Character Voice in TSP

As I have said in previous blog posts, I have an ensemble cast with multiple narrators, which means I have to have character voice DOWN in order to make everyone distinct.

If you're a writer struggling with character voice, I highly recommend this video:

I was very happy to see that I had already done some of the things she recommended. I said in last post that I figured out everyone's MBTI types in order to understand them better, which led to me understanding who were the polar opposites. I also used a font for every character's narration, because it helped me get not only get into a general vibe, but also helps me remember who's speaking, and I hope it helps the readers as well. Of course, I need to get the actual voice down, but fonts can help. I have changed a few fonts for characters that I thought were hard to read or just didn't fit.

After watching this video, I figured out each of my characters' form of manipulation, as well as their worst side, so I could know what would break them and bring out that ugly side, if the story deemed it necessary of course.

What I'm almost done working on is giving characters unique phrases or reactions to different emotions. I extended on this point from the video, and made myself a large spreadsheet with the characters' in rows and the columns labeled with all of the different basic emotions. I only have a few more emotions left, but I've been focusing on dynamics for the past month or so, so I'll get back to them soon. But I use this spreadsheet to get a general idea of how each character would act or react to each of the different emotions.

Some of the points in the video that I have yet to cover, but pretty sure I have most in the back of my head or already planned, is the characters' DFM lens, or "Desire Fear Misbelief" lens. Figuring out these three things paints the character's entire perception of the world, which of course influences narration heavily. I also haven't focused on specific metaphors and what the characters do all day also influencing how they see the world, but I will eventually get to them. Writing characters is hard, and as I'm working, I'm getting more ideas for the actual plot for later books, or filling in the outlines I had, which is much needed. I have a relatively clear vision for how I want the series to go, but of course I can't just plan for 5 book with all of the details in place, and characters are very important to get down to figure out the story. And doing this has definitely house.

That's it for today! Don't forget to like, leave a comment, and sign up to get immediate notifications whenever I update!