Learn Your Characters' Voices

I think we all know everybody is different.

Every person has their own personality and their own way of doing things.

Well, so do people in literature.

Your characters each (should) have their own personality, their own quirks, their own flaws, and their own flair. When you're in the perspectives of your characters, they should all have a different feel.

I call this unique feel to each character your character's voice.

So today, I want to talk about your characters' voices and how to distinguish them from one another.

Does this apply to both third person and first person perspectives?

The short answer is: yes.

Absolutely.

You need to distinguish your characters' specific ways of thinking or doing things in both perspectives.

In first person, you are telling the story directly from your character's perspective. You use the pronouns I and me to refer to the character.

Just as I discussed in the blog post "Tenses and Narrations", in this perspective your character is telling the story.

If you are writing in multiple POVs (Point of Views) in this perspective, it is so superbly important that you distinguish them from one another.

Each time you switch POVs, your readers need to know who the person their reading about is—personality-wise. Your characters should all have a unique way of speaking and thinking. If you don't show this, your reader might feel like they're reading about the same person just with different names. We don't want flat characters, and defining your characters' unique voices is key to avoiding that.

In first person perspective, defining these voices is one of the most important things to focus on.

But, distinguishing characters' voices is just as important in the third person.

In third person, just as I also discussed in "Tenses and Narrations", you are the narrator. (The narrator is a third party that is not the character.) You'd use the pronouns he, him, she, and her in that perspective.

You are narrating these characters' stories.

But just because the characters aren't telling the story themselves doesn't mean defining their unique voices is any less important.

You can still give each character their own voice and feel even while writing in third person.

This helps your writing have more life.

This also helps your reader distinguish who's the main subject of the perspective.

If you don't give your characters different voices, they'll seem flat and a less relatable.

So let's get to the fun part.

How do we distinguish characters' voices?

It's simple.

Language, actions, and thoughts.

That's the way we distinguish characters' voices from one another.

Let's go over them.

1. Language

Using your language, you can distinguish between characters' perspectives.

How?

Well, the obvious way is to write the words they say in a specific way, however they speak.

But we can get that when we're not in their perspective, right?

So how do we use language to set them apart from other characters?

Description.

Every single thing you write, every description, every word or notion a character has can be written in a certain way that matches the character you are in the perspective of.

Let's say one character has a more delicate, refined, proper way of speaking.

Their words and the way you write descriptions should reflect that.

Maybe they'd use lots of artistic synonyms in their thoughts. Maybe they'd use bigger words or older words. Maybe they'd just reflect their words in a respectful, tactful way.

Now, let's put another spin on this person.

Maybe they didn't think the same way they spoke. Maybe they were the most unmannered and hot-tempered person alive, but they had lots of self control and filtered their words in a thoughtful way so nobody ever really knew what was going on in that person's head. Yeah, they could still use bigger words in their thoughts, but they might sound less proper or refined. Maybe they were the most spirited, quirky, hot-headed person alive but they just kept it all inside and reflected a prim, composed exterior.

Ooh, we've got character depth there.

And wouldn't that distinguish their voice well?

The second way to distinguish a character's voice is through:

2. Actions

The way characters perform actions will help distinguish them from other characters.

It will help shape their voice.

Let's think about the possible character we created above. The one who was prim and proper on the outside but hot-tempered and spirited on the inside.

How do you think they would perform actions?

I'm going to write a short section of words that uses both language and actions to distinguish this character's voice.

I perched on the cafeteria chair, setting down the lunch tray as light as a feather.

At least I thought it was as light as a feather.

I'd never really set a feather down.

And never on a decrepit, stone-like table as this.

The few peers that sat down near me tried to begin a conversation, but I just gave them polite answers until they realized I was too invested in the book I'd burried my nose in to be bothered with conversation.

Not that I was actually reading the book I'd had my face stuffed in for almost the entirety of lunch.

I needed the time to think; to focus less on appearance and more on my own feelings. When I didn't eat in the library, this was my strategy for going unbothered but not lifting the "polite" facade I'd kept for decades.

Why did I keep this facade?

It was simple.

My business was my own.

I'd rather seem like an open book to others while none of them knew who I really was than have every person know every move I'd make and every thought I'd think.

In a way, they did know every move I'd make. They knew me to be the composed, elegant girl who always spoke in diplomatic, graceful sentences where stutters could never be found.

But what nobody knew was that all the moves I made were practiced, fake.

An act.

Every time I stepped out of the house was when the curtain opened and I stepped out onto the maddening stage of life.

The shrill ring of the bell anouncing our next class sounded and I stood smoothly, calculating my actions as to not stumble as I scraped my food into the garbage can.

The show must go on.

Did you get a slight idea of this person?

Through both their actions and their language, could you tell who they were?

They were cultured, smart, but also not anything they seemed to be. They hid who they really were behind a curtain of politeness.

In the way the language was used, what sort of read did you get on their emotions?

Think and figure out the emotions that went through you while you read it.

Think about this character's voice.

Get a feel for them.

The third way to distinguish your characters' voices is this:

3. Thoughts

If you want to know all about thoughts, how to use them, why to use them, and the best way to add them in, make sure to check out my blog post next Monday!

I hope you learned some things today!

I wish you all luck on your character-voice-defining journeys!

Happy writing!

-Jocelyn