Voice Lessons – Part Two

Movie directors and screenwriters have it easier than straight out novelists. (At least I think so and it’s my blog so what I say goes. Pirate.) I think they have it easier than us because they can rely on visuals. Within seconds of the credits rolling and the music starting, the tone of a movie is set. The colors they use, the angles they come from, and the actions of the characters as well as the script all play a part in “setting the scene.”

When you’re a novelist, you only have the words you write. “Only!” I hear some of you wenches gasping. Well, yes, only. Think of all the visual weapons in a screen director’s arsenal. And what do we have? Words.

Yet, I constantly hear from moviegoers, “that wasn’t as good as the book.” How, if a director can make us see everything, can’t they make a movie better than a book?

A good novelist creates something that lives inside someone else’s head. That’s a tall task. When a reader picks up a book, they want to fall into the world that author has created. They want that world, those characters, to live inside their head for the few hours it will take them to reach the end.

So, how do we set that scene? What do we do to make that scene, the setting, the book, alive for that reader? I say it starts with the tone we use and, ultimately, with our voice.

But, what, beyond lots and lots of practice, attributes to our voice?

Yesterday, Sin talked about how we write emotion and I thought that really got at the heart of voice. As I mentioned in the comments (if you haven’t read them, you should, as always the wenches who visit the boat leave brilliant insight) I don’t do dark well. In addition to that, I don’t do a lot of melodrama well. In fact, I would say for the most part, I’m pretty light. But, I don’t think light has to mean light on substance.

So, my WIP is a not dark, non-melodramatic, light but substantial read. In fact, those adjectives tell you nothing concrete about my writing style.

How am I “not dark?” How do I avoid melodrama? What makes me substantial but light?

These questions got me thinking about the specifics of creating voice. Apparently we all have to “find” our voice. How many times do we hear that advice as fledgling authors? Keep writing, I hear, you’ll figure it out, they say. And, I agree. The more I write, the more clarity I have about this.

But, that doesn’t help you. So, today, I want to talk about some of the specifics. How do we create voice? My first example is this: I know that my dialogue is very light because my characters banter. It’s quick and at times silly. My characters twist each other’s words and bicker the way that attorneys do; with a one-up the other goal in mind and practically no malice. When they talk, the tones of their conversation hold the power-struggle I see between defensive parties. It makes for tension, but without the darkness. Or, so I think.

What about you? What specific things do you do that contribute to your voice?