Oh, this is going to get me in trouble. I am going to disagree with a great writer and winner of the Newbery medal. If I stop now, no damage is done. I just keep my blogging lips sealed. Ah, well, there’s a blizzard outside and I’m feeling ruminative. And Linda Sue Park is so successful and brilliant, I imagine she’ll forgive me for being uppity. At least she forced me to think.

At the 2011 SCBWI conference in New York, Park defined voice as “the best words in the best order to serve the story.” The more I consider this advice, the angrier I become. They don’t make sense. Is music the best notes in the best order to serve the song? Two musicians can play the same piece, but one plays with feeling and one plays mechanically. The first one has the voice. So, as I toil on a new draft of a new book, with a character packed with voice, I started to puzzle on what made this character’s voice so distinctive. I’ve never tried to embody anyone like her before and it’s fun, but not easy, to sustain.

What is voice?

My current stab at a definition:
Voice is the consistent and credible expression (or embodiment) of a character or persona.

By “persona,” I mean a narrative persona. Third person narratives have a “voice” or style. In my opinion, all fiction has a persona. I never write as “me.” Because if I did, my books would sound like this blog, and that’s too horrific to contemplate. It would also bore me to distraction.

What defines voice in a manuscript?

• Personality in context
• Emotional state
• Attitude or approach to life
• Demographics
• Values

Personality in context

This one is obvious. A bubbly person does not “sound” like a dry wit. I don’t always know my characters’ full personalities when starting, but the writing reveals it. Personality is the basis of expression, but there’s a lot more involved. This example is a little lame, but you get the idea:

Miss Bubbles: “It’s snowing. Great!” She unearthed clothes from the bottom of the closet till she fished out her pink parka. She donned mismatching mittens and a gardening hat, then threw open the front door. Never mind shoveling the walk. Mr. Amberly had a snow-blower and she’d bet a cup of hot cocoa that he was dying to fire it up.

Mr. Dry: “It’s snowing. Great.” He shrugged into his blazer, then stared at the shelf in order to will a stocking cap to appear. When no hat presented itself, he slammed the closet door closed and shuffled to the garage to make the acquaintance of the snow shovel.

The dialogue is nearly the same, but we don’t hear it the same way–so voice goes beyond words or word order.We can read the same words quite differently, depending on the character’s personality (or other aspects, such as emotional state).

Context matters, and that’s the sum of the parts.

Emotional State

We meet a character at a particular point in time. He or she may be bubbly…but we “meet” this character when he or she is in terror. How does this character with this personality express a specific feeling? Many authors miss this one and it’s one of the reasons I stop reading books. All the emotions are taken for granted. Miss Pretty Lady character has suffered a loss in her life. She’s sad. Anxious. Boo-hoo. Her emotions do not reach me. They are as canned as Campbell’s soup. I want spice or bitter herbs, I want her pain to have some tooth. Connect this specific personality with a specific emotional state, using (OK) the best words in the best order, and voice starts to emerge.

Attitude or approach to life

For me, this one is huge. Let’s say we have an introverted character who is gleeful because he got away with something. What is his attitude or approach to life? What does he do with this moment?

If he’s a determined introvert, he may pursue more opportunities to make mischief. If he’s lazy, he’ll savor the moment, then drift away. If he’s evil, it’s the start of something nasty. See? I am finding that attitude drives both plot and voice in satisfactory ways. It would be tough to have a main character who gives up easily, no matter what her other merits may be. Attitude can turn a secondary character into a hero.

Demographics

A character’s gender, age, ethnic background, level of education, birth place, and time period determine expression. A sweet white girl in 1705 does not speak the same way as a sweet Apache girl in 1950. Here, word choice and order are critical, even sentence length.

Values

This one may have a big part to play in your work, without you being aware of it. What does this character value? If he swears a lot, does it reflect his inner rebellion or is he mimicking his friends? If he never swears, is he adhering to a moral code? Does he never use contractions because he feels a little unstable and each word has to stick in its place? If he’s obsessed with appearance, then his language and observations will reflect that obsession. Values get to why a character does what he does. Values inform choices and force the writer to be selective and consistent. Altering values over the course of a story can demonstrate a character’s growth.

What else?

What did I miss? What is voice in your work?

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