On Writing: Character voice

[NotWise]

@anthrodisiac started a thread on writing voice that concentrated on narrative voice. It's here. https://forum.literotica.com/threads/on-writing-voice.1652051/ I'm more interested in character voice.

Over time, I've drifted toward using narrative mostly to set up scenes and dialog to tell the story. The narrative voice is relatively unimportant to me. I don't have instructions to give. I'm more interested in your problems and solutions.

I started thinking about this recently while I was editing a story and found that I could change dialog from one character to another by changing nothing but the dialog tag. That made me think I was missing something.

What constitutes a character's voice? This is the one not-so-obvious answer I came up with. A character's role in the story is a large part of their voice. For instance, a character whose actions drive the scene will have a voice that's inherently different from a character who is a passive player. My dialog that was interchangeable between two characters showed that those character were playing the same role in the scene. They were a couple, so it seems like an easy trap to fall into.

I draw a hazy line between factors that create different voices and factors that communicate the difference. It's difficult but actually fairly mechanical to differentiate characters by giving them different vocabulary, idiom, or accents. I think it's possible, but more difficult, to use characters' body language to give them unique voices. Are there other ways?

There are a huge number of underlying factors that might lead to different voices: gender, age, economic status, educational level, are all examples. If you want to put in the effort, then the mechanisms in the previous paragraphs are there to create that distinction. But is it really worth the effort? Those distinctions tend to make the dialog more difficult to read.

Unless the characters have inherently different ways of thinking, or different points of view (for instance), then an effort to write their voices differently might do nothing more than throw barriers in the reader's path. If the characters do have inherently different ways of thinking or different points of view, then aren't their voices already differentiated even without an effort to write their voices differently?

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

I'll have one use a type of slang that the other doesn't. Different words too.

It gets to the point you can almost know which is talking just by the phrasing.

 

[Voboy]

I'll have one use a type of slang that the other doesn't. Different words too.

It gets to the point you can almost know which is talking just by the phrasing.

This.

It's like real life, OP. Some people speak in cliches. Some people constantly reference song titles. Some people use big words in formal settings, words they clearly don't understand. Some people get tongue-tied and make verbal slips.

Including such things is a good way to keep our characters "real-sounding." Far from throwing obstacles in the reader's path, I think they help signpost who is saying what.

 

[JohnBJohn]

I've tried to do this, have a character speak differently, but it is hard to do consistently!

Some techniques techniques I've used are people that are supposed to be more 'proper' won't use contractions in their speech. This gives then a slightly stilted sound.

 

[NotWise]

I've tried to do this, have a character speak differently, but it is hard to do consistently!

Some techniques techniques I've used are people that are supposed to be more 'proper' won't use contractions in their speech. This gives then a slightly stilted sound.

I've done it several times. It can be fun to do and sometimes the character isn't authentic unless you do it.

More generally, I think there are two ways to give characters a distinctive voice: what they say, and how they say it.

To me, "what they say" is the fundamental difference. Sometimes "how they say it" is window dressing.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Even give one a slight stutter or mumble of some kind. Just not enough to make it too hard to read.

There are ways to write accents in that don't get into stereotypes.

Look our recent Ukrainian poster who hasn't mastered using contractions.

 

[CalBishForNow]

Making different characters speak with different patois or jargon was once a common way to give them different voices, but I think it seems more fraught in modern works. It seems too easy to fall into racist or classist stereotypes to have a store clerk speak in one style and a lawyer speak in a different one based only on their family background or jobs. It also seems less likely today than 100+ years ago; after all, we all watch the same blockbusters and get fed the same algorithm on Facebook and Instagram. (Not exactly, the algorithms are tailored to the viewer, but I think there is some truth to that.)

Finally, frankly, I wouldn't like to do so unless I really had to because I'm lazy. Even if I don't care about being accused of racism/classism/whatever, it's more of a hassle than I'd like to do in many cases. I don't know if I've created one single character here with a first name, last name, family background (in more detail than what's implied by the name), job, significant other, and outside-the-job hobby or personal interest, and all of those logically could influence someone's speech patterns. (That's not fair. I can think of one character who has all of those and some others who are close.) I'm sure I'd be a better writer if I thought about that stuff and I think I'm already aiming in that direction more now than I was when I started here, but I don't think it's required for this sort of story.

I have tried to have an English professor character of mine speak with better grammar than other characters most of the time. Not using didactic five-dollar words in daily life, just speaking in complete sentences, whereas I let her husband and other characters say "er" and "I mean" and "you know" more often. Different pet names also work. The same character is a hotwife and I've got her using three different nicknames for three different guys in one scene. I got no comments on how well either of those worked, but it's what I've tried.

 

[BeechLeaf]

I don't think quirks, or imperfections, or idiosyncrasies, are in general a solution to it. Most people don't have those to any noticeable degree. They're different people with different thoughts and interests, and even when speaking with each other these will come through. One is hesitant, reluctant - not as a character trait, but in this situation. Another is decided, or impatient - again, primarily in this interaction, and only partly as part of their overall character. So one speaks longer speeches, piles things on, the other uses more fillers, or breaks off more. And even now I'm exaggerating the methods. If you know who the people are and what their thoughts are in their present interaction, the voices will come out differently in their speeches.

 

[NotWise]

I don't think quirks, or imperfections, or idiosyncrasies, are in general a solution to it. Most people don't have those to any noticeable degree. They're different people with different thoughts and interests, and even when speaking with each other these will come through. One is hesitant, reluctant - not as a character trait, but in this situation. Another is decided, or impatient - again, primarily in this interaction, and only partly as part of their overall character. So one speaks longer speeches, piles things on, the other uses more fillers, or breaks off more. And even now I'm exaggerating the methods. If you know who the people are and what their thoughts are in their present interaction, the voices will come out differently in their speeches.

I think that kind of distinction in voice is authentic. Personally I find it difficult to use, and even more difficult to keep consistent. I think it takes planning and sensitivity to the character's state of mind.

 

[SimonDoom]

I probably should do more of this. I have done a little of it. For instance, insert filler words like "like" and "you know" in dialogue speech for the kinds of characters who would use those phrases. Omit them from the dialogue of more sophisticated speakers.

As with other things relating to dialogue, however, my general view is that less is more, and it's important not to over do it. A little goes a long way.

 

[Duleigh]

When I write dialogue I have to 'hear' the words in my head before I can write. I've been all over the US, Canada, Europe, Middle East, and Korea, so I've picked up idioms and accents. When my Norwegian mother-in-law drops something, I know she's going to day "Uff da!" When my Russian father-in-law does the same, he's going to spout a stream of guttural sounds that I'm told is Russian.

You need to know how people speak and how they relate to each other. Down here in the south, they don't say "I mowed the lawn" they'd say "Ah cut th' grass." And southerners do not speak slowly. Knock up a good ol' boy's sister and you'll hear a whole lot of words in rapid succession. You can call a southerner an asshole, a corksoaker, even a Miami Dolphins fan, that won't upset them. Call them rude and you'll break their heart.

In North Dakota there's no such thing as casserole. But if you have dinner with a friend from North Dakota, you may be served "Hot dish." Same thing, different chef. If you hand a North Dakota girl a kitten, she WILL say "Oh, fer cute!" Every time. And they don't get snowed in, they get "Snow-stayed."

These are the things that bring your dialogue to life. It makes your characters unique and your readers will soon learn who is who by the way they sound in their heads. If you have been blessed with the chance to remain in one place most of your life, you're screwed. You have to research these idioms, or use an "Accent generator" which often suck but they come in very handy when writing fantasies.

 

[CalBishForNow]

In North Dakota there's no such thing as casserole. But if you have dinner with a friend from North Dakota, you may be served "Hot dish." Same thing, different chef. If you hand a North Dakota girl a kitten, she WILL say "Oh, fer cute!" Every time. And they don't get snowed in, they get "Snow-stayed."

Reminds me of the classics.

Chalmers: I thought we were having steamed clams?
Skinner: Oh, no, I said we were having steamed hams. That's what I call hamburgers.
Chalmers: You call hamburgers steamed hams?
Skinner: Yes, it's a regional dialect.
Chalmers: What region?
Skinner: Uh, upstate New York.
Chalmers: Really. Well, I'm from Utica, and I've never heard anyone use the phrase "steamed hams."
Skinner: Oh, not in Utica, no, it's an Albany phrase.

 

[Britva415]

I don't think quirks, or imperfections, or idiosyncrasies, are in general a solution to it. Most people don't have those to any noticeable degree. They're different people with different thoughts and interests, and even when speaking with each other these will come through. One is hesitant, reluctant - not as a character trait, but in this situation. Another is decided, or impatient - again, primarily in this interaction, and only partly as part of their overall character. So one speaks longer speeches, piles things on, the other uses more fillers, or breaks off more. And even now I'm exaggerating the methods. If you know who the people are and what their thoughts are in their present interaction, the voices will come out differently in their speeches.

I agree.

OP talked about switching identifiers and having the different spoken lines coming out indistinguishable when mis-attributed to the wrong character. And right away what I thought was, that isn't because of the words they're saying. Multiple characters might still say the same words (in the same situations). It isn't the words they say that gives them different voices.

I mean, of course there is a certain minor extent to which it does. Dialect, register, attitude all affect the lexicon a character uses and might lead to them using different words to say the same thing, and the author can use this as a way to perform characterization. But this isn't the only, or even the main, way to create "voice."

Voice mostly, and most effectively, comes from the characterization that happens separately from quoting their words. If one has been reading the story, and perceiving the characterization, then, they're going to hear the character's voice when they read the character's quoted speech. So if you then mis-align the quotes or mark them with the wrong character tag, the reader will still hear each character's voice - in the lines they're marked as saying. So, even though the quoted words haven't changed, they'll sound like different voices than they did when the other character was marked as saying them.

TL;DR: You can use word-selection in spoken quotes to characterize, but it isn't the only, or even the main, way to give the characters voices. That mostly - and most effectively - happens outside of the quotes.

 

[NotWise]

I agree.

OP talked about switching identifiers and having the different spoken lines coming out indistinguishable when mis-attributed to the wrong character. And right away what I thought was, that isn't because of the words they're saying. Multiple characters might still say the same words (in the same situations). It isn't the words they say that gives them different voices.

There wasn't much problem In that specific case with a seamless switch in attributing the dialog. The characters were a couple, so they tend to speak alike and have similar motivations. I clearly did miss some opportunities to (e.g.) make one more aggressive, or to make one more loquacious.

But doing that made me think. I've read several times about the importance of giving characters a distinct voice. Some opinions even seem a little hyperbolic, as in "you will fail as a writer if you don't give your characters a distinct voice." If that advice were strictly true, then I have evidence of my failure as a writer.

 

[BeechLeaf]

You see and hear a lot more of your characters as they speak: Becky's brow wrinkling, that twist of her mouth, the slight sigh of frustration. As you imagine them, they do have entirely distinct voices. But if all you write down is their words, a lot of that gets lost. You need to give some indication - probably not dialect, not stammering, not pomposity, not overtly linguistic things like that - of how her 'voice' is distinctive. She twirls her fingers uncertainly in her curls before answering; she leans forward with a raised finger; she gasps in frustration then wonders if the other person is right. She hesitates, looks away, continues. Weave these through the actual speech.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

In recent years, I have been placing a greater emphasis on making character voices clear and distinct so that things are easier for someone who might be listening to the story rather than reading it.

The article I published as a how-to on choosing dialogue tags was motivated by this objective as well, because using a variety of them can help greatly with giving characters the right voice at the right time, and in the right mood.

I have written to reflect distinct cultures and dialects of characters, which readers for the most part embraced without objection. There will always be the occasional critic who thinks that the words spoken by Forrest Gump in the book depict mentally challenged people poorly. Some would criticize the way that Eliza Doolittle spoke, when her dialogue was written, as objectionable.

Writers frequently need to have a tougher skin than their readers.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Either I get into the heads of my characters, or they get into mine. Not sure which is more unsettling.

 

[StillStunned]

When I'm writing contemporary real-world settings, my characters probably don't have much distinct voice. I think that people running in the same circles tend to speak the same, and nowadays those circles are tending to overlap more and more.

I might add a very few quirks. Mel in "Flesh for Fantasy" calls the narrator "babes", for instance. A shy and hesitant character like Mr Swingum in "Fucking For Humanity" will uhm and ah a bit more. Mostly, I picture the character in my mind and write their dialogue as I imagine them speaking.

 

[NotWise]

I think that people running in the same circles tend to speak the same, and nowadays those circles are tending to overlap more and more.

I tend to lean on "modern times" quite a bit, but even without regionalisms and dated slang or idiom there are individual differences like those @BeechLeaf pointed out, that should be factored into a character's voice.

 

[THBGato]

It's not just word choice, it's syntax: how long are the sentences? How many clauses? Do they actually use sentence breaks or just string ideas together with an endless stream of "and then"s? How about prosodic features: do they repeat themselves, repair, hesitate, mumble, mutter, etc? All this gives the reader clues about education, confidence and how comfortable the characters feel in the situation.

What about turn-taking? Do they hold the floor or invite others into the conversation? Do they wait their turn or interrupt? Again, this will tell readers lots about both the characters, their relationship and the situation.

 

[SimonDoom]

When I write dialogue I have to 'hear' the words in my head before I can write. I've been all over the US, Canada, Europe, Middle East, and Korea, so I've picked up idioms and accents. When my Norwegian mother-in-law drops something, I know she's going to day "Uff da!" When my Russian father-in-law does the same, he's going to spout a stream of guttural sounds that I'm told is Russian.

You need to know how people speak and how they relate to each other. Down here in the south, they don't say "I mowed the lawn" they'd say "Ah cut th' grass." And southerners do not speak slowly. Knock up a good ol' boy's sister and you'll hear a whole lot of words in rapid succession. You can call a southerner an asshole, a corksoaker, even a Miami Dolphins fan, that won't upset them. Call them rude and you'll break their heart.

In North Dakota there's no such thing as casserole. But if you have dinner with a friend from North Dakota, you may be served "Hot dish." Same thing, different chef. If you hand a North Dakota girl a kitten, she WILL say "Oh, fer cute!" Every time. And they don't get snowed in, they get "Snow-stayed."

These are the things that bring your dialogue to life. It makes your characters unique and your readers will soon learn who is who by the way they sound in their heads. If you have been blessed with the chance to remain in one place most of your life, you're screwed. You have to research these idioms, or use an "Accent generator" which often suck but they come in very handy when writing fantasies.

I married into a family of people from that part of the country. I had never heard of "hot dish" before. My understanding is that whatever else was in it, it required cream of mushroom soup.

The cold dessert casserole counterpart required lime jello.


I'll stick with spicy fish tacos.

 

[AG31]

Unless the characters have inherently different ways of thinking, or different points of view (for instance), then an effort to write their voices differently might do nothing more than throw barriers in the reader's path. If the characters do have inherently different ways of thinking or different points of view, then aren't their voices already differentiated even without an effort to write their voices differently?

I've been reflecting about a character's voice (or personality?) in the book I'm currently reading. He's a policeman, but his style is to answer whatever question someone else asks him, even if it's very personal. It's appealing. But it's made me think, when does "voice" become "personality?" What other things contribute to personality? In my character's case, he's unremarkable in his domestic behavior, unremarkable to the extent that it becomes a noticeable trait.

 

[anthrodisiac]

When I'm writing contemporary real-world settings, my characters probably don't have much distinct voice. I think that people running in the same circles tend to speak the same, and nowadays those circles are tending to overlap more and more.

This is how I approach it. People who spend a lot of time together tend to have linguistic convergence with little distinction between them. You can still throw in some stuff that's a bit different, some might be more gruff and coarse, others more playful, so while the way they speak is similar, there are differences in how they express themselves.

I very much enjoy linguistic quirks as a differentiator. Dropping letters, use of contractions, making the speech sound more organic, pauses, verbal fillers, rambling, etc. People have different sentence lengths (as THBGato noted): some are more long-winded and eloquent, some are more fragmentary and clipped.

One of my favorite things to do is have characters have nicknames for each other and for people they talk about. What nicknames a person uses for someone else, or for groups, can say a lot about them. Someone who calls all her friends "babe" is very friendly and familiar. Someone might have slightly demeaning or insulting names but are done in jest, like calling a dolphin "Flipper" or a shark "Jaws." Most anthros refer to humans as humes, but others will call them apes or monkeys if they really dislike them. One of the characters I'm writing uses "humeshit" instead of "bullshit," and has a poor opinion of humans, and mammals in general, having a sense of evolutionary superiority as a shark because they haven't changed much in 400 million years, meaning evolution did a good job and didn't see a need to modify much, whereas sea mammals are relatively new and so they're "wannabes."

There are many, many ways to give characters voices, both in dialogue and also in narration if they're the POV and you're hewing close to their head, even in third person (I like to blend in some of their thoughts into the narration for close third). Voice is one of my favorite topics (as noted in my Voice thread NotWise mentioned (thanks for the shout out!), and I always love seeing the fun and interesting ways people give voice to their characters. Likewise, having bland characters that speak very to the point and whose dialogue is more to serve plot progression and giving information to the reader, rather than letting the characters speak for themselves and show their depth, is one of my greatest disappointments when I read. Yes, characters' dialogue and actions serve the plot and story, but should do so in a way that provides insight into who they are, and show that they're more than meat vehicles, to show they have depth and heart and emotions beyond stale robotic dialogue (unless they're a stale robot, in which case, that's great).

 

[Voboy]

One of my favorite things to do is have characters have nicknames for each other and for people they talk about. What nicknames a person uses for someone else, or for groups, can say a lot about them. Someone who calls all her friends "babe" is very friendly and familiar. Someone might have slightly demeaning or insulting names but are done in jest, like calling a dolphin "Flipper" or a shark "Jaws."

One of the things I've done in my current WiP relates to this discussion.

My MMC is an entitled cad who has never had trouble finding sexual partners. He travels to a remote island (think Midway or Diego Garcia) and promptly hooks up on the first night. He's in FP, so he describes his partner as an "Island Nine, but probably a real-world six."

He spends the rest of the story referring to her as "the Island Nine" because he didn't bother to get her name and realizes it's too late to politely ask. As the story goes on he begins to regret sleeping with her; about seven thousand words in I have him start using the term "the Island Eight," and I'm now at the point where he's falling for another woman on the island; in consequence, he's started thinking of that first hookup as "the Island Seven."

It's clear that he's thinking of the same woman throughout the story. I'm hoping the changing voice with which he thinks of her signals his growing disdain for her.

 

[anthrodisiac]

One of the things I've done in my current WiP relates to this discussion.

My MMC is an entitled cad who has never had trouble finding sexual partners. He travels to a remote island (think Midway or Diego Garcia) and promptly hooks up on the first night. He's in FP, so he describes his partner as an "Island Nine, but probably a real-world six."

He spends the rest of the story referring to her as "the Island Nine" because he didn't bother to get her name and realizes it's too late to politely ask. As the story goes on he begins to regret sleeping with her; about seven thousand words in I have him start using the term "the Island Eight," and I'm now at the point where he's falling for another woman on the island; in consequence, he's started thinking of that first hookup as "the Island Seven."

It's clear that he's thinking of the same woman throughout the story. I'm hoping the changing voice with which he thinks of her signals his growing disdain for her.

Oh, I love this. Not the degradation, but the evolution of the nickname is really nifty!