Creating an Authentic Voice for Your Novel

The concept of “voice” is an elusive one for many writers, but when you utilize techniques to develop your author’s voice, the narrative voice, and each character’s voice, your manuscript will become significantly more dynamic.

On September 18, 2019, at 7pm, I will be teaching my one-hour workshop on how to improve your author's voice at the Nampa Public Library. There is no charge to attend this event. Bring five pages of your manuscript to utilize during this hands-on process.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes on this topic:

“The author’s voice is about the chosen words, how we report the various senses, how the world we have invented becomes real.” -- Jane Yolen, Author

“A unique way of putting words together … a unique sensibility, a distinctive way of looking at the world. … Voice is a natural attribute. You no more control it than you can control the color of your eyes—nor would you want to. ... Set your voice free, set your words free … set your heart free. It is from the unknowable shadows of your subconscious that your stories will find their drive and from which they will draw their meaning. No one can loan you that or teach you that. Your voice is your self in the story.” – Donald Maass, Literary Agent

“A strong, distinctive, authoritative writing voice is something most fiction writers want—and something no editor or teacher can impart. There are, after all, no rules for writing like yourself. Voice is, however, something you can bring out in yourself.”

– Browne & King, Self-Editing for Fiction Writers

“It is … the outlook, opinions, details, delivery, and original perspectives that an author brings to his tale. Above all, a singular voice is not a lucky accident; it comes from a storyteller’s commitment not just to tell a terrific story but to tell it in a way that is wholly his own.” -- Donald Maass, Literary Agent

D is for Donald Maass

 

So … you want to be a writer? Where do you start? How do you get there? No worries. This month I’ll be sharing my A to Z list of writer’s resources: books, blogs, and beyond! Check back each day to find helpful resources for improving your writing and navigating your way through the publishing industry.


D is for Donald Maass

I have found the books written by Donald Maass to be extremely inspiring and resourceful as a writer. I refer back to his books time and time again. Two of my favorites:

 

 

According to his website (click here for more info) "Donald Maass founded the Donald Maass Literary Agency in New York in 1980. His agency sells more than 150 novels every year to major publishers in the U.S. and overseas.  He is the author of The Career Novelist (1996),Writing the Breakout Novel (2001), Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook(2004), The Fire in Fiction (2009) and The Breakout Novelist (2011).  He is a past president of the Association of Authors’ Representatives, Inc."

What about you? Have you read any of his books? What did you think of them?

A Writer's Quote for Inspiration

"Make your characters suffer. That can be tough to do, but consider this: Being nice does not engender great drama. Trials and tests are the stuff of character building, of conflict. Ask yourself, who is the one ally your protagonist cannot afford to lose? Kill that character. What is your protagonist's greatest physical asset? Take it away. What is the one article of faith that for your protagonist is sacred? Undermine it. How much time does your protagonist have to solve his main problem? Shorten it. Push your characters to the edge, and you will pull your readers close" -- Donald Maass (WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL, p. 78). [emphasis added]

Inner Conflict

"Whatever drives the main character ... make sure it is an inner conflict as powerful as any outer conflict could hope to be: urgent, unavoidable and full of an emotional appeal that anyone can feel" - - Donald Maass (Writing the Breakout Novel, p. 172).


What drives the main character of your WIP?

Well Constructed Scenes

"A well-constructed scene has a mini-arc of its own: a beginning, rise and climax or reversal at the end" - - Donald Maass (Writing the Breakout Novel, p.174).

One Writing Tip

"Facing a moral choice is perhaps one of the most powerful conflicts any novel can present. ... For example, what if giving up on reaching a goal would not just be easy but would be rewarded? Worse, what if saving the day means sacrificing something of one's self? Worse still, what if that part of one's self up for offering has been hard won and is of high importance?"

-- Donald Maass (Writing the Breakout Novel, p. 238)

STILL Thinking about VOICE

VOICE ... have you defined it? Mastered it? Ignored it? Set it free?

Donald Maass wrote, "By voice, I think they mean not only a unique way of putting words together, but a unique sensibility, a distinctive way of looking at the world, an outlook that enriches an author's oeuvre" (WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL, p.193).

An author's WHAT?

Oeuvre: "a substantial body of work constituting the lifework of a writer, an artist, or a composer" (from merriam-webster.com)
For example:

Calvin & Hobbes
Hobbes says "I notice your oeuvre is monochromatic," in comment to Calvin's snowman.
Click here to see some awesome Calvin & Hobbes cartoons.

Again, Maass wrote, "Voice is a natural attribute. You no more control it than you can control the color of your eyes--nor would you want to. ... To set your voice free, set your words free. Set your characters free. Most important, set your heart free. It is from the unknowable shadows of your subconscious that your stories will find their drive and from which they will draw their meaning. No one can loan you that or teach you that. Your voice is your self in the story" (WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL, p.195).

So ... what do you think?

Is your oeuvre monochromatic? Is your voice distinctive?