people around you. Listen to the conversations, the rhythms and slang that people fall into. One thing you'll notice, unless you live around a bunch of professionally trained public speakers, is how disjointed speech is. People stumble, stutter, pause, interrupt, and mis-speak all the time. Not all of this will translate into written dialogue, obviously, but see if you can distill some truth-nuggets to poke into your fiction.
As far as I'm concerned, the two most important things to keep in mind when writing dialogue are honesty and originality. These have to be in balance; don't have your character say something wackadoo just to be random and unpredictable. Make it real, make it natural, but also make it distinct and recognizable. Listen to your character. Over time, if you're doing it right, you won't even have to worry about how to say what they're saying. Your only worry will be typing fast enough to keep up with the voices in your head.
Writing: the only profession where voices in your head is a good thing. Embrace it, my friends, and I will see you tomorrow.
Well, not actually see you. I'll type things and you will, hopefully, read them.
I'm trying to start a thing where every Friday I answer commenter questions, which is tricky when nobody asks me any. So, have any questions? Leave me a comment!
Today, for Thursday #4, I want to talk about something crucial to your story, and to rounding out your characters and making them seem believable: voice. I don't mean the low bass rumble of your romantic lead or the tinny shriek of the angry fairy, but the way your character talks; the words she chooses, the phrases he uses, the colloquialisms they get wrong. There are several factors that go into crafting a character's voice, and they can all help your characters to sound like distinct, unique, believable people.
One thing to consider when writing dialogue--or inner monologue, if the piece is in first person or sections where we see the character's thoughts--is the background of the character. If she's poor white trash from Kentucky, she probably won't greet her neighbor by saying, "How do you do?" Similarly, if your character is a wealthy, elderly businessman, he won't call anybody "homie." But this doesn't give you permission to stereotype, either. If they do break convention or defy expectation, this tells us something different about them as people, and should fit into the overall picture of them. A word of caution: don't assume that you know how people talk in certain places without looking into it. For example, don't have your Australian gymnast saying "G'day mate" to everyone she meets; that is a tired cliche, and isn't actually something people from Australia say. Likewise, if you have randomly decided to have your uptight governess come from Sheffield, and assume that, because Sheffield is in England, she will talk like the queen. Do yourself a favor and google "Yorkshire dialect."
Age, social status, and culture can also impact the way your character talks. I don't know exactly how to explain this, so listen to the people around you. Listen to the conversations, the rhythms and slang that people fall into. One thing you'll notice, unless you live around a bunch of professionally trained public speakers, is how disjointed speech is. People stumble, stutter, pause, interrupt, and mis-speak all the time. Not all of this will translate into written dialogue, obviously, but see if you can distill some truth-nuggets to poke into your fiction.
As far as I'm concerned, the two most important things to keep in mind when writing dialogue are honesty and originality. These have to be in balance; don't have your character say something wackadoo just to be random and unpredictable. Make it real, make it natural, but also make it distinct and recognizable. Listen to your character. Over time, if you're doing it right, you won't even have to worry about how to say what they're saying. Your only worry will be typing fast enough to keep up with the voices in your head.
Writing: the only profession where voices in your head is a good thing. Embrace it, my friends, and I will see you tomorrow.
Well, not actually see you. I'll type things and you will, hopefully, read them.
I'm trying to start a thing where every Friday I answer commenter questions, which is tricky when nobody asks me any. So, have any questions? Leave me a comment!
I am reading a book right now that is driving me crazy for this very reason! It's set in London in the 1920"s and dealing with royalty and those close to royalty, and she has them talking and acting like american flappers - with a touch or "royal" thrown in for good measure. It's very off-putting! Don't do that to your audience, writers! If you don't want to take the time to do your research, then set your characters and story in a time and place you are familiar with. Thank you for addressing this issue, and giving me a venue to vent :)
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