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ELIZABETH MAE WOLFRAM:
"A story should be able to switch from one character to another, and the reader know exactly who the narrator is without the author stating their name." (Paraphrase)
That is one of the best pieces of writing advice I've seen. To be able to switch POV without announcing it and without confusing the reader sounds pretty cool, right? That just seems like it paints each character in such a 3-dimensional way that they feel so real, and that's the effect we authors are aiming for.
It's just... seems really hard to pull off.
In real life, it's obvious when two people are speaking. We don't need dialogue tags or need to state who said what. We just listen and know who's got the mic. With writing, however, you don't get to hear the audible differences between characters. If written poorly, every character can "sound" the same, and despite different points-of-view, it can seem like the whole story is being told by the same person. There's no dynamic.
In the same way, if we don't develop our unique writing style, we can start to imitate other authors. Then every book would read the same, and that'd be kind of boring, right? We want our characters to stand out, we want our words to stand out and be specific to us.
But... how exactly do you do that? When you get down to it, when you're in the middle of writing, what do you actually do to distinguish between characters and not sound like you're trying to be a carbon-copy of another author?
If you're anything like I was when I first started writing... this is confusing. And probably intimidating. And probably making you feel like your writing is riddled with mistakes and so far from good enough. I don't want you to doubt yourself and I definitely don't want you to give up on your words. There is a lot as a beginning author that you're trying to implement. The way to make your writing unique is so subtle, most of us don't notice it when we're reading. But trust me, it is worth taking the time to understand.
The best way to develop both author and character individuality is by the use of voice. It's a subtle thing as I said before, something maybe you've never heard about or maybe you just don't quite understand yet. I get it.
For the longest time, I only had the basic idea of "voice" down. I knew that this type of character wouldn't sound like another type. It worked for my book, "Collector," only because in this dystopian society, everyone was supposed to sound the same. I developed my characters individually, sure, but only to a certain to degree. When I started working on "Angau," a historical WIP set in Wales during the medieval period... my elementary use of character voice didn't portray my character correctly. Rather than Alwyn, my MC, sounding like the 57 year old man he was... he sounded more like a teenager - all because of my misuse of voice.
Yeah, it's that powerful.
Now, we'll dive deep into all of that later. This is just part one of a four-part series focusing on voice - author voice, character voice, young and old voices, and everything in between. But, for now, let's get a basic understanding of what voice is and why it should be developed in writing.
To do this, I am going to turn it over to our guest author: D.T. Powell. She is a fantastic author working in the fanfic area of writing, and has been so valuable to me. She's taught me so much and, I bet, she can help you not only gain an understanding of voice, but teach you how voice can be intentionally used to create different effects in your writing.
So... let's dive in, shall we?
D.T. POWELL:
Voice.
It can be a nebulous term for writers who haven’t found theirs yet or haven’t read anything that really leans into its voice in an obvious way. But when you’ve read something that fully embraces voice, it’s impossible to miss.
What is voice anyway?
The short answer is, it’s a reflection of how we look at and experience the world.
The more involved answer is many factors contribute to voice. Faith and worldview, age, upbringing, personal preferences, life experience, education level, economic status, geographic location, personality, talents and interests. All of that and more form the foundation of your writing voice.
These factors manifest in multiple ways: how we structure sentences; vocabulary and word choice; tendencies toward active or passive verbs; choice of audience, subject, tone, and theme; how much description we choose to incorporate; even our choice of penname.
It stems from who we are as individuals. Everyone’s voice is unique because no two people are exactly alike. Just like people can imitate others’ physical voices, we can imitate others’ writing voices too. But no imitation voice can perfectly match an original. Even the best impersonators can’t become the people they’re imitating.
That isn’t to say there’s no value in studying other writers’ voices or implementing new elements in our writing. Just go into those exercises knowing what works for others may not work for you. And it doesn’t have to. Because you’re not them. You’re you.
By now, you may have noticed a significant difference between Elizabeth’s writing voice and mine. One of the simplest explanations for that is there’s over a ten-year age gap between us. Another is that we write for very different audiences. Where Elizabeth writes for college age young women and older teen girls, I mostly write for adult men.
We’d love to see what differences in our writing voices you spot throughout this series of posts. Let us know in the comments what you find.
Talking about writer voice is one thing. Effectively employing it is another.
You want to know the secret to finding your writer voice?
Yup. I’m going to tell you. Right here. Right now.
You ready?
This is going to get deep, so make sure you want the answer.
Okay. You’ve been warned.
The secret is…
Write.
That’s it.
You already have a writer voice. You just may not have heard it yet.
Have you ever listened to a recording of yourself? Most people hate doing that. We have a pre-conceived idea of how we sound, and having that idea contradicted or adjusted by simple fact is difficult. We also can’t hear ourselves the way others hear us, so experiencing that outsider perception of something very personal feels foreign and wrong. The first several times we experience it, it’s highly uncomfortable. We personalize and internalize the experience, becoming overly conscious of what others think or perceive about us because of how we sound. So, many choose to avoid recordings of themselves.
Just like most of us don’t naturally listen to ourselves speak, we also don’t naturally observe ourselves write. That’s one reason why, when we hand our writing over to others, we get nervous. It’s like giving someone a recording of ourselves talking. What if they make fun of it? Will they like us? Did we skip words or mispronounce something?
All these fears aren’t unique to writing. They’re the same fears people experience when they speak, sing, or perform publicly. When we broadcast pieces of who we are, there are inherent risks of rejection. The key to combatting those fears is to know who we are as writers and why we write. For me, that’s anchored in my identity in Christ and how He used fiction to help me understand the wonder and unbreakable joy of my salvation. That Why shapes and informs my writer voice. Your Why will do the same for you, even if you aren’t able to directly observe it right away.
There are factors that cloud writer voice. Some of the biggest include: poor writing mechanics, cluttered sentences, excessive filtering, and an over reliance on passivity. Spend time learning how to shore up these weak points to enhance your writer voice and boost your confidence. Because when we know how to do something well, we’re far less likely to fear it.
Poor mechanics: unintentionally bad grammar, slipping into a different verb tense for no reason, typos, misused phrases, vague pronouns, incorrect paragraphing, etc.
Clutter: wordy or awkward sentences, irrelevant content, repeating yourself, etc.
Filtering: frequent sense words (felt, heard, saw, smelled, tasted, seemed) Note: These can be employed well, but it’s very difficult.
Passiveness: had/have been (and similar) verbs, a reliance on outside forces to carry the plot, consistent dependence on a character(s) telling others events instead of showing readers those events. Note: Passiveness isn’t wrong to use 100% of the time, but use it sparingly.
There we have it! We have a clearer look at voice and, even better, we have some features we can assess in our writing to make our voice stand out. Take a moment to read over one of your more recent works. Do you spot any use of bad mechanics, clutter, filter words, or passive voice? Rewrite those to fix the issues. How does that change your writing? Does it become easier to read and understand?
We'd love to hear how this post has helped you think about your author and character voices! Send us your thoughts by leaving a comment or connecting with us through social media.
About The Authors
D. T. Powell has loved stories since before she can remember, and it was love for a story God used to change her life that prompted her to start writing. She has actively contributed to the fanfiction community since 2013 in addition to writing original speculative fiction for both inspirational and general markets. She spends her days supervising three furry felines, all named for Studio Ghibli characters, playing pickleball, reading, and enjoying her favorite video games. Her life verse is Psalm 126:5, "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.”
Instagram @dtill359
Facebook @D. T. Powell, Author
Goodreads @D.T. Powell
Elizabeth Mae Wolfram is a twenty-something-year-old living in the breathtaking mountains of the Ozarks. She is an author, blogger, podcaster, web designer, & book formatter -- all powered by the publishing company she and her mom founded in 2022, called DHK Creations & Publications, LLC. When she isn’t writing, she can be found drinking coffee with her parents, hanging out with her little siblings, or chasing around her fiery kittens, Phoenix, Ember, and Bella.
Instagram: @elizabethmaewolfram_author
Facebook: E.M. Wolfram
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