The awesomeness of Voice Week 2012 and how it went

I had forgotten, since last year, just how fun Voice Week was. In fact, what with the wedding and all, I was a bit leery of how much time it would take to collect all the links and so on and so forth…

Then I started reading. All the unique voices. All the different perspectives. All the little glimpses of life and layers of genius. And with story after story I was gasping with awe and delight.

Most of us wrote one scene from the perspectives of five different characters – and these ranged from ancient mythology to space-age cruise ships – while a few of us used slightly different methods. Let’s take a look!

Billie Jo Woods showed us a scene in a bar from the perspectives of four very different characters, each piece revealing more about the characters and the story through their thoughts, their drinks – and, of course, their voices. I hope to see a fifth piece soon!

Carrie gave us a wedding reception with a collapsing bride, skipping round from a vengeful sister to an innocent flower girl, each voice illuminating the chasm between the faces people put on, and who they really are underneath.

Chris White detailed the thoughts of passengers and staff on a space cruise to Holinx 3, from a religious zealot to a prostitute, both amusing and intriguing us with what the characters think of each other – and how little humanity changes even in the distant future.

Craig Towlsey’s scene had great depth, contrasting innocent imagination with harsh reality through a dramatic pretend train robbery and the thoughtless violence of an abusive father.

Elmo explored five alternate realities centered on a man escorting his aging mother to a boat on a shore. Each voice shed a different light on the scene, from sorrowful, to frightening, to comforting.

Juan Villagrana let us into the minds of five characters awaiting a great, terrible – and to the reader, mysterious – event. The voices were alternately terrified and ecstatic, and we were left somewhat disturbed (in a very satisfying way).

Kim Patrick Moody began with a third person narration of a 60-year-old man being hit on by a younger (but not quite young) woman in the office, then followed with the man’s inner perspective, and beyond – all the way to the hilarious voice of extraterrestrials.

LoveTheBadGuy gave us a gorgeous retelling of the myth of Hades and Persephone, from the perspectives of all the major characters, making us feel the not-quite-healthy love of Hades as well as the mixed emotions of Persephone.

Mike brought us to the deathbed of an old, hated rich man, and through various voices made us ask ourselves whether or not he deserves to be hated – and whether or not he’s really dying of natural causes.

Parul’s brilliant approach involved writing the thoughts of a character who has spent years chasing down and killing another – but each of five voices sees the dead character differently.

Paul cleverly used one story, from one perspective. That perspective was his first voice – the story continued with the first character interviewing four others, who consequently had their own unique voices.

Raina used both poetry and prose to explore life, death, and truth through the voices of characters both human and inanimate, but somehow all intrinsically connected.

S.W. Sondheimer wrenched our hearts by showing the death of a hero from the voices of those who loved him, those who despised him, and those too self-absorbed to care.

Undue Creativity wrote about a rock star – brilliantly keeping the thought process of each piece almost identical to its fellows, so that the stark uniqueness of the voices could shine through.

I decided to make time my guide this year and wrote about a rainy picnic in five different eras, from the judgment of the Great Flood through a divine revelation in a future that has rejected God.

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What was your favorite part of Voice Week! Spill it in the comments!

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