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Thursday, February 7, 2008
Voice Lessons – Part Two
Movie directors and screenwriters have it easier than straight out novelists. (At least I think so and it’s my blog so what I say goes. Pirate.) I think they have it easier than us because they can rely on visuals. Within seconds of the credits rolling and the music starting, the tone of a movie is set. The colors they use, the angles they come from, and the actions of the characters as well as the script all play a part in “setting the scene.”
When you’re a novelist, you only have the words you write. “Only!” I hear some of you wenches gasping. Well, yes, only. Think of all the visual weapons in a screen director’s arsenal. And what do we have? Words.
Yet, I constantly hear from moviegoers, “that wasn’t as good as the book.” How, if a director can make us see everything, can’t they make a movie better than a book?
A good novelist creates something that lives inside someone else’s head. That’s a tall task. When a reader picks up a book, they want to fall into the world that author has created. They want that world, those characters, to live inside their head for the few hours it will take them to reach the end.
So, how do we set that scene? What do we do to make that scene, the setting, the book, alive for that reader? I say it starts with the tone we use and, ultimately, with our voice.
But, what, beyond lots and lots of practice, attributes to our voice?
Yesterday, Sin talked about how we write emotion and I thought that really got at the heart of voice. As I mentioned in the comments (if you haven’t read them, you should, as always the wenches who visit the boat leave brilliant insight) I don’t do dark well. In addition to that, I don’t do a lot of melodrama well. In fact, I would say for the most part, I’m pretty light. But, I don’t think light has to mean light on substance.
So, my WIP is a not dark, non-melodramatic, light but substantial read. In fact, those adjectives tell you nothing concrete about my writing style.
How am I “not dark?” How do I avoid melodrama? What makes me substantial but light?
These questions got me thinking about the specifics of creating voice. Apparently we all have to “find” our voice. How many times do we hear that advice as fledgling authors? Keep writing, I hear, you’ll figure it out, they say. And, I agree. The more I write, the more clarity I have about this.
But, that doesn’t help you. So, today, I want to talk about some of the specifics. How do we create voice? My first example is this: I know that my dialogue is very light because my characters banter. It’s quick and at times silly. My characters twist each other’s words and bicker the way that attorneys do; with a one-up the other goal in mind and practically no malice. When they talk, the tones of their conversation hold the power-struggle I see between defensive parties. It makes for tension, but without the darkness. Or, so I think.
What about you? What specific things do you do that contribute to your voice?
When you’re a novelist, you only have the words you write. “Only!” I hear some of you wenches gasping. Well, yes, only. Think of all the visual weapons in a screen director’s arsenal. And what do we have? Words.
Yet, I constantly hear from moviegoers, “that wasn’t as good as the book.” How, if a director can make us see everything, can’t they make a movie better than a book?
A good novelist creates something that lives inside someone else’s head. That’s a tall task. When a reader picks up a book, they want to fall into the world that author has created. They want that world, those characters, to live inside their head for the few hours it will take them to reach the end.
So, how do we set that scene? What do we do to make that scene, the setting, the book, alive for that reader? I say it starts with the tone we use and, ultimately, with our voice.
But, what, beyond lots and lots of practice, attributes to our voice?
Yesterday, Sin talked about how we write emotion and I thought that really got at the heart of voice. As I mentioned in the comments (if you haven’t read them, you should, as always the wenches who visit the boat leave brilliant insight) I don’t do dark well. In addition to that, I don’t do a lot of melodrama well. In fact, I would say for the most part, I’m pretty light. But, I don’t think light has to mean light on substance.
So, my WIP is a not dark, non-melodramatic, light but substantial read. In fact, those adjectives tell you nothing concrete about my writing style.
How am I “not dark?” How do I avoid melodrama? What makes me substantial but light?
These questions got me thinking about the specifics of creating voice. Apparently we all have to “find” our voice. How many times do we hear that advice as fledgling authors? Keep writing, I hear, you’ll figure it out, they say. And, I agree. The more I write, the more clarity I have about this.
But, that doesn’t help you. So, today, I want to talk about some of the specifics. How do we create voice? My first example is this: I know that my dialogue is very light because my characters banter. It’s quick and at times silly. My characters twist each other’s words and bicker the way that attorneys do; with a one-up the other goal in mind and practically no malice. When they talk, the tones of their conversation hold the power-struggle I see between defensive parties. It makes for tension, but without the darkness. Or, so I think.
What about you? What specific things do you do that contribute to your voice?
Labels:
movies,
screenwriters have it easy,
tone,
Writer's voice
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33 comments:
Hi, Marnee. I'm revising something that's still making me laugh out loud in spots---there's banter and silly situations. But I can go dark---very dark---too. Maybe I'm still finding my voice in the dark!
Specifics. I love specifics. I'm afraid my voice is scarce. In my efforts to keep my story working at a strong pace and not use any unnecessary words, I've used too little.
Right now I'm doped up on sinus medicine and attempting a long, thoughtful answer is fruitless but I don't think I've found my voice yet. I'd think our voice (or how we tell a story in words) is similar to our speaking voice. But in speaking I tend to ramble on way too long saying nothing. That does not bode well for my writing.
*sigh* I need more coffee...
I think I'm good at the funny. And good at dialogue. I tend to put my characters in situations they normally wouldn't find themselves in or wouldn't dare to dream of finding themselves in and well, see what they do.
Usually they make a fool of themselves providing for humor.
Um, I also think I write kisses extremely well.
It comes from all the research I've had to do. LOL
I'm dark and full of emotion, in scene, setting, dialogue and interaction! That just is my voice. Not sure how found it.
I'm not so good a funny. My characters are too dominating and serious, and the situation's I put them in, doesn't often allow for humour.
And don't let maggie fool you, her dark voice, is so edge of your seat you can't stop reading it, wanting more gruesome detail (maybe I'm a sick, lol)
Coffee? Ter. didn't know you were a caffeine freak aside from being sick.. sheesh, everyone is sick, is it catching through the net.
Ely you do kisses well, and HEA's the best! I still want to cry thinking about Sam... sigh...
Got hooked on coffee about a month ago. Even got the maker down at home and I make some almost every night. Learned the hard way to be DEcaffienated. Sheesh that was bad.
I haven't been sick in forever but going from 50something to 80 degrees did me in. I would give my right arm to be able to crawl back into bed right now but I'm still at a negative on sick time so that's just not possible.
Anyone think it's possible to study too much into the craft and end up losing your voice because of it? It's that whole "ignorance is bliss" thing. I think might voice might come a bit easier if I didn't have all these other voices in my head. And I don't mean the voices of my characters.
Not that I can hear anything today with these clogged ears and pounding sinuses. (Sini? Sinu? Hell, I don't know)
That was *my* voice. Damn it.
*LOL* My characters banter too.
Occasionally there's malice though, when they fight--and they start hitting below the belt.
In Teresa Medeiros' voice, her voice seems to have more vivid, lush (perhaps on the edge of purplely) description. I wish I could write like that--her description is wonderful and very romantic.
Julie Garwood's voice is more ironic. She's Queen of the One-Liner that sets up the reader to expect one thing, then invariably at the end of the scene the opposite (and occasionally ridiculous/funny) happens. Her heroes are usually brooding, non-talkative, and alpha/commander-like, which seems to be an aspect of her voice rather than just what her characters typically are.
Sherrilyn Kenyon's voice is Understatement of the Year (she says so), and angsty with the need for either redemption, vengeance, or both. You get your funny with your angst, big time, in a Kenyon book.
Laurell Hamilton's voice is...not really funny. It's dark, it's engaging and action-packed, but not nearly as humorous toned as any of the others listed. Perhaps a bit ironic, since her main character is sarcastic to a degree--but she's not as funny with her sarcasm as Kenyon can be.
Hmmm. I don't know what I'm good at--probably the dialogue. I can do ironic internal voice pretty engaging--but suck at description...and well, the rest of it. Maybe I should write TV shows instead.
LOL Yeah coffee's strong stuff at night, I don't do caffeine after three unless I plan to be up ALL night! LOL
And it's easy to lose your voice when too many people are telling you how you should do it.
We'll blame the my on cloggedness... hehe
I think sometimes it is less a matter of discovering our voices than it is freeing our voices. Voice is the writer's personality, and it is revealed in the words we choose, the sentences we shape, the rhythm of our prose. Sometimes writers are so impressed by other writers that they (consciously or inconsciously) imitate the admired writer; the result is a derivative voice. Sometimes writers are so concerned about "correctness" that their voice becomes bland and generic. But the derivative and generic voices are not authentic. When we use them, we are fakes.
But when we let what poet Clive Matson calls "the Crazy Child" free, when we allow ourselves to be passionate about our writing, when we can admit we care about touching a reader through our words, then our voices are released--and they are honest and distinctive.
Look at the posts today, for example. How many of them could you identify if there were no names attached?
Maggie - I love when I laugh at something I wrote. As if I'm surprised by my own humor. :)
Ter - I definitely agree that there is something of our everyday voice in our writing voice. But, I think it has to be different. Because I know I say some senseless stuff in RL, I really hope I make more sense on paper. LOL!
Elyssa - I think you do humor well too. I'm halfway through TACOM and I think it's wonderful. And I really love that aspect of our research, ya know? It's what makes writing romance so much better than writing, say horror.
Tiff - I think you do that stuff well too. And when you bring up your discomfort with your "funny" voice, I think you make a great point. We should all play to our strengths and not pretend to be what we aren't. (Girl Power!!)
Cap'n - I don't feel like I do description well either. It's something I feel like I have to work on. How to describe things so it fits in with my voice.
I think it's great to talk about how published author's "talk."
Oh, and I am a coffee addict. But, just the morning. And I'll have to cut it out again soon if I'm going to try to get prego again. :( Stupid vices.
yeah Janga, without my name beside my post you'd know it's me with all the dang comma's I insert! LOL
Love what you said about finding your own voice and not emulating another.
Janga - as always, your input is spot on. I hate when I'm writing and I think, is this showing, not telling? It can sometimes get in my way. Dang internal editor. Tell that guy to put his red pen down!!
Marnee - which ones the vice? The coffee or the getting prego?
Touche, Terrio. The coffee, my dear. Vices imply a level of repetition I hope to avoid with pregnancies. Wanting to get pregnant is surely temporary insanity. I'm sure I'll curse myself during the nausea, back pain, and sweatiness. (I am a VERY cranky pregnant woman, not the mother-earth type). Then it'll recede into my subconscious, just like it did the last time and, god forbid, I'll probably want to do it again.
PS, decaf coffee isn't such a huge vice, I think. Without the caffeine, it's almost not even bad for you at all. It's better than drinking soda, I think. Have you ever seen the experiment where they dissolve a nail in Coke? Scary....
Very interesting discussion. I think about this a lot when I type as I think. I almost ALWAYS edit what I type, whether it's my writing or a blog comment. I never put my initial thoughts down and go with it. Because a lot of times I type like I talk and sometimes I don't talk right! LOL
I use a lot of slang and improper word usage and now that I'm thinking about it to write that down as dialogue creates a character in and of itself. My internal editor has a hard time letting that stuff fly!
What did I tell ya, Marnee... everyday I learn something new!
And that Coke thing is really scary. My kids asked me the other day when they could start drinking things with caffeine in it. I told them when they move out of my house!
My voice is sarcastic. I rather like it. It suits me. LOL
I'm still honing my voice. I've picked the right story line to go with my voice and now it's just learning the ropes of writing my heroine without making her as sarcastic and jaded as me.
There are more things my voice isn't good at than it is. Is that bad?
I won't tell you all the uses they have for coke. You'd be scarred for life, Marn. LOL
I don't drink any kind of soda and haven't in about 15 years. I don't let my daughter drink it either. We grew up drinking Pepsi like most kids drink juice and my sister and I both have major digestion system problems. In fact, we both had our gall bladders out last year.
I had mine first so I call her a copycat and say she only had hers out because I had mine out. hehehe That sibling rivalry thing never goes away. Even if the both of us are pushing 40.
I think my voice is alternating sarcasm and angst. But my sarcasm is more the understatement type. If I type something and it makes me smile when I go back and read it, that makes me feel good.
If I think "did I come up with that?" when I go back and read it, then I'm really happy.
Irish - I am going to try to keep my kids from caffeine too. My husband and I are hooked, though, so it'll be a "do as I say, not as I do" sort of thing, which generally doesn't work that well. :)
And I had a hard time letting go of slang too, which is really bad as I write historical!! Talk about needing my internal editor.
Sin - I think you underestimate. You voice is more than sarcastic, stop being modest. :) I think it's just as important to know what your voice isn't as to know what it is. Just as clarifying. :)
Ter - I love those moments were I think, "wow, that's wittier than I ever thought I was." It doesn't happen a lot, but when it does, I give myself a pat on the back.
Good morning...from another sickie...
I think the most powerful element of my "voice" is dialog. I've been told I do that quite well. I've had J Perry cackling like a hen laying an egg when she reads dialog-heavy scenes.
I suck at description, though...mainly b/c back in the dark ages of my writing, I put a lot of description in and got zinged for it. Now, I have to be reminded to let the reader know where we are, etc...~~sigh~~It's such a fine line to walk. You have to give enough info, but not too much, or your reader's attention will wander and they'll put the book down.
Cinthia, isn't it funny how contests influence our writing/manuscripts. Even if you think "you know, they're right", it's like then you go back and strip out EVERYTHING that was descriptive or passive or well, insert whatever is you do wrong here...and about half the time by the time you're done, it doesn't even feel like a book you want to read any more.
It's hard to balance.
I agree 100% Cinthia. As a reader, I definitely skim over huge paragraphs of dialogue. :) I'm sure that the description is beautiful, but I need to have action!! :)
Cap'n, what you describe is why I want to wait until my WIP is done before sending it to a contest. I know there are a lot of contests for just the first 30-50 pages, but I don't want to be tempted. I just want to get it all out, then worry about "fixing" it up.
My biggest undertaking right now is becoming familar with my characters. I'm writing little scenes to get a handle on how to identify with them and how I want their voice to come across.
My voice comes out mostly in dialog and emotion. I love writing black moments.
Lis - you'll get your characters, I'm sure of it. Hang in there. :)
Do you think our *writer's voice* and our characters' voices are the same? I don't think so or all the characters would sound alike. I think they most likely would have a linking trait that might run through most but I think we can have a character that has a dry sense of humor even if that's not our natural writing voice.
Anyone understand what I mean or have I botched it completely?
Ter- I do feel like they are different. I think writer voice is the undertone of the novel as a whole and my character voices are just a part of the whole package. I mean, my heroine's voice is a tad bit of how I really am, but if my heroes voices were me, that would be slightly strange. I mean I do have the humor of a boy, but I'm rather girly. I hope my heroes don't come off as girly.
Sin - I learned that the hard way. First contest feedback said my hero came across as girly or gay. Man was he mad about that. LOL! I fought for a long time that not all guys have to talk like cavemen but then figured out (through lots of practice) that they definitely have different patterns than women.
And they don't have to sound stupid either. That's where I had a problem. I didn't want him to sound stupid.
Yes, I think they're separate, but I'm not sure I could write a bouncy, optimistic, non-sarcastic character. (Will Ferrell can play both sides with ease, but I think the last time I was a bouncy optimistic non-sarcastic character--Reagan just got elected and my biggest problem was getting home in time to catch re-runs of Dukes of Hazard. It's been a while.) Just another thing I get to work on, I suppose.
THOUGH, JK Rowling's characters, the ones we see the most of--the Weasleys, Hermione, Harry, Order of the Phoenix--they're all sarcastic on some level, even if some of them are more "bouncy" than others. Her voice "varies" with her characters, though thematically, they're sarcastic.
Sherrilyn Kenyon (whom I love, mind)--her characters all seem to have the same bent sarcastic, caustic humor. Even the side characters are sarcastic-sarcastic. But that's her writer's voice, but all her characters project that voice too--know what I mean?
I think I got lost in there somewhere. So all Kenyon's characters are very much alike? Same tone and attitude? I know you love her so I'm sure that's not meant to sound like a bad thing but it doesn't sound like a good thing the way I'm getting it.
Do you mean the sarcasm is the part of her voice that runs through them all but they are still distinctly different people?
Yes and No.
Again, I love her and all; and I do love the stories and all. And I will be first in line to buy the Acheron book...*BUT* I think Sherrilyn's core story is basically Redemption (and probably not letting hate consume your life; love heals all wounds, even really really bad ones)--therefore pretty much every hero of her series have been these sarcastic, wounded, redemption seeking alphas. Talon was probably the bounciest one of the group; and Nick was pretty bouncy before he turned Dark Hunter--otherwise, they do sound alike.
Now sometimes they "act" different; like Val is more mannerly; Kyrian is more..."today is a good day to die"; and Zarek is "I hate everyone all the time even if I have found love", but if you read their 'voices' in the book, they're all similarly sarcastic.
And as for the last 4 or so books, I can't remember them distinctly as much as the rest.
I think it's because I glom an author; and after a while, they do sound a bit alike. Like all of Julie Garwood's historical are alike. They're more a "comfort" read, because you know what to expect. SEP has that effect on me--her characters are all very anguishy and funny and usually sports related. Her books are awesome, but they blur for me. What I think is *one* is actually another with a similar character or goal or storyline.
Which is why I think it's suggested you read outside the genre so you don't suffer burnout or really thinking they're all alike.
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