The writer’s voice. The main element I will pick up a book and read until the end. I don’t care what the plot is about or if it is a genre that I don’t care for, if the voice is beautiful then I will read as many pages as I can. A good voice can even make me become a lifelong fan of the author. Each time he or she puts out a new novel I will likely buy it, simply because of their voice. The writer’s voice is extremely important when constructing any story, especially a lengthy novel.
I have edited other novels and watched their writer’s voice change halfway through the novel, usually for the better. As they went along, they became more confident with their prose, which is good. However, the first half of their work didn’t sound as fresh and confident as the second half. Readers pick up on this. They know a change in voice when they read it. It’s a drastic change in tone many times and it might force the reader out from the fictional dream of your storytelling. So, my mission in this post is to provide a few tips to help you develop your own voice now, so you don’t have to go back and rewrite the first half of your novel.
What is a Writer’s Voice?
That’s a tough one. I guess each writer has their own definition. I would describe the writer’s voice in two ways: 1) How the author tells the story, and 2) How the sentences appear on the physical page. A writer’s voice can never be wrong because there isn’t one answer for a good voice. Ultimately, that decision is up to the reader to judge your storytelling voice. I am here to provide ways for you to take into consideration how to improve your voice. A few qualities of a good voice are choice of words and punctuation; length of sentences; the poetry of the language; etiquette.
Punctuation
I consider this point to be the most important. Ultimately, a writer’s voice lives and dies by the punctuation they decide to put on the page. By punctuation, I mean how many commas and italics are used. Using these frequently can alter your writer’s voice big time. Especially commas. I think commas make or break voice.
A comma forces a pause in the sentence and makes the reader take in what was just read and what they will read next. Commas can build slight suspense in that way. And they can also make a sentence seem more poetic because of the pauses as opposed to sentences without commas. Sentences without commas force a straightforward thought, whereas ones with commas make for ones that were designed with forethought and uniqueness.
Some writers don’t use italics at all in their prose because they think it will confuse the reader. Others use it sparingly. I think this is fine. An italicized word here and there can make an impression. If italics are used for full sentences, then your voice could suffer because the reader has to stop and discover why italics was used. Was it a certain character who used it? Why was that dialogue so important that italics were used? What did the author want me to experience differently because that sentence was all italics? You want to stay away from anything that could whip your reader away from the story.
Length of Sentences
Some writers choose to write quick short sentences that get to the point. They get in and get out and leave a brief message when they end and start again. Short sentences you might think are easy because they are shorter. You would be wrong to assume that. There needs to be much thought that goes into a short sentence because it needs to pack a punch each time. Writing short sentences is a skill I suggest you try and master along the way because it will help you develop your voice and develop suspense tactics. Long sentences provide a much different effect. They tend to incorporate many thoughts at one time, which can cover interior monologue more fully at times.
However, long sentences have the issue of boring a reader. Long sentences might mistakenly fuel the writer’s pride in his prose abilities, but it could take the reader out of the story because a sentence goes on too long when it should have stopped several clauses ago. When I write, I like to incorporate both short and long sentences into my prose. But that’s just me.
The Poetry of the Language
My favorite. I am a sucker for poetic prose. Nothing makes me love literature like poetic prose. But that’s just me. The way the words spill on the page in a way that only a true artist can, will make me reread the book again and again. For example, once you read a plot-driven novel, you now know what happens. That’s it. But if that same novel was written with beautiful prose, then you might likely read the novel again to experience the language itself. To enhance your use of prose in this way, I suggest you read mounds of poetry, especially before you write your novel. And I mean, minutes before you write your novel each day. Choose a poet you enjoy, read a few poems or verses, and then get to writing your novel. The structure and word choices of that poet’s language will stay with you and help you develop your own poetic prose as you write your novel.
Etiquette
This depends on the narrator himself or how you want your voice to affect your readers. For example, swearing. A story told in the first person forces a realistic experience that the third person doesn’t necessarily provide. People swear in real life all the time. And that cussing will make that person appear differently to others. Some people might enjoy the swearing. They might relate to you because they swear too. Others might find it offensive if you swear and not want to experience you in the future. If your narrator swears, it will have these effects on a reader. Guaranteed.
And that goes for slang, too. Slang, I think, is easier to get away with because you can have the narrator immediately describe to the reader what that slang meant. However, slang can make the voice appear discombobulated if it is used often. And it might make the reader think the writer is trying too hard to tell the story. Personally, I don’t mind reading slang, as long as I can figure it out quickly before I get to the next sentence. When slang becomes the predominant language of the story, it may lose the reader.
And while we are talking about language, I would like to say that writing a specific dialect in prose is risky. For example, a southern accent depicted in prose as it sounds in real life is not something that I find intriguing. It makes me focus on a single word rather than allowing me to take in the words within a sentence in one sweeping motion of the eye.
How to Develop your Voice?
English Grammar
Know and study the basics of English grammar. You need to fall in love with grammar. It might not seem something that you need to know, but it will help you, in the long run, to be taken as a serious writer with his or her salt. Your ability to express a clear thought in either a straightforward or poetic sentence depends fully on knowing grammar. Once you know these rules, you can bend or break them depending on the circumstance and your reader won’t mind because you have proven yourself as a credible writer.
Verbs
The verb, possibly the most important type of word in the English language. A verb is a fuel for the fire. And depending on the writer, they can add gasoline to the fire to make it rise or douse it to let the fire dwindle to nothing. Know your verbs and which ones to use at the right time. A good verb can catapult a sentence into a new direction, just by changing the verb. And I should mention the overwhelming conversation of using Active verbs as opposed to Passive verbs. Yes, I say use active verbs if you can, but don’t allow it to refrain from you telling a good story. If the scene calls for you to use a passive verb, then go for it. Your prose and the overall story will not suffer from passive verbs. I have read countless novels where authors use passive verbs all throughout the story and it was just fine. Remember: telling a good story is what counts.
Adjective and Adverbs
I love adjectives. Rather than suffer from five sentences of an author telling me about the sunrise, they can load of one sentence with a few powerful adjectives to get the job done and move on to something else. For example, It was the way the sunrise consumed the sky—impending, vibrant, gentle, all-knowing—before she realized she was late for breakfast. That sentence is simple and describes the sunrise enough. Adverbs are another itch that editors out there feel they must complain about ad nauseum. I am indifferent to adverbs. Always have been. Editors treat adverbs like the plague for some reason. I never understood that. If your character ran quickly after the sunrise, then say so. It’s okay. If your character launched into a hard run after the sunrise that’s okay, too. I doubt any writer with any amount of writing experience will use so many adverbs in their prose that it will affect their storytelling.
Overused Words
Now, this is something that I most certainly have a problem with. I remember being in college and I had to edit another student’s paper. She had used the word abstract in nearly every sentence. It was used so many times throughout that I just circled it every time I saw it and added a comment to the back page telling her to think of different words. Words other than prepositions and article stick out like a sore thumb, so if I see a power verb or a particular noun used too close to one another, I will make sure that the writer changes it. I don’t like seeing the same word used on the same page. I expect you to have a better handle on English vocabulary than that. Always try to use different words in your prose. Change it up. Surprise me with your knowledge of words. There are literally thousands of words out there. There is no reason you should be using the same word within the same paragraph, or God forbid, the same sentence. You’re better than that.
Show, Don’t Tell
I know you have heard this many times, but it’s true. And your voice will benefit from it. Very rarely does a situation calls for a writer to tell, although it does happen. For the most part, showing in the scene will be the primary way a good writer with an original voice can tell a story. For example:
Telling: He left the movie theater feeling that he wasted his money because he wanted more action and emotion.
Showing: As soon as the credits rolled, he stormed out of the cluttered movie theater, cursing to himself that he can’t get his two hours back that he wasted sitting there watching that uneventful film. He wanted fiery and loud explosions, graphic and drawn-out death scenes that would make his stomach turn, and an emotional ending that would make him reflect on how he should have been a better husband to his now-dead wife.
Get it?
Recap
- Don’t be afraid to use commas
- Use italics sparingly, if not at all
- Use both short and long sentences to vary the prose
- Read poetry, especially before you sit down to write your novel
- Be cautious on the swearing and slang
- Know the rules of English grammar to break them later on
- Choose the correct verb to express a thought
- Don’t worry about adjectives and adverbs, but don’t overuse them
- Use a variety of words in each paragraph
- Always show, don’t tell
Final Words
Read more. You’re a writer, so I am sure that you read a lot already. Well, keep on reading. Read everything. Read different genres. Even read non-fiction. Adopt other writing styles and adapt them and make them your own. And rewrite a sentence five times. I am sure this will help you develop your voice. A few of my favorite authors who I think have great writer voices are Michael Cunningham, author of The Hours; Justin Cronin, author of Mary and O’Neil and The Passage trilogy; Cormac McCarthy, author of The Road; and of course Stephen King, author of too many novels to mention.
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