I’ve been writing for a long time.
When I was 16, I began a handwritten novel that was essentially an homage to the Robert Ludlum books I had been devouring. I called it The Zurich Connection. See? It even sounds like a Robert Ludlum novel.
My book was about a skilled operative who is suddenly wrapped up in a worldwide threat, and whose family is also suddenly endangered. I envisioned and wrote some cool action scenes. I even had the Grossmunster in Zurich send me a bunch of information so that I could base a huge action scene in it.
The summer of that year involved writing letters to the Scottish chick I had a crush on, writing my book, and eating ramen and Cool Ranch Doritos.
Cult life wasn’t all that bad, when you get down to it.
Was that book (still only 160 or so pages into it…) my voice? Was that the type of story I was destined to write? It was certainly what I loved to read. Heck, I still love reading espionage.
I also have been writing poetry for over 20 years. I’ve probably even gotten better at it. Most of those poems should never see the light of day, however. I believe there are two types of poetry– or art, really. 1) Stuff done with craft and skill and audience in mind– this can be from the heart, but there is craft, skill etc. involved and is fit for public consumption. 2) Stuff from the heart that is essentially soul-puke. It is raw, craft-less and is cathartic for the artist. This stuff generally ought to be kept from the public eye, I think.
Anyway, was/is poetry my voice? I certainly would have loved to write lyrical verse that moved people and made thousands of people ponder the human condition. Some kind of prominent award would have been appreciated. (Okay, forget the past perfect tense, I’d still love a prominent award. With a lifetime supply of rice krispy treats.)
I have since written multiple short stories and am nearly finished novel #3. Short stories have ranged from science fiction (mostly very derivative) to fantasy (I have trouble confining these to short story size) and from action to crime/detective and dramatic/romantic. My first novel is a YA fantasy. My second is straight YA. My third is YA adventure.
I also spent a couple of years writing immense amounts of SEO web copy, instructional pieces like training manuals and how-to’s, and basic magazine-level expository articles. Heck, I was a finalist in the Pulitzer Center’s Contest for Citizen Journalism. The National Press Club invited me to be a member. Add to all that the political commentary I used to do and I have changed genre and voice more than Anne Hathaway changed dresses at the Oscars.
So the question of finding my voice has been on my mind lately.
I attended LTUE (Life, the Universe and Everything) a remarkable writers’ conference held at BYU recently and there was this panel about how to not impose your morals on the characters in your book.
This got me to thinking deeply about the voice of my current protagonist, Lakhoni, in Servant of the King. Does he have a voice? Does my friend Melinda think he sounds older than I think he is because he sounds, essentially, like me?
What about the protagonist in The Cabin? This is the novelized version of my life in the cult. It’s based on real events. That character is, for all intents and purposes, me. But is it adult me or 14 year old me? Is the voice not strong enough and true enough to a 14 year old boy in a cult? Is that why the editor at Little, Brown said she couldn’t really identify with the kid?
How do we find the voice that our characters need?
It’s hard, for me at least. I have to say, in my defense, that the coolest character I’ve created so far has to be Gimno, in Servant of the King. He’s complex and a real joy to write. His motivations are murky to others and is full of surprises. He’s completely not me.
So I think a major step in my process of finding voices for my characters is to look for me in each character and decide if that element of me is true to the character or is just me filling in the gap. But before that, I think I need to try harder to really get to know my characters. That being the case, I’ve had an idea.
What if I, when building a character, really get deeper into the person by placing them in different situations? Totally outside the story I mean. So I can take Lakhoni and put him in a situation where his friends are bullying another kid. Or put him in his future when he discovers his wife has cheated on him.
Then I can explore what Lakhoni does and why.
I’m going to try this when I do my rewrites of The Cabin and Servant of the King.
And another part of finding the characters’ voices, I think, will be to be certain I understand their goals from early on. Goals for the story, goals in life, daily motivations and all of that. It has been interesting with my latest book, because I have understood Lakhoni’s goals from the get-go. This has really informed his inner dialogue, which I think has made him a far more rich character.
So what’s my voice? It’s not expressed by a character. My voice is the stories I tell and how I choose to tell them- whatever genre they are in.
But my characters’ voices have become the real issue. I hope I can work harder and develop my craft more so that I can become more adept at finding the voices of the people whose stories I tell.
How do YOU go about determining your characters’ voices? Any exercises or techniques you care to share?
I think listening to others (maybe especially when you can’t relate well to them) is a start. Get a feel for what makes them tick and how they view the world. Maybe even keep a little journal with notes of different personality types you run into that you can go to when you need a character of a certain type.
This sort of reminds me of what Johnny Depp did for the Pirates of the Caribbean movies: He based the characterization of Captain Jack Sparrow on The Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards.
That’s a good thought, although difficult. It’s totally counter-nature for many of us to listen to those we can’t relate to. But as writers, I think that’s an important exercise.
And a helpful reminder.
I remember hearing about Depp saying something like that. I found those movies to be increasingly irritating. I think Depp is a good actor, but I’m not into pirates at all.
I guess it depends on how your story starts, in your head. What shape is the seed? For me, I hear voices. I listen to all the people around me, in restaurants, at writing conferences, at the mall. And when I start thinking about a story, even before I outline, I think about the voice. If I can hear them talking in my head, I know I can write that character. Dialog is a big part of my storytelling.
For my husband, he doesn’t hear voices. But he is a great outliner, and a good storyteller. We collaborate because he forms great stories, and I put in all the dialog and romance.
So either work on hearing more people talking, and hearing your characters in your head, or find someone who already does that, and pick their brain. Kevin and I are lucky that we fill the gaps in the other’s skill set. But there should be a way you can add more skills to your tool kit.
Hi Karen.
First off, thanks for stopping by and double thanks for leaving a comment.
Such a good one too. I love the idea of ‘listening’ as opposed to just the observing that I do. I get mannerisms and appearances okay, but the voices are lacking still. This is a great idea.
I’m very jealous of your being able to collaborate with your husband. Maybe when our kids are a little more grown, my wife and I can do the same.
Thanks again!