This week, I started revising my yellow WIP. My main character, Rowell, is very different
from all of the other main characters that I’ve created, and I love getting
into his mind. He’s a teenage boy who's
got a chip on his shoulder that clouds his perception of everything around
him. Yet there's something about him
that affects the way that interacts with others, something he's not even aware
of.
One of the main elements of this
revision is focusing on voice. I've already
got a bit of it within the story, but as I've delved into what really makes him
tick, I've realized that I've sold him short.
Rowell's personality is so clear that this draft has been one of the
easiest to write.
I've read many articles on the
importance on finding a characters voice.
It can affect the tone of the story and the way that it reads. Consider the differences here between the
first and second drafts:
Rowell dropped his book, startled by his
father's voice. Lori shot him a guilty
glance before scooting out and jumping up.
Rowell's head whipped up, and he
flinched under Larzo's gaze. After a
moment, he glared down at Lori. The
little rat!
They're just small changes, but I can't
help but smile with the second example.
Probably because I can completely see him glaring down at his little
sister. I have younger siblings, and I
know what it's like when they tattle-tale.
Voice needs to feel natural. It needs to come from the character, rather
than from the writer. Or maybe they
should be working together to create it.
What do you think? Any advice on creating effective voice?
One developmental trait in my protagonist's voice (also YA fantasy) is an absence of confidence when the story begins, and then as he progresses on his journey, interacting and learning more, he gradually sounds a bit more self-assured, asking and telling more firmly than he would have at the start. At the end, stream of consciousness expresses a great deal of growth, but so does his verbal expression, demonstrating two very different characters on either end of the story. The key is making his development fluid and convincing enough that he always seems like one.
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