1

When you are developing characters for fiction, and particularly historical fiction, what kinds of resources do you find most helpful in establishing a distinctive voice?

Two suggestions I've heard have been:

  • looking for personal correspondence and diaries of real people who are substantially similar to your character (date, age, gender, place of origin, social status)
  • reading books, particularly fiction, published in the time period you wish to write about

What types of resources and primary sources are helpful for getting into historical character, and why?

I am particularly looking for sources to facilitate making characters' voices (in their direct speech, as well as their writing and thoughts) both distinctive and authentic to their historical context.

Improve this question
1
  • "What types of resources work for you, and how do utilize them?" - you should rephrase this part of your question, what works for one person is entirely opinion based and may get the question closed. The question in your title is good, I would use similar wording in the body.
    – linksassin ♦
    Aug 7, 2019 at 4:44

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
1

As readers, we think of the "voice" of certain historical periods in terms of the literary styles of those times. The "voice" of a person who has lived in the 16th century is that of Shakespeare and his contemporaries. The "voice" of a person from the 14th century is that of Chaucer.

So when I want a narration to sound like it was told by a person from a certain time, I emulate the style of the most eminent writers of that time. I do supplement this with published journals or letters, if they are available.

And when I attempt to write in the "voice" of a time from which audio and video recordings are available (e.g. movies), I use those.

I do not generally use sources unfamiliar to my readers. I write fiction, not a linguistic study, and I have 6 months to finish a novel if I want to make a living, and cannot spend months on research. The quickest and easiest way, therefore, to induce the image of a historic period in the minds of my readers is to use their preconceptions to awake it.

And in fact, the literary products of a time are usually a quite accurate rendering of that time's "voice". And they have the benefit of already having transformed the actual manner of speaking (as it might have been partially preserved in letters and other private writings of non-writers) into a literary style that is ready for me to use as is.

Improve this answer
2
  • Hi @B. L. E., thanks for your input. This is good advice for crafting the narrative voice. I'm wondering about making characters (in their direct speech, as well as their writing and thoughts) both distinctive and authentic to their historical context. I think not every character should sound like a wordsmith, so there needs to be some variation, and it would be nice to differentiate them from the more literary narrative voice. Do you look for anything specific for your characters?
    – wordsworth
    Aug 7, 2019 at 6:13
  • @wordsworth Maybe I'm a very insensitive reader, but to me all characters of one author mostly "sound" the same. There are some cases of characters that speak some distinct dialect or slang, but I usually find these ridiculous (as a reader) and don't emulate that (as a writer). I strongly believe in the voice of the author and am completely content with all characters speaking with that (same) author's voice. Writing is translating events into literature, and dialogue is a translation of speech into writing as well. Written dialogue shouldn't, in my opinion, attempt to emulate everyday speech.
    – user40570
    Aug 7, 2019 at 6:19

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.