Like actors, writers rely on subtext to show what their characters are thinking and feeling. Unlike actors, writers can’t rely on visual cues for their readers. In a post on Writers Helping Writers, Becca Puglisi offers tips for using vocal cue to show hidden emotion.
“Writing hidden emotion is challenging,” she writes. “Authors have to show the character portraying one emotion to the cast while showing his true feelings to the reader.” Puglisi recommends using vocal cues – changes in a person’s voice that occur when they are feeling emotional. “In a written scene, these vocal fluctuations act like signposts, leading the reader to the conclusions you want them to draw about the character’s true emotional state,” Puglisi says. She explains a few:
- Pitch. Does your character’s voice get high and shrill or go low and rumbly?
- Volume. Does your character get louder when they’re angry or stressed? Softer when they’re afraid…or really angry?
- Tone. “Does a clear tone turn breathy or husky when someone is aroused?” Puglisi asks. “When the character is close to tears, does the voice become brittle or cracked? Does it lose all expression and become flat when anger hits?”
- Speech Patterns. Does your chatty character go quiet? Does your character start to stutter, stammer, or lisp under duress? Does your character slip into old speech habits, such as an accent or slang? Does a quiet character start yammering?
- Word Choice. Does your normally uptight character start to cuss? Talk in their first language? Do they use 10-dollar words or clichés?
- Nonspeech Interruptions. Does your character cough, clear their throat, sigh, um and ahh, or smack their lips when they’re under stress?
Importantly, you want to use these cues consistently, so that your reader picks up on what you’re trying to convey. However, first you need to establish a baseline. “Figure out your character’s normal speech patterns and habits and write those consistently so readers will get used to them,” Puglisi advises. “Then, when a vocal cue is used, they’ll know to take a closer look to see what the character is hiding.”
