In a post on Writers Helping Writers, Lisa Poisso offers advice for creating and sustaining unique character voices using vocabulary and speaking rhythms. “Instead of trying to build character voice from the outside in, get under the character’s skin by revealing how they experience and interpret the story world from the inside out,” Poisso says.
Your character will emerge organically when you view every element of your story through their eyes. Their priorities, perspectives, and agenda will color what they see, how they experience, and the words they use to describe it. Like first-person or deep third POV, you create a “running commentary” of their experiences, Poisso explains. “The character voice—with all its attendant observations, judgments, opinions, prejudices, preferences, thoughts, and emotions—effectively becomes your framework for worldbuilding,” she adds.
Sometimes, we’re tempted to impose voice on a character, by giving them catchphrases or having them repeat certain slang words. While you can still use them, it’s better to start building voice from the inside out. Poisso suggests a few ways to start:
- What Characters Notice. “What you know is inside a room will almost certainly be different from what the viewpoint character notices,” Poisso writes. “A musician notes different qualities in a concert hall than an interior designer. A six-year-old child beelines right past the collection of R&B vinyl to get to the puppy. The best friend sees a comfy, lived-in nest while the exhausted mom sees dirty socks and a pile of bills on the counter.”
- What Characters Think About What They Notice. Once you see what your character sees, you should interpret that through their unique frame of reference. A stranger will describe an elderly person’s home differently than their grandchild would. A parent has a different perspective on children than a happily single person. Best of all, you can create unique comparisons that only your POV character can make, and you can be judgmental. “People are opinionated,” Poisso says. “They have beliefs, and hopes, and prejudices about virtually everything they encounter.”
- What Characters Are Stewing About. Your MC has goals and plans and will view the world through that agenda. “Even the smallest actions, such as what a character chooses for breakfast, can be influenced by their goals for the day,” Poisso notes. “The way your character approaches these details reveals what they think is important.”
- Filling in the Blanks. “Dialogue and thought, including vocabulary and syntax, are the external clothing of character voice,” Poisso says. “This characteristic language creates a neat, recognizable package for readers.”
