35. Voice Redux

YOUR Novel!

In my last post on YOUR Novel, I explained I had to take a break due to extreme parent care needs. My family is getting things more under control, and I’ve found time to write these posts. Thank you for your patience! When family situations arise, the Lord always reminds me that although my writing is important, people are more important.

So let’s talk about the “first rewrite,” which for me is VOICE. (Refer to the YOUR Novel Voice post at https://sueharrison.com/2011/01/15-voice/ ) I prefer doing voice first because it helps set the characters more firmly in my mind, and also helps me eliminate scenes that are “out-of-character” for my characters.  In my VOICE REDUX, this is the sequence I follow. Perhaps it will work for you as well.

1. I find the first chapter – or portion of a chapter – that is written from my main character’s point-of-view.

2. I read the chapter OUT LOUD (very important!!) to help me tell if I like the voice and if it is consistent throughout the narrative. If it I do and it is, I continue to Step 4. If I don’t or it isn’t I do Step 3.

3. I find the true voice. Sometimes that’s easy. In one manuscript, I simply went back in time to my grandmother’s Arkansas voice and rewrote the chapter accordingly. At other times, I search through well-written novels and find an appropriate voice. Then I read it enough to get that voice into my head. Don’t worry. This isn’t be plagiarism. Your own input will change that original voice enough so that the resulting voice is something original to you. You are just giving yourself a launch site.

4. Scan through the novel to other portions that are told from this character’s POV.

5. Reread your original chapter as you scan to be sure your voice throughout is consistent. Rewrite as needed for consistency.

Repeat these 5 steps for each POV character in your novel.

Assignment for the week: Rewrite YOUR Novel according to Voice needs.

Q4U: What are your suggestions for me and other writers about developing a distinct voice for each of your characters?