Writing Tips: Engaging Character Voice

     I recently took a class from a renowned editor who reinforced my impression that character voice is one of the most compelling elements of engaging fiction.  Crafting a captivating character voice involves meticulous word choice to reveal the character’s attitude, personality, background, and beliefs.
     Nancy Kress gives solid advice on making each character’s voice distinctive in her excellent craft book, Characters, Emotion, & Viewpoint: 
     “Is your character cynical?  Then his vocabulary will be cynical as well.  Is she sentimental?  Her diction will be too.  [Voice] can reflect region, ethnicity, or historical era as well as character.”

     Janice Hardy notes:  “Personality plays a large role in how a character sounds.  Their voice will reflect that personality and color both their dialogue and internal thoughts.  Examples: 

• “Sweetie, I don’t mean to pry, but you look sadder than a soaked kitten.” 
• He squared his shoulders as he tread into the room, [meeting] the hard gazes of each man at the table.  No backing down.  No looking away.  He nodded once. “Hey.”

     I establish DISTINCTIVE SPEECH PATTERNS for my three main characters in the opening chapters of my work-in-progress Sky God’s Warrior. 

• Ayda the cocky steppe warrior:  She laughed and saluted the dun mare.  “You’re gonna be mine.” 
• Aietos the war-weary Greek hero:  Golden fleece.  Sounded like a poet’s tale.  .  .  .  “I am honored you consider me worthy of this position.” 
• Maqari the scheming noble:  “If I must,” Maqari whispered, advancing on him,  “I will reveal your .  .  .  secret.  I will do whatever I must to protect Kolkha.”

    Each character also has DISTINCT BELIEFS:

• Life was an adventure .  .  .  Best to embrace it head-on.  [Ayda]
• A fool’s errand, seeking the fortitude to approach Kleo in a wine cup.  This was exactly why his uncle always considered Aphrodita’s sway a weakness.  [Aietos]
• Everything she did was for the glory of Kolkha.  No one else had the vision or fortitude to prepare for what lay ahead.  [Maqari]

     Mae Clair also provides some entertaining examples of DISTINCT CHARACTER VOICES: 
     Blunt and to the point: “Cut the chatter.  I need to think!“
     A tolerant peacekeeper: “Would you please tone back the noise level?  I’m trying to think.“
     No patience: "Shut the &$%# up! I can’t hear myself think!"
     Thinking in short, choppy sentences:  Screw Janet.  She can think what she wants.
     Layering thoughts with vinegar or sarcasm: I can’t believe Janet thinks I ratted her out.  But then she always was a self-centered witch who couldn’t tell her curling iron from her broomstick.
      A worrywart reflecting on the situation: I should have never told Janet I got together with Mark.  That’s probably why she thinks I betrayed her.  I shouldn’t have said anything.  Now Mark’s going to find out and he’ll be upset.  Janet is probably on the phone calling him right now.

---

     VOCABULARY should ideally be unique to each character. Robert McKee’s book, Character, has a chapter on character-specific dialogue.  He recommends “active, concrete, specific” language based on the character’s sense of self, attitudes, and place in society.
​     For example, my character Ayda in Sky God’s Warrior often uses horse-based metaphors reflecting her background on the steppe as these excerpts illustrate:

• ​Fitting in with her idle noble kin would be like training a feral horse to the bridle—miserable for everyone.
• Ayda fingered the cold bronze clan key and watched them wander off, like an unsettled herd of horses without a dominant mare. 
• Each of the wooden beams spiraling the heavy dome was broad as a horse and ten spear-lengths long.
• Most nobility [were] worthless beyond fancy talk and flamboyant posing, idlers looking to ride someone else’s trained horse. 
• “I’m anxious as a mare in heat to go home to Skosakland,” she said. ​

---

     In The Fire in Fiction, Donald Maas says character’s OPNIONS are a critical aspect of creating a voice that will engage readers.  He suggests writers:  “Find something in your story about which your protagonist has a strong opinion.  Sharpen that opinion.  Magnify it.  Let your protagonist rant, sneer, demur, [actively] avoid . .  .  or in any way feel even more strongly about whatever it is.”
    These excerpts show Ayda’s opinion of her older sister, Sary, in Sky God’s Warrior:  ​

• ​Typical Sary: not a hair out of place, not a stain or wrinkle on her pristine wine-red priest garb.  As if grasping tidiness mitigated her human frailty. 
• Sary formally displayed her right palm, her face exultant, as if she’d had a divine vision.  By all the known gods,  Ayda would never understand her older sister.
• Sary scowled, her tender pride bruised.
• The hinges screeched in protest as Sary slammed the door behind her.  It rattled accusingly in its frame.  Unforgiving twit.

---

     Andrew Johnston points out that characters will alter their SPEAKING STYLES in different situations.  “For example, characters will tend to use more first-person pronouns and uncertain language when speaking to a superior than to a subordinate.  A speaker who drops some contractions while giving a speech might use more pronouns when chatting with friends.”
     Ayda finds the clan matron, Rybili, annoying and thinks more than she speaks in their conversations. Some excerpts, with the spoken words highlighted in dark red: 

   [Rybili] “You publicly insulted Matron Yuiti Tiskheneli.  With scalps!” 
   [Ayda] Not the praise she’d expected. 
   [Rybili] The matron’s eyelid twitched.  “Fortunately, Maqari Artsiveli placated her.”  . . . 
   [Ayda] Rybili was too focused on her dreamworld of Clan Geveli’s former glory to see reality.  “No freeholders, means no barter, means no tithe.”
   [Rybili] The matron waved away her concern.  “Your ignorance of noble politics endangers the clan.  If you want to continue as key-keeper, I insist you learn proper etiquette.”
   [Ayda] Ironic.  Ayda knew more about Kolkha’s political history from Greama’s poetry than Rybili could ever grasp.

In contrast, Ayda’s style is warmer and more open with her younger sister, Kel:
     Ayda ruffled her curls.  Kel was only fourteen but already budded with a woman’s curves.  “You’re taller.” 
     “Yet still a head shorter than you.”  Kel perched on tiptoes.  “How was your journey?”
     “Tiamar pissed rain on us once we reached Kolkha.”
     Kel giggled.  .  .  . 
     “Brought these for you.”  Ayda pulled two gilded combs from her belt pouch.  Stylized antlered deer leapt across the tops.
     “They’re beautiful!”  Kel tucked them into her blond curls.  “Thank you.”

---

Different characters will speak (and think) in distinct RHYTHMS.  Alix Limberg describes how to create distinctive rhythm for characters:

• Use different lengths of phrases
• Use different sentence structures, like only main clauses or a lot of subordinate or embedded clauses
• Use conjunctions, noun markers, filler words, etc… more with some speakers and less with others
• Use different punctuation marks (question marks, exclamation marks, hyphens, colons, semi-colons, etc…) more with some speakers and less with others

Ayda generally speaks in short, simple sentences or fragments: 

• “More coming when they don’t return.”​
• “Offering your friendship?
• “Got no interest in fancy talk.”

Maqari uses a more formal style and no contractions: 

• “What was your impression of Trusted Servant Lamazi’s tone of voice?  Did she sound .  .  .  guilt-ridden?” 
• “As a reward, you may visit your daughter next sevenday.  I will ensure she is available.”
• “Thank you for bringing this to my attention.”

---

     Tracy Clark at Writer’s Digest reminds writers that developing a strong character voice is “in addition to all the other things you should consider like pacing, setting, description, plot, theme, and point of view.  All of it has to be included and all of it has to work together.  Like with a good gumbo.  In gumbo, every flavor counts.”  Excellent advice. 
​     Now get cooking~​

---

Read other resources for strong characterization: Writing the Other, The Emotional Craft of Fiction,
The Fire in Fiction, Characters, Emotion, & Viewpoint,  Character,
Crafting Emotional Resonance, Drafting Daring Dialogue

---