Writing distinct character voices might be one of the most difficult parts of writing fiction. It is one thing to write great, believable dialogue that moves your story forward, but then to imbue those words with the individual voice of the character who speaks takes your writing to the next level.
There are a lot of ways you can distinguish one character’s voice from another. Here are nine:
- Accent: Yes, your character could speak with an accent that is different from the other characters in your story. If they do, that’s great, but be mindful of two things:
— It shouldn’t be a very strong accent that will stop a reader and make them sound words out.
–They cannot be stereotypical accents that will make your readers role their eyes or feel offended.
2. Personality: Your character’s personality will be a strong determinant as to how that person speaks. Are they nervous and therefore speak hesitantly? Are they introverted and therefore don’t say a lot, or the opposite, are they a chatterbox who talks nonstop and most of what they say inconsequential? Are they kind and gentle — you can show this in both words and in the dialogue tag (she said, her voice soft and gentle). Are they bold and tell it like it is no matter what they are saying to whom?
Let your character’s personality shine through their words and their tone of voice.
- Age: A person’s age may affect how they speak. An older person might be more forthright, a young more hesitant.
- Education: A more educated person may be a sesquipedialian, ie they’ll speak using very long, complicated words.
- If they are a non-native speaker of English: There are some phrases or words or word order that may be commonly used in another language that your non-native English speaker would use. “Me, I am very sorry,” says Annique, a Frenchwoman in The Spymaster’s Lady by Joanna Bourne.
- Environment: People speak differently in different environments. If your character is a teenager, they will probably swear in front of their friends, but then speak politely with adults. Where your character is and where they are from determines what words they use and how they say them.
- Dialogue tics: Dialogue tics are things that someone says frequently. It usually doesn’t mean anything, it’s just something they say. For example, I know of someone who at the end of almost every sentence says “ya know?” He’s not actually asking me if I know what he’s talking about, it’s a verbal tic. It used to be a joke that many teenagers would scatter the word “like” throughout their words: “Like, I don’t know if he was, like coming or not.”
- Word choice: Does your character swear? Do they use specific words instead of swearing? I recently read a book where the heroine used the word “zooks!” every time she was surprised by something. It was certainly distinctive.
- Tone of voice: A character could speak with a distinct tone of voice. It could be harsh, or loud. They could always make statements that sound like questions or be absolutely certain and decisive in everything they say even if they don’t know what they’re talking about.
- Profession or vocation: A scientist may use words that are common in her lab, an artist may see the world in different colors or shadows. Someone in business may be more inclined to use acronyms even in their everyday speech. Someone’s job or vocation may color the way they speak.
Writing your character’s dialogue in a distinct way may not be something you do as the story is pouring out of you, but don’t forget to go back and add it in as you edit changing words or adding phrases or pronunciation. Or perhaps, as you get to know your character, their voice will live in your head and as you write their words will be colored with who they are and where they’re from.
But having distinct voices for each of your characters will bring them to life for your readers and make your book that much better.