Finding Your Voice

 I've read somewhere that an author doesn't have a voice or true style until they have written over a million words. This is true to a certain extent. By the time we've written that long, we've stopped trying to copy our favorite authors or second guess ourselves, etc., if for no other reason than we're tired of doing that. 

Some writers won’t even read the kind of fiction they write while they are working on a book for fear that they will start copying a writer's voice instead of using their own. 

Voice is more than just the use or misuse of metaphors, etc. I know I choose the language I use because of the character's viewpoint I'm in. (I write strict third-person viewpoint.) 

One character might see a plane wreck and describe it in my narrative as

The plane's pieces were scattered over the valley like clothes dropped by a drunk on the way to bed.

Another character who is more analytical would think

The gouge of earth left by the plane's moving fuselage led him to a boulder. The left wing tip lay against it. The furrow veered violently left there, and bits of wing then fuselage littered the area around it. When there was nothing left of the plane to break apart, the gouge ended.

The author must also choose voice by the genre expectations of the readers. Choosing the wrong voice can be quite jarring.

Can you imagine a romance novel written like a "noir" detective novel. 

I can say this for Lord Garven, he was built, built like Cleopatra's Needle, but I walked away alone in the dark, dank London fog. I had my partner to avenge, and he had a date with Lord Southby.

One big mistake I've seen used by beginning writers is emulating the wrong writers, especially writers from the past. 

A friend had this thing for Sinclair Lewis who wrote in the early 20th century, but I had to explain to him that Lewis' style was hopelessly outdated with its languid pace, florid style, and sentence structure, and with the current tastes of editors and readers, he would find no readers.

It's equally disastrous to emulate the current literary style of the moment like writing in first person immediate. 

I look at Lord Garven. He is built. Like Cleopatra's Needle. But I shake my head no and walk through the door. I must find my partner's killer.

By the time you're publishable, the moment is long gone. 

What I'm saying is find the right voice for each work, and your own voice will emerge.

A NOTE ABOUT "VOICE" AND EDITORS AND AGENTS:

Some editors and agents will tell you they don't like your voice. What they often mean is that you aren't writing in the current popular voice of the genre. 

For example, most urban fantasy with a female protagonist is written with the chatty, sarcastic tone of first-person chick lit. Some really excellent and popular urban fantasy is written in third person, but, unfortunately, most editors seem to ignore this fact.

Starting with the Murder Victim

 A common practice on TV mysteries is to start out with the discovery of the dead body.  NCIS, for example, is notorious for funny or gross body discoveries to start the mystery.  

Or the show uses the ever popular death on screen of the victim of the week.  Unless it’s COLUMBO, the viewer doesn’t know the identity of the murderer.  They just see some poor soul chased and murdered.

That’s TV, a very visual medium, but is it a good idea to start with the murder or the murder victim?  

Like all things in writing, it depends.  Here are some possible reasons to start with the body or the murder.

The writer makes the reader care immediately with a personable or sympathetic victim in viewpoint.  Clues and false clues can be presented to get the reader’s crime-solving started at that first page.  

The murderer as the viewpoint character ups the scare factor because it’s obvious he intends to do it again as a serial killer, or he has a vendetta against the book’s hero.  The hero may realize this, early on, but the reader knows already and is flipping pages like mad because he’s worried about the main character.  

Reader expectations.  If this book is about solving a murder, and the main character is a professional crime solver,  the body should be front and center from the beginning.  Only a cozy mystery is allowed some time to set up the characters, etc., without the reader getting bored.  

Atmosphere.  A chase through the darkness or the murder can really set the book’s tone and atmosphere.  This is more a side effect of the other reasons to start with the murder, and shouldn’t be the only reason.

Excitement before the boring part.  If the mystery needs considerable set up, the murder gets the reader reading then hopefully keeps him reading until the pace picks up a bit.

Later then now.  A technique which is no longer popular with good reason is to start at the murder, then go back in narrative time before that point.  It’s a cheap trick that will make most readers roll their eyes.  Use with great caution.  

How to Foreshadow

 I'm sure you've watched a movie or TV show where a character is getting ready to open a door, and you just know that the killer is waiting for her. You scream, "No, no, don't open that door!"

How do you know something the character doesn't? Part of that is foreshadowing. The filmmaker has given you clues that the character doesn't have.

For a written story, an author doesn't have the luxury of using spooky music or atmospheric lighting, but she does have other tricks to give the reader the same sense of something lurking behind that closed door.

The simplest way to do this is to have more than one viewpoint in your story. For example, one character learns that the killer is going after your heroine, then when you switch to the heroine's viewpoint, the reader will be expecting something bad to happen.

You can also write from the bad guy’s viewpoint to warn the reader what he’s up to.

Another way is to embed a clue that the heroine sees but doesn't recognize as important because she's learning so much and being menaced at the same time. The reader will often pick up on the clue and recognize the danger.

Or your character is more ignorant or innocent than the reader. A child may misunderstand a situation an adult would recognize as dangerous, and the person who refuses to believe a psychopath or monster is lurking will be easy prey in the reader's eyes.

A subtle use of language also works. Stephen King is a master of giving the reader the creeps when nothing appears to be happening but soon will. I recommend his ON WRITING which should be in your local library for more on the subject. A caveat on King: When he says this is the only way to do this, he’s wrong.  What works for one writer might not work for another.  

Genre expectations are an easy way to worry the reader. In a horror novel, the reader is expecting that scare so it takes almost nothing to make her tense as the character opens that door in the empty house that may be the killer's hiding place.

A common use of genre expectations is to set up a scary situation then let it fizzle, and the moment the character and the reader let their guard down, the killer makes his move.

Foreshadowing doesn't have to be about unhappy or dangerous things to come. You can as easily foreshadow happy events. The square shape in the hero's tuxedo jacket pocket may be a diamond engagement ring box, and he and the heroine are dining at a very nice restaurant, after all, so you and the heroine may be guessing which way the meal will end.

As an author, you must lay down the clues so the reader will think the worse or best of coming events.  Let them be just as excited as you are when the movie character starts to open the wrong door.  

Using Music in Fiction

Music is extremely powerful, evoking intense emotion, history, memory, and physical movement in a way that fiction and most other types of communication cannot.  Many writers use that emotional and historical element by mentioning music titles and song lyrics as a short hand for those emotions.  

But here’s the problem.  Music has copyright protectors who are beyond zealots.  Copyright fair use and proper attribution which are both perfectly legal don’t matter to them, and they, usually ASCAP, will go after a writer for even the slightest mention.  They have the lawyers and the money so they win almost every time.  

If an author does go through ASCAP, the band’s legal people, or a brand like Disney to license a few lines, the costs are ridiculous.  An acquaintance tried, and using two lines of a lyric from an obscure band would have cost her more than she’d make for the life of the book.  

So, what’s a writer to do?  Some write their own song lyrics.  Others work very carefully around the ridiculous copyright landmines.

Here, in two scenes from my unpublished novel, THE LAUGHING GOD’S KISS.  Cautiously treading around those copyright landmines, I use a song title, a few words of the lyrics, or some careful editing to evoke those emotions.  They also reflect emotional moments for two people who are already falling in love but refuse to admit it, even to themselves.  

Storm bent over his guitar and started  "Yesterday."  

Gazing around at all the rapt faces in the living room, Victoria realized this was a virgin audience for the song.  These isolated people had never even heard of the Beatles.  

Storm sang, his voice catching with melancholy at the loss of a great and true love.  His face, for the first time, was vulnerable and open with emotion.

Victoria's heart twisted with his pain as she wondered whom he'd loved so much and why he'd lost her. 

***

Across the pasture, a familiar baritone voice sang softly.  Victoria caught the words "corn" and "elephant's eye."  Intrigued, she moved closer.

His back to her, Storm brushed briskly on the black gelding as he sang.  The black's ears were cocked back to hear him.  His other three horses watched him, their ears forward.  None of them had a rope or line on, each held by his voice and presence.

Equally entranced, Victoria sat down in the shade of a nearby tree. 

Storm sang "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning" with the feeling and skill worthy of Broadway, his black velvet voice soaring.   

As his voice faded at the end of the song, the horses began to fidget.

Storm began "If I Loved You.“

Victoria closed her eyes to savor the music.  The song was about love unadmitted yet so tenderly expressed.  It had moved her when she'd seen Carousel. 

If a voice could make love to a woman, then Storm Morgan had that voice.  Victoria let the song take her where it would.

NOTE:  

No, I’m not saying copyright is wrong, or you should ignore it.  Those who have followed me for years know that I’m a strong proponent of copyright, I write informative articles about it, and I’ve fought piracy for many years.  However, ASCAP and friends are using their money and clout to stop even fair use which is not okay.  As usual, this disclaimer: I’m not a lawyer and can’t offer legal advice.  My examples are how I would avoid being sued by ASCAP.  You must decide for yourself whether to risk a lawsuit or nastygram from some lawyers.

Maintaining Tone

QUESTION: I have very abbreviated writing time so I can only work in spurts so my mood comes into the text sometimes. How can I stop that? 

The trick to holding the tone of the scene is to remember that you are the viewpoint character. You are seeing what she sees and feeling what she feels. Writing character is like immersion or method acting where you become the character.

This takes a bit of practice, but after a bit, you can switch between characters and personalities with ease as you change POV, and you can also inhabit the other characters in the scene so they continue to act as you've conceived them, and their dialogue is in character.

You also have to remember that your character should be reacting to what is happening at that moment rather than constantly sliding into introspection about the rest of her life. If you and she remains in the moment of the scene, neither of you will lose the right voice or tone of the scene. 

Beta Readers

QUESTION:  What is a beta reader?

The term "beta reader" is a bit mushy in definition according to who uses it, but the most common usage is a reader who reads most if not all of your book after you write it and before you send it off to the agent or editor.  That's as opposed to a critique partner who works with you through the whole process.  

Often the beta reader is a reader, not a writer, so you are allowing a test run of your book.  The beta reader should be a fan of your genre.  Someone who hates romance or doesn’t read it isn’t your ideal audience. 

Sometimes, if your book has specialized knowledge in it, your beta reader is an expert on that knowledge so they are reading to be certain you got it right.  For example, if your heroine is a physicist and her theories are part of the story, you should find a physicist in her field to vet the book for accuracy.  Often, these readers will only read specific parts of the novel that deals with their specialty.  

Like critique partners, some beta readers are excellent while others are absolutely useless.  Be sure to have more than one so you get a better sense of both the quality of the readers as well as the quality of your novel.  

Ethics of Critiquing

 Never talk about what you critique to others.

Never show someone else's work to others.

Never "borrow" a critique partner's ideas or characters.

Respect others' time. Critique in a timely manner, and don't send your life's work at once.

Agree upon an amount of work (a chapter or more) and stick to it unless the other person agrees to see more.

Agree on what each of you wants from a critique and give it. Some of the choices are a general overview, copyediting only, or a check on accuracy from an expert.  

The checklist I blogged about last week is also a good starting place.

Be specific. Be fair. Be kind. Don't say, "I hate this." Say, "Your hero is unpleasant because...," or, "He may be rude to the heroine here, but show he is a nice person to others so the reader can like him and see him as a worthy hero."

ALSO mention what works. "The heroine is really charming. I loved the way she...," or "Your descriptions are excellent. I could see the waves around the pirate ship and smell the ocean."

Don't be too kind. If you see a problem, mention it so it can be fixed. It's kinder in the long term for her to know this problem now rather than in the rejection letter from an editor.

Ask questions if you don't understand a comment, but don't defend your work. It's a waste of time for both of you.

Anger is a waste of time, as well. It's no fun to be told that your writing isn't perfect, but you'll have to learn to deal with it. Even the best writers in the world have editors who change things so learn to deal with criticism or forget about a writing career.

If you can’t control your anger, walk away from the critique for a while then come back.  

Respect each other's voice and individuality. Don't suggest rewrites as you would do it.  Instead, suggest rewrites that will improve the author's vision.

Respect your own voice and vision. The critiquer can only give SUGGESTIONS. Only you can decide whether to change your work. Only you know what you are trying to achieve with the entire book.

Always thank your critiquer because she gave up writing time to help you.

NOTE:  Feel free to copy this to share with a critique partner, but if you'd like to share this text otherwise online, please ask my permission.  You need not ask permission to link back to this article.