We’ve talked about The Art Of Dialogue, and we’ve covered how to edit using a Dialogue Document, but today we’re going to discuss how to build unique character voices from scratch.
You want readers to fall in love with your characters, and a large part of why they do is because of the character’s distinctive voice.
It’s nearly impossible to retroactively create one without replacing every line of dialogue. If you write a first draft with a bland, generic voice, you’ve got a hard road ahead.
But if you spend a little time up front?
You can create a memorable voice alongside a memorable character, and bring your story to life.
What is Voice?
There are two reasons dialogue exists on the page.
- The character wants something.
- The author needs to move the plot.
You’ve likely heard the advice that dialogue should do one of those two things: either deepen our understanding of character or reveal something about the story.
The great part is, once you get the hang of character voice, much of your dialogue can do both at once.
Character voice is everything the character says, either out loud or in their own thoughts.
Voice also informs their gestures, the way they physically interact with people, and many of their habits.
Working out the way your character speaks will teach you about who they are, enriching your entire story.
Character voice is separate from author voice, often called personal style, though if you are using an in-world narrator, the voice you create for them will be separate and distinct too.
So what does “voice” actually consist of?
It has 3 elements:
Mechanical:
The way the air escapes their mouth. Are they breathy or nasally? Is it resonant or trill?
The raspiness of Al Pacino’s voice in Misconduct is an example of mechanical. Just listen:
Aesthetic:
How the voice sounds (separate from the mechanics). This is where accents and geographical norms come in. Do they have a southern drawl or a musical lilt to their sentences? Do they stretch vowels or clip them?
Here’s a quick video of the vocal aesthetics for each state in the USA:
Personal style:
The most variable, and the main area we’ll focus on to build new characters.
Personal style is like a fingerprint: people from the same place with the same accent who both speak with a nasal tone are still distinguishable because of their idiosyncrasies (individual characteristics). These are based on life experience and personal preference.
Don’t be intimidated by any of this.
Many new writers struggle with voice, but we’re going to cover some simple techniques and questions to give you a strong foundation, and the ability to create a large cast of unique characters.
Quick Builds
These are exactly what they sound like. A quickly developed character that doesn’t take too much time on the author’s end, but who feels real to the reader.
Quick Builds are sufficient for Stock Characters or side characters that don’t have too much page time. They won’t carry your protagonist through an entire story, but they’ll get the job done for lesser supporting roles and will keep reappearing people consistent.
Here are 2 fast-and-simple ways to create distinct characters.
They can be used separately or combined as you like.
1) One Trick Pony
A One Trick Pony is someone with only one special feature, talent, or area of expertise. In this context, they have one dominating characteristic that defines how they speak.
Define them in one or two words.
Go beyond “sweet” or “aggressive”.
Someone “brash” is self-assertive in a rude or overbearing way, but there are many subtleties within that behavior.
Anti-authority, Bad News, or Crude are all specific types of brash behavior that might manifest in particular ways. Think Brad Pitt in Fight Club vs John Travolta in Grease vs Danny McBride in This Is The End.
Similarly, instead of someone being “nice”, try laid-back, fun-loving, or charming. You’ll get very different versions of a positive, happy person.
Make sure your One Trick Pony speaks in alignment with their trick each time they appear, and your cast will appear distinct.
2) Central Pillar
Friend Fishing is an idea generation technique where you take attitudes, mannerisms, and quirks from friends and family and apply them to your characters. This helps you come up with ideas and keep your characters consistent by thinking, “What would Eddie do?”
But Friend Fishing isn’t sufficient on its own, especially for a Quick Build.
You shouldn’t copy & paste your friend’s personality into your work. For one, most people don’t make great book characters, or they don’t fit the story well. For another, not everyone is comfortable with it.
But you can use one attribute and combine it with a distinctive speech pattern to get a unique character that’s good for a few lines here and there.
Where do you find distinctive speech patterns?
Celebrities and public figures.
The possibilities are nearly endless.
One member of my family has a hard time keeping up with rapid-fire conversation, so when he gets a chance to speak he tells a lengthy story and is flustered by any interruptions. Pair that quirk with William Shatner’s portrayal of Captain Kirk in Star Trek and see how the rest of your cast reacts.
For another example, a friend of mine will listen attentively to anything you say and immediately relate it to an event in her own life. It’s her way of finding common ground to understand your problem but comes across as self-centred when you first meet her. Match that quality with Eartha Kitt’s Yzma in The Emperor’s New Groove for a distinctive voice/mannerism combo.
Take any notable figure with an interesting aesthetic cadence, watch a few videos to learn their style, and match it to a distinctive quirk from someone you know.
These celebrity/friend pairings become the central pillar of the character, which works well when you only need one pillar.
And it’s not terribly hard to add to them later if you need to.
Finally, Decide Your Ground Rules
Decide right from the beginning how your character handles dialogue.
Do they continue speaking until cut off or are they someone who won’t waste words? Do they always say what they mean or come at the subject sideways? Are they sarcastic or straight up, self-aware or oblivious? Use full sentences or clip them, maybe trail off…
Ground rules, along with catchphrases and other quirks of speech are often frowned upon in literary circles. It’s cheating. Or at the very least, a shortcut to avoid doing the work of fully developing a character.
But these tools are used often because they work.
And if your intention is a Quick Build that will pass cursory inspection, they’re ideal.
Don’t rely on whether someone says hello, hey, or hi to completely distinguish the character, but select a few rules in conjunction with one or both of the above techniques.
Not every stock character needs a fully fleshed-out life.
Sticking to a predetermined set of rules for each will further distinguish your Quick Builds.
Using either the Central Pillar or One Trick Pony techniques will ensure you have a full complement of actors in your story that don’t sound the same and don’t all speak in your author voice.
But the supporting cast can only support.
The main ensemble must carry the show.
The protagonist, antagonist, and other major players are where you should spend time drilling down into what makes them unique.
We’ll do exactly that in Character Voices II (coming soon).
Now it’s your turn:
Create two or more Quick Build characters using either method.
Write a short scene of 200 -500 words where the characters are at odds with each other. They could be discussing whether to report a dead body found in the woods or arguing about where to eat for lunch, it doesn’t matter.
How do their voices differ?
Feel free to exaggerate their speech for the purpose of the exercise.
If you want, post the scene in the Discord Community.
Happy writing!
