Tag: what is 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?

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.

How the Awesomeness Went: Voice Week 2013 Recap

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I think my favorite thing about Voice Week is that it’s like Inspiration Monday on steroids. Everybody posts some amazing piece on Monday, and then the awesomeness just keeps coming at you from different angles all week.

I’m so grateful to each of you for taking the time to join this project, both to create and to appreciate other writer’s voices. I’m astounded and humbled every year, when I write a few blog posts asking a bunch of strangers (but are we really strangers?) to do something crazy with me, and you all come up with this art that makes me gasp and giggle and tear up. There’s a heck of a lot wrong with this world, but if a bunch of random people can get together and do this – that’s a good reason to walk around with a grin on your face.

Every one of you impressed me. Every one. Here are some of my favorite lines from this week – and believe me, they were hard to choose!

 

He watched on the outskirts, unmoved by the tears. Hypocrites, all of them.  Anger swirled like a fog, draping over his shoulders.

From Carrie. Read about the funeral from the beginning.

 

As I fell I hoped he would remember me, and I hoped he could forget me too.

From Christina. Read about the fall from the beginning. Christina has also written a lovely recap of the week and what it taught her about her novel.

 

He says he’s careful: prays away from the others, doesn’t rub his faith in their faces, but a mother worries.

From Elmo. Read thoughts from the mothers of warriors from the beginning. Read Elmo’s recap, too.

 

They were different, all of them–different hues, different subjects, different strokes–but they all had the same eyes.

Leonardo’s eyes.

From Evan. Read the story of two renaissance legends from the beginning. Evan also has an interesting post on how much of yourself to put in your characters.

 

As fiercely intense as they looked in their full pads and helmets, it was easy to forget that they were just boys, and Michael had more reason than most coaches to remember that.

From Jennie. Read about the last nine seconds from the beginning.

 

The world is full of smells and, if you pay attention, your nose will tell you more than your eyes and ears combined.

From Jubilare. Read about the eerily empty house from the beginning.

 

The furnace is blazing, the bellows are blowing; a man must stand amid adversity and forge his own fortune.

From LLD Fiction. Read thoughts from the New World from the beginning.

 

He suddenly feels so young, so burdened. A wish burns within his chest—a heart-pounding desire that this sword remain lodged in place, a stubborn tribute to a monarch who could not possibly be him.

From Love The Bad Buy. Read the voices of the Aurthurian legend from the beginning.

 

Sunken, skeletal features look hollowly back.

You’re so fat, I hate you. You are a weak pathetic loser.

You had three grapes today, that is a small victory, but don’t backslide.

From Mr. Perfect. Read the voices of hunger from the beginning.

 

Do these words I’m reciting mean something to them?  Or is it just background noise?

From The Imaginator. Read thoughts from the gravesite from the beginning.

 

I am used to indifference; but how to confront love which is thicker and quicker than blood?

From The Inner Zone. Read about the boy who found his family from the beginning.

 

I can see the medics watching me. They’re waiting for me to fall down so they can run in and help. Stop watching me, you vultures.

From Writing Sprint. Read about the last leg of the race from the beginning.

 

Subconsciously I go to twist the gold band on my ring finger -except it’s not there, I look down at my hand, diverting my eyes from the phone; an indentation of the ring screams stark realisations to me…it also explains Tom’s cold cup of coffee each morning and the dinner he never eats.  It makes sense, but it does not…

From Yikici. Read a wife’s reactions to a life-altering phone call from the beginning.

 

The Prize

Remember that? The random number generator gave me #2, which make Christina Kann the lucky winner of a lovely hardcover copy of one of my favorite voice-ridden books, The Book Thief! Christina, I’ll be emailing you for your address so I can send it to you!

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What were some of your favorite moments from Voice Week? Tell me in the comments!

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October Wallpaper: Voices (what else?)

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Voice Week 2013 is just a little over a week away! Now’s the time to sign up – tell me in the comments if you want to. You can actually sign up right through November 4, but the earlier the better!

Aaaand here’s some wallpaper. I like the faces. Though at a glance it looks kind of creepy.

1440×900

Photos by Greeblie, Nadia, Seth Woodworth, Arielle Calderon and The US Army.

 

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The awesomeness of Voice Week 2012 and how it went

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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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