Questions tagged [voice]

This tag should be used for questions about the literary voice in your writing, e.g. questions about active/passive voice, evoking a certain style, or representing sounds used for communication.

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How important is controlling intonation for creating voice?

As far as I understand, rhythm is the pattern of stress and non-stress in the sound of prose, and intonation is the full sound quality of the syllable, including pitch, stress, and duration, but not ...
garbia's user avatar
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How do you sound natural in the voice that you want to write in?

Though recommended is to write using phrases having a natural sound, the desire of many, including myself, is to write in the voices of their choice. Now, a voice can have a distinctive sound, one ...
garbia's user avatar
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How to convey the voice of an entity that fluidly switches from a single mind to multiple minds?

I am writing a sci-fi story. One of the character(s) is an intelligent fungus that spreads throughout an exoplanet as, biologically, a single individual. My sources of inspiration for this character ...
Geeky Guy's user avatar
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My characters either feel clichéd or don't have distinct voices or mannerisms, does that need fixing and if so how?

Is it bad that your characters don't have distinct voices or mannerisms? I tried to give them some distinct voices and mannerisms, but they sounded too cliched or parodic in that they looked like a ...
Sayaman's user avatar
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2 votes
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Struggling to 'find the voice' of a character who is conflicted when speaking to a person - how can I do this?

In the story I'm writing, the character behaves differently when they're spending time with their mother - they are conflicted. They idolise their mother on the one hand, but as they have grown up (in ...
ProseFerret's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
190 views

How could I format a character that thinks with two voices in her head?

I'm in close third PoV. My character has a specific way of thinking: two voices in her head discuss all the time. In my paragraphs, I then have three "voices": The usual, close Narrator ...
Adrien Nivaggioli's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
70 views

Brevity with Prose Rhythm

Along with the book "The Elements of Style", many style guides often emphasize the value of concision, but either leave out a discussion of prose rhythm or say it is something to have in ...
garbia's user avatar
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3 votes
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Writing confusion in a character who transports to a new world without sounding annoying

I'm writing a fantasy story in which a character accidentally travels into an unfamiliar fantasy coded world. However, I'm finding it difficult to find the voice for this character during this ...
anotherAmy's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
100 views

Is there any such thing as a Thriller/Action Stream-of-Consciousness writing style?

Is there any such thing as a Thriller/Action Stream-of-Consciousness writing style? Would that be considered to be essentially a normal writing style. If not, how will this be done? (Structurally ...
Koffee's user avatar
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How do I describe an authorial voice?

In order to write in a certain voice, there are two things you may need to do, according to some articles I read. Describe the qualities of the voice you wish your piece to have. Revise your drafts ...
garbia's user avatar
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Imitating Voice vs Imitating Syntax

Some advice about writing says to imitate the voice of a piece in order to learn it or to imitate the voices of multiple pieces in order to fuse them into your own. Other advice says to imitate the ...
garbia's user avatar
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How to give the voice expression of shouting as well as rhetorical question

While writing dialogue, I came across this confusion. There are some moments when the characters are deep in their thoughts (past troubling thoughts), and something happens that makes them flip-out. ...
Momobear's user avatar
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8 answers
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Is italicizing parts of dialogue for emphasis ever appropriate?

Is it ever appropriate to use italics to emphasize parts of dialogue to show which words the speakers is putting emphasis on? I used to do this quite frequently, but I was told that this was a sign of ...
user2352714's user avatar
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1 vote
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Developing Voice for a Third Person Narrator and Multiple Characters

I'm currently working on what I hope to be a near final draft of my first ever novel. Something I've struggled with through this writing process is developing a voice for my narrator as well as my ...
Bridgebot101's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
101 views

How to balance an eloquent character/narrator with the need for readers to understand the story

I'm writing a short story told in first person by a character who, an avid book lover, is much more likely to grow her vocabulary by way of ancient books than by talking to other people. Because of ...
Llewellyn's user avatar
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How do I control my writing style?

In one of the answers to a question of mine here, someone said that cadence does not depend on the sprung rhythm of a text, but on making emphasis fall on the right words. Well, I would like to ask ...
garbia's user avatar
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2 votes
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My writing is stiff at the start, I think I need an attitude adjustment

My story is raring to be put on paper. But the first paragraph, indeed the first chapter, is stiff as a board. Way too much subject, verb sentence structure (clean and safe). Basically, I’m so ...
Anne's user avatar
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5 answers
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Repeated Use of Short Sentences

I am confused about why the repeated use of short sentences is read quickly when there's a period at the end of every sentence that should make the reader stop for a second or two every time?
austingae's user avatar
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4 answers
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Intentionally misspelling words in dialogue

I have a piece of dialogue which sounds great in my head, and the way the character says it is important, but it never looks right when I type it out. At first I tried this: “Looking and looking... ...
Grace's user avatar
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What types of resources and primary sources are helpful for getting into historical character?

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 ...
wordsworth's user avatar
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Where to find primary sources for getting into historical character? (voicing)

What sites, libraries, or other organizations have strong, easy-to-browse collections of letters, diaries, and other primary sources that are great for authors doing research for historical fiction ...
wordsworth's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
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Book on (character) voice

Any book recommendations that teach you how to make sure each character sounds different in dialogue and is recognizable even without dialogue tags? Any book tips to learn more about character ...
Abidabiwriti's user avatar
9 votes
3 answers
296 views

Alternatives to Second-Person POV Narration

I am someone with no formal writing background, who has come to love writing for the fantasy adventure role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons (fifth edition) during my free time. I am currently ...
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1 vote
2 answers
103 views

Is using a different voice for protagonist's narration and dialogue ok?

My protagonist uses a lot of extensive vocabulary and is quite verbose. The novel I am writing is a first-person narrative, and my protagonist is the narrator of the novel. An extensive vocabulary ...
Abhishek Dey's user avatar
30 votes
14 answers
9k views

Writing in a Christian voice

I'm Jewish. My middle-grade fantasy novel is very Jewish. Most of my characters are either Jews or converts/future converts or people with at least one Jewish grandparent. But some are not. My ...
Cyn's user avatar
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4 votes
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Tool for editing dialogue of each character

I would like to edit all of the dialogue of a specific character in my book. Then I want to repeat this for other characters. I think this would help to give each of them a unique voice. Of course I ...
writer1313's user avatar
10 votes
7 answers
643 views

What points should a "Character Interview" method for character building hit?

What should a character interview contain to be successful where the goals are: characters with strong voice who are established with a distinct 'personhood' (?) and are generally interesting to ...
Kirk's user avatar
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19 votes
10 answers
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Is it possible to narrate a novel in a faux-historical style without alienating the reader?

One thing that often annoys me in historical fiction or fantasy books is the dissonance between the writing style and the events and historical period described in the book. The writing is usually ...
PoorYorick's user avatar
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2 votes
5 answers
903 views

Can I use the passive voice to avoid referring to myself in a scientific report?

I'm writing a report for a piece of University coursework, but I understand that I should avoid referring to myself as "me" or "I". I've seen an example piece in which the author occasionally referred ...
Ambidextroid's user avatar
12 votes
8 answers
5k views

How do I differentiate between the "voices" of my characters in a multi-character POV?

I'm currently writing a novel with 3-4 character POVs in it - two male, two female. Each have different upbringings, different cultural backgrounds, different professions, different motivators and ...
Bumble Bee's user avatar
6 votes
7 answers
283 views

What should I do if I can't properly formulate the personality of one of my characters in my novel?

In my novel, my protagonist joins a team with four other characters to go on a quest. Each character in the team is supposed to contribute to the journey in someway and all are mentioned in a prophecy....
Nsim's user avatar
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2 votes
7 answers
835 views

What can someone do who struggles to write in active voice?

I will preface my question by stating I am very new to writing and new to this website. I am here for help. I'm writing a collection of inspirational short stories, as though I was sitting across ...
LadyO's user avatar
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6 votes
3 answers
387 views

Where can I find information on how different genres are conventionally written?

I'm having a very hard time finding a list and examples of stylistic subgenre conventions. To be specific: how genre writing impacts things like sentence length, dialogue, the tone of adjectives, ...
user49466's user avatar
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3 votes
3 answers
194 views

Finding My Own Voice [duplicate]

It struck me today that one method of becoming a great writer could be to copy the style of one or more published authors. A bit like standing on the shoulders of giants. I was therefore going to ask ...
robertcday's user avatar
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0 votes
2 answers
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I'm trying out a new style. How can I find out if it is my element?

I want to find out if writing in a very minimalistic and futuristic style works for me, but when I look at what I have written, I cannot tell if it works or not and if it is "my style". How can I ...
Soha Farhin Pine's user avatar
17 votes
5 answers
10k views

How do male and female writing styles differ?

Many of my stories have two protagonists, one male, one female, and are told alternately from both viewpoints. I don't find it difficult to show the differing personalities through the different ways ...
user avatar
5 votes
4 answers
347 views

Is it acceptable to use synonyms to achieve rhythm?

There are some works that have a certain kind of voice, which is due to their rhythm. But is this due only to word order and like things, or do their authors actually choose synonyms to achieve rhythm?...
garbia's user avatar
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14 votes
3 answers
618 views

Instruction manuals: should the end-user be addressed directly (passive vs imperative)?

Manuals come with virtually any appliance, and they typically target the end-user. Among other things (legal specifications, part numbers…), these documents contain specific instructions on what to do ...
Philipp's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
134 views

Using the Voice wisely

Of course, there aren't any rules in writing. But when something is used in exaggeration (or even Isn't used at all!) without prudence, it can ruins everything. A voice is like a guide to see the ...
Hanilucas's user avatar
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7 votes
2 answers
285 views

Is the strategy described here an effective one, to distinguish character voice?

I have roughly 30 speaking characters; about ten speak often enough that their voices should be well defined. I have compiled, from web sources, various considerations when building distinct character ...
SFWriter's user avatar
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32 votes
11 answers
16k views

Using fake swear words without them seeming out of place to the reader

This is not a question about slang, but about swearing and word creation. I have a character who uses swear words, and this is part of his voice. I do not use real swear words. I want the sense of ...
SFWriter's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
890 views

voice over or off screen for AI in a TV script

I'm writing a sci-fi script for a T.V. pilot (my first) in which there is, initially, an AI (that runs a spaceship) with no avatar (that comes later). It is not a narration when that "character" ...
Kamal's user avatar
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3 votes
2 answers
284 views

Is active or passive voice more common in scientific writing?

I am choosing between two sentences: We display the values of X in Table 1. The values of X are displayed in Table 1. The first is more action-oriented, the second is more passive but focuses on the ...
mommomonthewind's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
10k views

How to describe a husky, low, sinister voice? [closed]

Hello! While I was writing for my fantasy novel, I was stuck on how to describe a very scratchy and low, but malicious voice for a grim reaper kind of like ghost in my story. The voice I'm trying to ...
Emily's user avatar
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1 vote
4 answers
208 views

Is there a hack to bring out your "true" voice?

I've just approved my typeset manuscript and re-reading the book, I'm aware that it sounds very far away from my internal voice. Whilst it has all of the elements in practice, the colour and fluency ...
Brereton's user avatar
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2 votes
3 answers
268 views

What is it called when the reader is the focal point?

Here is an example of what I mean in present-tense (though narrative time is irrelevant): You walk into the empty room, you should be worrying about what's about to happen but instead your mind is ...
Sigma's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
108 views

What's it called?

As a novelist my preference is for what I call an 'active narrator'. The terminology confuses most as they think I'm talking about sentence construction and the benefits of 'active' or over 'passive' ...
Surtsey's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
764 views

Active voice in situations where the subject is unknown

In a situation where a POV character isn't lucid enough to see or interpret what's going on around them, I find myself constantly describing things either in passive voice, or by using the word '...
Typoglyphic's user avatar
4 votes
4 answers
293 views

How to distinguish two different voices in one book?

A relative (who is no longer living) wrote a number of autobiographical pieces which I would like to publish in a book. I would like to include four or five chapters written by myself, that would ...
aparente001's user avatar
14 votes
8 answers
3k views

How do I stop my writing sounding like a bad imitation of whatever author I've just been reading?

I like to read across a variety of authors, genres, and publication dates. Whenever I sit down to write something of my own immediately after marathoning a book or series, I tend to unconsciously use ...
Kitkat's user avatar
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