Whose Voice Is It Anyway?

If you’re in the writing world, you’ve probably heard the term “voice.” What the heck is a voice in writing and how do you go about finding it? For a detailed play-by-play, check out this Writer’s Digest piece. For those who prefer to nutshell: The voice in a story is the unique (hopefully) personality that comes through in the way the narrator or a character talks or imparts information. For example, a shy voice may speak little and with difficulty. Perhaps with a stammer and a good amount of throat clearing. An exuberant voice may interrupt others, go off on a tangent, or break out into song. You get the picture.

When little ol’ me starts out writing, I’m so focused on getting the story out, the voices, or characters, in my book all sound the same. Even when I go back and revise, it takes a few revisions (okay maybe a whole lot more than a few) before I can get the personalities down. Followed by more revisions until my fingers are blistered and calloused. When stuck, it helps to ask characters questions. For example:

To main character, Corrie: Why are you doing what you shouldn’t be doing? Her reactions help me to better form her voice.

To Corrie’s best friend and possible love interest, Michael: Why are interrupting Corrie doing what she shouldn’t be doing? His reason for doing so forms his voice.

It also comes down to motivation. Once you understand your characters’ motivations (and history, of course – be sure you’ve got solid bios on all characters who appear on the pages more than once), it’s easier to pin down the particular voice that way. A telltale sign of a weak voice occurs when I start nodding off during my rewrites; I realize it’s because my voices are monotone. Time to insert some action, throw out the scene or give it a rest.

Why do I love the Stephanie Plum series by the wonderful Janet Evanovich? Because of the voices. They are entertaining, unpredictable and sometimes outrageous. Most importantly, they keep me wanting for more. The goal: to create such an amusing voice for each and every character that when the character is off the page, the reader keeps hoping they’ll return. A tall order, but pursuing a passion isn’t always easy. But it’s oh-so-gratifying when the voice is loud and clear.

Finding Beta Readers

It was only after I wrote a few drafts of my novel that I learned about beta readers. I’d heard of critique groups and manuscript swaps, but the first time I learned about this kind of reader was on a writing list-serv. Beta readers came highly recommended and were regarded by some as a necessity. Particularly to the novice writer. That would be me.

So what is a beta reader? Someone that gives feedback on a finished manuscript before it’s let loose on the world. Sounds fairly simple, but this type of reader doesn’t necessarily advertise. So where to find one? I did research on the Internet. Beta readers came in the form of friends, acquaintances, librarians, people one meets on Twitter/Facebook, pawn shop owners and practically anyone on the street who likes to read.

I didn’t want a beta reader who knew me and who might not want to be totally honest lest I hold a grudge for life (I would never despite what you may have heard).

A deeper search on the Internet unearthed an author who had a unique formula for finding such readers. I contacted this writer and asked permission to use her formula and to plagiarize her means of finding beta readers. She kindly agreed.

Her formula involved placing an ad on Craigslist and paying $10-$20 for a reader to read the manuscript. I changed it by requesting a read of the first 100 pages. I included these questions in my ad:

1) What did you like most about Murder and Other Unnatural Disasters?

2) What did you like least?

3) Where did your attention begin to wonder? (you can mention chapters and/or scenes or page numbers)

4) Where did you find the most difficulty in putting the book down? Where were you most excited? (you can mention chapters and/or scenes or page numbers)

5) At any point (and please mention where) were you confused? If so, where and what was the cause of confusion?

6) What would you change about the book in broad terms? This can be a scene, character, beginning, end, etc? Please be as descriptive as possible.

7) If the suggested changes you mentioned above were made, would you buy the book if it were published? Why or Why not?

Look for beta readers who like your genre and who fall in your highly anticipated audience. I closed my Craigslist ad by asking why they think they’d be a good beta reader. I ended up using four readers and found the suggestions from two of them quite valuable. They helped me make my book better. What more could I ask for?

Flying or Planning Your Way To The End?

I’m a pantser, not a plotter, meaning I tend to write by the seat of my pants. I don’t bother with outlines, note cards or a compass. Planning? What’s that? I forge ahead nearly clueless about what’s going to happen next. I figure if I’m taken by surprise, so will my reader. How’s that going for me? So-so. It’s like searching for buried treasure…with half a map.

Sometimes, it’s the bomb to be a pantser. I can’t wait to discover what comes next. Other times, I ask whaaaaaaat? That won’t work. Back to the drawing board.

With Book Two, I made a few adjustments in order to maintain my sanity, which I prize quite highly these days. I completed my second manuscript writing the same way, blind-folded, head first, plunging ahead. But after crossing the finish line, I went back and outlined each chapter. It was tedious and about as fun as polishing silver, but I felt a certain sense of direction. Which made me feel a little more sure-footed. I still forged ahead, but retraced my steps with iron boots to travel back and forth on the path more easily. Plus, it helped me conquer the yips, brought on by asking does this even work? Can I even write? Where am I? Who am I?

With Book One, I was happy with the ending. With Book Two, not so much. It felt wrong, which made me go back and travel in a different direction.

Maybe I’ve become a plantster. Whenever I reach a scene that doesn’t sit well, I review the chapter outline and either move scenes around, scrap them, and/or write something entirely different. That seems to work. Plus, if you’re a fiction writer, when the time comes to write the dreaded synopsis (condensing the 80,000 words in the manuscript into 500-750 words), what an advantage to refer to the chapter outline. It sure beats thumbing through 300 pages to figure things out.

Actually, I think I’m a flipper. I’ll flip between the two just to keep me on my toes and keep things interesting. How about you?