Let Your Characters Speak for Themselves

Find your character’s voice.

You might have heard this piece of advice before, but what does it actually mean?

Simply put, it’s their personality, vocalized. It’s what words they choose and how they say them. This is mostly expressed through dialogue, but to truly convince the reader that this character is their own person, it extends to the character’s thoughts and the way they narrate the story.

Let’s put this under a microscope. First, I’ll show you a robbery scene lacking established character voices, then I’ll show you a version with them.

Let’s go.

“Hands up,” the voice shouts. “I want to see everybody’s hands.” Sweat dampens my neck as I flatten myself further against the door. The handle painfully digs into my side, but I don’t move in case they see me. I quietly release my breath as I listen to the rising cries of my coworkers. I can’t stay here. Slowly, I lean forward to see down the hall. At the end of it, one burglar has his leg up on a chair and a shotgun in his lifted hand. He’s not wearing a mask. Who is that? I squint, trying to make him out, but his head is turned. It’s like he knows I’m watching. He meets my stare. It’s my neighbour.

Now, initially, there's nothing wrong with this text. But if you look closer, you'll see that it also doesn't give much away about our protagonist. In the second example, let's see how it would look if the neighbour were a cranky, careless man whom the protagonist finds annoying. The protagonist themself is a self-conscious complainer who's got no patience.

"Hands in the air," the gruff voice shouts. "Hands. I wanna see hands." Sweat dampens my neck as I suck in my flab to flatten myself further against the door in this tiny alcove. The stupid handle grinds my kidney, but I don't dare move in case they see me. I try to contain my wheezes as I listen to the rising cries of my coworkers. Tipped back, my skull presses harder against the door. Aw, man. I don't want to do it, but I can't just leave my coworkers like this. Slowly, I lean forward to see down the hall. At the end is one of the burglars. He's got a foot propped up on a chair and a shotgun in the air. From what I can tell, he's not wearing a mask. Hold on. Is that...? I squint, trying to make him out by the back of his potato-shaped head. He turns and catches sight of me. Oh, yeah, definitely him. The toad robbing our bank is my neighbour.

No words are spoken by the main character, but we still get a glimpse into what kind of flavour they are through their thoughts and narration.

This is a character's voice.

A number of things can affect how each character sounds. These can include:

• Region of origin: notably accents

• Age: slang and popular phrases change with time

• Upbringing

• Occupation

• Education

• Health conditions: smoker's cough, mental/verbal disorders, lung diseases, frailty, etc

• Intelligence

• Life-changing events

• Humour: self-deprecating, sarcasm, one-liners, wit, etc. can all change how the character tells the story

• Attitude/mood

• Beliefs: level of self-confidence, spirituality, wold views, etc.

• Opinions

• Values & morals

• Lisps

• Stuttering

• Repetitious words

• How fast/slow they talk

• Inflections

• Questions/statements: "What is that?" vs. "Tell me what that is." (Many questions can depict a co-dependent or curious character. Many statements can depict an authoritative or narcissistic character.)

• Concise/lengthy: short answers vs. long-winded conversations

• Pronunciation: How many different ways are there to pronounce the same words?

• Clarity: Does your character need to repeat themselves to be understood?

• Other people: We tend to talk differently depending on who we're with.

• Tense: Does your character reflect often? Consider writing your story in past tense. Is your character an adrenaline junkie? Present tense could be an option. (There are other considerations to make when picking what tense to write in, but this is a fun, subtle way to present your character's voice.)

Voices can also change and develop as characters grow or fall through the critical events that happen. A character may also have qualities in their voice that overlap with another character's, but they won't mirror them exactly, because no two voices are the same, in the same way no two people are.

Defining a voice for your character also helps when there are exchanges of dialogue happening without dialogue tags (phrases such as 'he said', 'she asked', or 'they yelled'). In the following scene with a parent and child, it's easy to tell who is talking based on their voice.

"Tim, time to come inside!" "Do I have to?" "Do I have to say it twice?" "...Not like it won't stop you." "Grounded." "But--" "No buts, except yours inside. Now."

Though you might not have an idea of what your character's voice will sound like, in time it begin to show. Once you have a better grasp on how they sound, remember to go back and weave it into your following drafts to make it consistent throughout. If you already have characters fleshed out, but for some reason they still sound the same as everybody else in your story, pick apart some of their most pronounced qualities and ask how these might affect the way they think and speak. If you can't quite hear the voice with your inner ear, take an afternoon to go somewhere public and people-watch or listen to someone give a talk and write down the phrases they say and level of vocabulary they use. Analyzing movie dialogue is another great way to see how that creator chose the voices they did for their characters.

Now, let your characters out there to find theirs!

Jeannine