We all know that voice is one of the most important tools a fiction writer has. You might have the most amazing story, but if it’s not told in a way that’s appealing and entertaining to many people—you’re probably not going to be bought. One thing that’s occasionally plagued me, is what if my voice just isn’t that likable, or popular? It’s not exactly easy to change. I don’t think it’s even as easy as acquiring an accent—which I am very good at. I’m an excellent mimic even when I don’t intend to be. It’s a little embarrassing being such an unconscious copycat. I bet Freud would have a lot to say about that, but I digress.
Right before bed last night, I had this thought. Everybody’s voice is pretty distinctive. Not that it really matters, but do you think editors and agents can tell from a chapter if the author is a man or a woman? A young person or adult? Across all genres? A really great character writer will give each character their own personality—so there should be no hints there. It must be in the narrative. The narrative must give it away.
What do you guys think?
4 comments:
Good morning, T. You write that everyone has a pretty distinctive voice. I haven't noticed that unfortunately. I've seen a lot of authors emulating one another, and in my opinion, that becomes their downfall.
As far as editors and agents being able to tell if a writer is a man or a woman, I would say, definitely. Case in point: a male colleague of mine just read one of my chapters and said, this is a woman writing a male's POV. (he was pointing to narrative by the way). To me comments like these are invaluable, and one of the reasons its good to have male and female CPs. It's crucial to pay attention to and have both perspectives before submitting.
Donnell,
Hmm interesting that you've found copy-cat voices. In contests I judge, more often than not I find voices that don't stand out--or are "blah", but not that I could identify as an author trying to emulate a published author.
I've queried a few agents and editors abt their opinions of this so I'll post what they have to say--'cause lets face it, they have a far broader exposure to authors that we do.
But in rewrites should we try to disguise if we're male of female? Does it even really matter as long as the characters are true? Or is it an advantage if you're writing certain genres? Perhaps writing suspense/ action thrillers feeds reader expectations better to sound like a man and when writing romance and women's fiction to sound like a woman?
I bet industry professionals will say it doesn't matter--but that in most cases they can tell.
Ladies, I just saw Michele Dunaway on Voice at Bookends and had to run over here to post a link. :)
After reading this post, Michele Dunaway's post on the link KL provided and Melissa Singer's post, I'm more convinced than ever that a writer's voice is their life's experiences and their viewpoint It's when we writers suppress this or try and write out side of it, be it narrative or dialogue (T) is when the story/voice falls flat. It seems like a lesson of "be true to yourself." Doesn't mean we have to be Dr's to write about them, but how we have the character react to the circumstances we've set in the story is etc will make the story/voice ring true because in a very real sense it's a part of us. Research is great, but still you can research the heck out of something and still not have "your" voice come through.
Any other thoughts on this?
LA
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