Tag: how to write with voice

Voice Week 2014 Recap!

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Voice Week 2014

Voice Week 2014 might have been the best one yet. I think the variety of voices, and both the subtle and sharp contrasts between them, were striking. There were old and young, human and animal (and somewhere in between), cynical and optimistic. The stories were intriguing and I was surprised by more than a few twists.

Perhaps the greatest lesson we can each learn is where our readers perceived a different type of character than the one we intended. Of course, only so much can be conveyed in 100 words, but a single word or phrase could make the difference between an authentic voice and one that’s slightly off.

This was a lot of fun, and I’m so thankful to all of you for participating –  not just the writers, but those who took the time to read and comment on all the voices. Frankly, I’m amazed that so many of you are willing to jump on this crazy train with me every year. It’s kind of surreal.

Before I get to the quick recap of each voice writer, there’s a prize to be given! The random number generator gave me a 5, which is Cassia Taylor over at Dimensions of My Universe! Cassia, you’ve won a new car!…wait, sorry, no. It’s copy of The Hobbit! And it is sooo cute. You’ll like this better than second breakfast. I’ll be emailing you for your mailing info, Cassia!

Now the voices writers – in case you missed any! Click the name to go to the blog, or of course it may be easier to find all the voices here.

AC Elliot opens on a murder scene that reveals much about the murdered girl and the serial killer – but much more about the investigating detective.

Avra-Sha shows us strangers meeting at a grave, leading us to wonder about their connection, and surprising us with the truth in the end.

Billie Jo shows a sticky situation between a girl and her boyfriend, witness by witness. But we won’t understand just how dark it is until the end.

Carrie explores the sentence “I like you” in five very different interpretations, from true love to empty promises.

Cassia has us gazing at the stars with perspectives ranging from jaded anger to wonder-filled hope.

Christina shows us several intriguing angles of the predicament of a powerful woman caught in bed with the wrong man.

Elmo makes us laugh and think with a variety of voices centered around a fruity central theme.

Evan gives us a better view of a world we’ve glimpsed before through Inspiration Monday – making us care for a variety of characters.

Jennie introduces a well-loved coach and the reactions of those closest to him when they learn his perfect health is failing him.

K. Patrick Moody invites us to the local pub, where we suspect unsavory goings on, but may get a hearty laugh at the end.

Keith makes us privy to a family’s first contact with alien life – with charming and amusing results.

LovetheBadGuy takes us to the deadly crash of a horse and cart, inspired by a true story from her family’s past.

Opal shines a light on the doomed (or is it?) relationship between two teenagers who must discover they have a lot to learn about life.

Parul provides several angles on the life of a young writer, outlining the good, the bad and the simply misunderstood.

Tara takes us to a playground where a mother drops off her son with his dad and future stepmom. Reactions are complex, emotional, and sometimes amusing.

Imaginator sends us on a royal hunt, only to reveal deeper, darker secrets at every turn.

Victoria locks us into the minds of young creatures imprisoned in a mysterious complex, and explores their various reactions to a strange and sweet icy substance.

Yikici breaks into a study in search of a secret, from the perspective of one character with five very different personalities – plus a bonus voice that unveiled a little more of the story.

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What was your favorite thing about Voice Week?

The End of the World: Friday

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Rounding out the week. Happy Friday, everyone!

Catch up on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Voice Week 2014 Friday

It started in a way I didn’t expect. I guess no one did. At first, it seemed like some dark cosmic joke. We had just enough time to realize we didn’t have time. There wouldn’t be any save-the-planet mission. No watching the news, holding our breath to find out if we’d survive. Just time to come to terms with it. Like we were all terminal cancer patients, or death row inmates. But I realized, sitting in an old church more crowded than I’d ever seen it—the timing was perfect. It was a last chance, a now-or-never. When we’d each have to decide, once and for all, whether or not to be saved.

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What’s your verdict on voice #5?

The End of the World: Thursday

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In the words of Arthur Dent, It must be Thursday. I never could get the hang of Thursdays.

And in the words of Ford Prefect, Drink up; the world’s about to end.

Catch up on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Voice Week 2014 Thursday The End of the World

This can’t be it. No freaking way. I ain’t saying goodbye cruel world over a little chill. We ain’t been through two world wars and an ice age and God knows what else just to lay down and die like that’s all she wrote, ‘cause the sun’s taking a breather. I mean, suck it up. Drag your sorry behind outa bed and zip up your coat. Zip your trap while you’re at it. It’s gonna take a lot more ‘n Jack Frost to put me six feet under.

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Well, what kind of a person do you think this is?

The End of the World: Wednesday

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Like I said, messing with perspectives a lot more this year.

Voice Week 2014 Wednesday

We’re just getting what we deserve. Did you really think that after all our greedy wars, reckless pollution, fanatic intolerance, that the universe would just forgive us? Look the other way? No, sir. Judgment’s raining down, and it’s raining down hard. No holy roller fire and brimstone, just cold, hard justice. The life gets sucked out of us, like we sucked the life out of our planet. It just got to us first. Mother Nature exterminates the human vermin.

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What does this voice tell you about the character?

Voice Week: Tips and a Prize!

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Announcing the Voice Week 2014 Prize!

The Hobbit book

 

And here it is. A lovely, miniaturized copy of The Hobbit. Fitting well in Hobbit hands, it’s the perfect size to take there and back again.

 

 

 

 

The Hobbit

 

Also small enough to sneak into a showing of The Hobbit: Battle of Five Armies, so as to shout corrections at the screen.

 

 

illustration from The Hobbit

 

 

Featuring gold-tipped edges and black and white illustrations by Tolkien himself. Isn’t it precious?

It will be awarded to a randomly-chosen Voice Writer–so this isn’t a competition, but you do have to participate to win. Hint hint.

 

 

Speaking of Voice Week, it’s less than three weeks hence; I hope you’ve started writing. In case it helps, here’s the process I use for creating my own Voice Week pieces.

  1. Pick a prompt. I like to choose something that has a lot of emotional potential, but that isn’t too complicated. The first year, I picked “alcoholic mother” – a good opportunity to express character without having to flesh out a whole story. It’s more like a glimpse of some feelings than a story.
  2. Outline the week. I jot down ideas for which voices I want to try. For alcoholic mother, I tried versions that were educated (complete sentences, better vocabulary), uneducated (incomplete sentences, aint’s), teenagery (contractions, slang), fudging the truth (like educated, but with lies!), medieval (ye olde) and childlike (simplistic).
  3. Rough draft two or three pieces. I start with the ones I feel would be easy to write, voices I already have a good handle on. I tweak to make the differences as striking as possible, and may swap a few sentences.
  4. Look for themes. At this point I look to see if I have subconsciously included some kind of deeper message. If I have, I’ll shape the other pieces to flesh out that message more clearly.
  5. Read some stuff similar to the voices I’m trying to create. This helps me get an “ear” for what the writing should sound like. I tend to be a chameleon writer who conforms my own work to whatever I’m reading at the time. That may also be why I slip into a (very bad) English accent after watching too much Doctor Who.
  6. Write the remaining pieces. Finishing up, again based on outline and themes.
  7. Trim. Cutting down till they’re all close to 100 words, allowing wiggle room for wordier voices.
  8. Decide on the order I think they should appear. It might be chronological. Or the order might serve to tell a bigger story.
  9. Make my brother read them. Critique partners are so important—of course all your fellow Voice Writers will serve as critique partners during Voice Week itself, so this is a step that can be skipped.

Want more guidance? Here are some links!

How to write like someone you’re not

How to write in an other-worldly voice

Stay tuned for more.