Finding your voice

I was talking to a friend of mine tonight, who is currently working on her first book.  It's a non-fiction book discussing the various strange parts of history of her hometown -- a book she is quite passionate about, and, therefore, wants to make it as fun and interesting for the reader as she finds the topic.  As I was reading the book, one of passages sounded odd in my head, causing me to reread it several times.  Upon the third or fourth reread, I realized what was bugging me about the passage:  she had written it in a voice I simply had not heard before.  I asked her why she had written it like she had.  Her response was simple:  "I was trying to make it sound 'old-timey'."

Her logic was sound in a manner.  The story she was trying to tell was from the mid-1800s, and so it would make sense to a degree as to why she would opt to use a phrase like that.  However, she wasn't quoting a document from the time period, nor was she speaking in character.  She was, in fact, trying to use the "old-timey" vernacular as if it were her own.

To this, I asked her a simple question:  who is writing the book?  Her response, naturally, was "I am."  To this, I replied, "Then write it as if you're writing it."

Being an author, naturally, I have a lot of friends who are authors, and I talk to many throughout the typical week.  It's amazing how many my author friends get hung up on voice -- whether it's the voice of the character of the voice of the book itself.

Being both an author and critic, as I'm sure you can imagine, I have opinions on both topics.

VOICE OF BOOK

In terms of the voice of the book, assuming the book isn't told in the first person (see the next section for that), I reiterate the question I asked my friend earlier:  who is writing the book?

It may seem like an obvious question, one that may even seem silly on the surface.  But I have found that this is something that many independent authors struggle with, whether they're first-time authors or not.  When you're not a Stephen King or J.K. Rowling, voice is important.  Seeing that, with the invent of self-publishing, there are now more authors out there trying to be heard, so having a unique voice is more important than ever.

Let's put it this way:  if you bought a ticket to go see Jerry Seinfeld perform, would you want him to spend two hours doing his best Dane Cook impression?  More than likely not.  Why?  Jerry Seinfeld is not Dane Cook.  He's Jerry Seinfeld.  He has his own voice, his own material.  Let Mister Cook do his own schtick, Jerry.

While this seems like a silly example, it's something that I've noticed many budding authors are doing.  Instead of finding their own unique way of telling a story, it almost seems as though they want to pay such an homage to their favorite author, they mistake homage for blatant imitation.  This does not refer to story or themes, mind you.  This refers to flow, to dialogue, to voice.  If someone wanted to read George R.R. Martin, they would just buy one of his books, not an imitation of one.

VOICE OF CHARACTER

More than overall voice of a book, I find that many of my author friends struggle with finding the voice for their characters.  Would the character swear?  Is the character straight-forward or sarcastic?  Should I make them likeable?

When I write, this is where I tend to have the most fun.  Why?  Because I like to play a little game called "Shit My Character Says"

You may be laughing at the absurd title, but it's the best way to honestly know your character.  Here's how you play:

Step 1:  Picture your character.  Gender?  Age?  Occupation?  Their hobbies?  Their love life?  Their sex life?  Once you have this down, go to...

Step 2:  Picture yourself in a conversation with the character.  Ask a question to the character.  It could be as general as "How is your day today?", or as personal as "How are you dealing [whatever is going on in your book]?"

I find that your first instincts are correct.

Which leads me to discuss a topic that I've had several times, even well before I published Mild Mannered...

SHOULD MY CHARACTERS SWEAR?

If you play the little game I went over with you earlier, that usually will answer this question, but let's delve into it a little deeper.

Now, there are obvious times you probably don't want your characters to use strong language.  Like a children's book, for starters.  Now, barring the hilarious example of "Go the Fuck to Sleep", it's usually far from good taste to allow your characters to swear.  As funny as many would find it if Elmo and Big Bird started using such adult language on Sesame Street, the fact of the matter is that it the core audience (i.e., small children and their parents) would not find it as amusing.

However, as we leave such extreme examples, the areas become more and more gray.  For instance, many of my friends want to write in the Young Adult (or Y.A.) genres -- understandable, since both young readers and adult readers tend to pick up books from this line.  The great thing about this is that, because you're employing your own voice, you can answer this question yourself, and there are no wrong examples.

I, personally, have found it all depends on the author.  Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, for instance, is a perfect example of a series where cursing would seem out of place.  However, James Patterson's Witch and Wizard series seemed to unrealistically void of cursing.  So let me get this straight:  the characters listen to Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails (or at least bands that resemble them) and the characters don't swear?  Sorry, James.  Not buying it.

It also depends on the character.  Now, unless you're Garth Ennis, it's more than likely your priest character isn't going to be using phrases like "douche nozzle" or "fucktard".  Likewise, it's equally unlikely your grizzled Mike Hammer-like detective is going to say "Gee willackers!" whenever he's frustrated.

Look, don't get me wrong.  I understand every genre has a core audience, and that you need to respect that.  But that doesn't mean you have to dumb yourself down to lose your unique voice either.

While I don't relish in the fact I'm about to do this, take my book Mild Mannered as example.  It's a book revolving around superheroes.  If I went the normal route, I probably would have cleaned up the language, making the book a bit more digestible for all audience.  But that's just not how I write.  Look at Watchmen.  It's a graphic novel that revolves around costumed heroes, and it's far from kid-friendly.  There is graphic violence.  There is sex and nudity.  And, of course, there is strong language.  And why not?  These are not kid-friendly characters.  And, quite frankly, neither are the characters in my book.

Take our protagonist Paul.  He may be a brilliant young man, who can solve the most complex problems and puzzles.  But guess what?  He's still a young man.  He's obsessed with comic books and video games.  He speaks his mind.  He's sardonic and self-deprecating.  Why wouldn't he swear?  He just would.  It's in his nature.  Whether he's happy or frightened, whether he's ambivalent or frustrated, he's going to curse.

Did I play the "Shit My Character Says" game with Mild Mannered?  Of course I did!

Given what I just told you about Paul, would it surprise you that he has a shirt that says "Fuck me!  I'm a Time Lord!"?  It shouldn't.

With one of my favorite characters of the book, Eric "Stronghold" Fort, I pictured him as a Punisher-like character, who is grizzled, dark, and trigger-happy as hell.  But I wanted him to have a few quirks to make him interesting.  Granted, it was a bit surprising even to me when Fort blurted out at one point "Caffeine gives me nightmares", but that's how much fun that game can be if you're truly honest with yourself about your voice and your characters.

In the end, it may take you time to find your voice, and you may find yourself writing and rewriting a lot.  It sucks, I know.  But, as I said before, people want to buy your book, not someone else's.  So make sure you stay true to you.