Writer’s Voice

Jul 02

Photo by: yukatafish (flickr username) - http://www.flickr.com/photos/yukatafish/

Writing with an authentic voice is a difficult thing to learn, but lately I’ve been honing in on writers who do it well in an attempt to understand what makes a good voice. The writer I’ve been spending a lot of time with lately (through his books, not in person) is Scott Westerfeld. His books are compelling not just because of his ability to emerse the reader in a wonderfully built world, but also because of his amazing use of voice (which contributes to the world building, but more on that later).

Voice in the Uglies series

In the Uglies series, the main character, Tally, goes through a series of transformations. In each book, the reader can feel these transformations because of Westerfeld’s use of voice. Although told in third person, Westerfeld uses words and thoughts that Tally would use/have. He utilizes slang from his world (e.g. “bubbly” and “icy”) but also gets into the heart of the story. And because the voice is so authentic, he seemlessly transports the reader into Tally’s world. His use of voice wraps around the world, snuggling the reader inside; it is completely devoid of influences from our own world which keeps the illusion from being shattered.

Not only does his use of voice help to make the world real, but he also does a great job portraying many of the things that teenagers and adults alike face – wanting to fit in, insecurities about one’s appearance, never being good enough, etc. While he does this through the plot, these internal struggles would not be nearly as successful without the addition of a believable voice.

Voice in the Leviathan series

The other series of Westerfeld’s I’ve been reading is the Leviathan series. In this series, Westerfeld switches POV between Alek, the properly raised aristocrat fleeing for his life, and Deryn, the spunky Englander pretending to be a boy so she can be an airman. Again told in third person, Westerfeld switches the voice between the chapters. The reader can tell without thinking which POV belongs to which chapter. As with the Uglies series, Westerfeld is successful not just because of word choice and his addition of slang, but he brings out the thoughts and internal struggles of each main character in a believable way.

Other examples of good use of voice

If you are looking for other good examples of voice, Suzanne Collins’ the Hunger Games series uses great voice and is told in first person. In Ally Condie’s Matched, as in the Ugly series, the voice changes as the main character evolves. M.T. Anderson’s Feed, like Westerfeld’s books, incorporates rich dialog into the narration to aid the voice. Another book I recently read is Megan McCafferty’s Bumped, which, like the Leviathan series, uses two POVs. It’s not done to the same degree as what Westerfeld has done, but it’s still a good example of using two narrators within one book.

Do you have any other examples of authors/books that make good use of voice? What other skills can we learn from reading works by other authors?

May 10

For the past several months I’ve been trying to force myself to write in first person. It fits the genre and I love my opening paragraph, which only works in first person. The trouble is that I find it difficult to tell a story in first person narration. And this is causing a lot of struggles.

Yes, I succeeded in completing a first draft in first person narration, but when I went back to read my writing, it felt stale. It was lacking the excitement and energy of things I’ve written in third person. Yet for some reason, I keep clinging to this idea that the story must be in first person. But why?

So what if a lot of books in the genre rely on first person narration? So what if I have to rewrite my first paragraph? If I’m not comfortable writing in that style, if I lack the talent to write in that style, none of the reasons to retain it will matter because no one will ever want to read my book, and that, after all, is what makes you a novelist – you need readers. And this leads me to my current dilemma – should I rewrite the entire first draft to fit within a form I’m comfortable writing in, or should I try to stretch myself and step outside of my comfort zone?

What would you do in my shoes? Do you prefer first person to third person? Or do you let the story dictate your plan of attack?

Apr 01

Inside Out, by Maria V. Snyder

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

(Summary from GoodReads)

Keep Your Head Down. Don’t Get Noticed. Or Else.

I’m Trella. I’m a scrub. A nobody. One of thousands who work the lower levels, keeping Inside clean for the Uppers. I’ve got one friend, do my job and try to avoid the Pop Cops. So what if I occasionally use the pipes to sneak around the Upper levels? The only neck at risk is my own…until I accidentally start a rebellion and become the go-to girl to lead a revolution.

I’m a big fan of Maria V. Snyder. I loved the Study Series and was a bit shocked when I learned about this series because the worlds are so very different. Whereas the world in the Study Series lives in the realm of fantasy books, Inside Out is more in line with sci-fi. Despite the different genres, Snyder has succeeded yet again in creating a rich world full of characters you quickly fall in love with.

The book is pretty faced-paced. I read it in one weekend. Had I not been in the middle of a move, I probably would have read it in one sitting. Right from the beginning of the book, you sense the urgency of the story as Trella wakes up to the rush of water and only just escapes the pipe she was sleeping in. And from then on, the movement of the book continues. Although the setting is more or less static – a giant metal structure with thousands of people enclosed inside – you never feel that the narration is constrained.

The world of Inside that Snyder has created is intriguing and very detailed, not that I would expect anything less from her. She manages to turn this small world into a complex system, turning something as mundane as the pipe system into a key feature of the environment.

Her characters are also complex and interesting, each with their own series of flaws, including Trella who not only has many flaws, but comes to understand them and grow as the story progresses. And laced through it all are series of betrayals, but you cannot hold them against the characters because once you understand the motivation behind their betrayals, you realize that they are only human, acting as any human would. Snyder’s ability to make her characters human is one of the things I most enjoy about her books and I think she shows growth as a writer in this area when compared to the Study series (not that the Study series was lacking in this department).

While on the subject of character, Inside Out is told in first person, and I’d say that Snyder has done an excellent job capturing the voice of Trella. I really felt I knew who she was and nothing sounded out of place. If looking for a good example of first person narration, you should definitely give this book a read.

My only complaint, a complaint I have with a lot of books, is that elements of the ending became a bit confusing. Fight scenes prove time and time again to be difficult to write. But with this being the only real weakness of the book, I’d say Maria V. Snyder has created a successful, well-written book definitely worth reading.

As a side note, Inside Out had some similarities with Across the Universe. If you enjoyed Across the Universe, you should give Inside Out a read. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Mar 06

The Maze Runner, by James Dashner

Rating: 4 out of 5

The Maze Runner begins with main character Thomas waking up in an elevator. He can remember nothing about his life, except his name. When the elevator opens, he finds himself in a world filled with about 60 teen boys. These boys have created a society in their world, sustaining on agriculture and supplies that show up weekly from the elevator. As Thomas starts to integrate himself into the society, he becomes frustrated by the secrets surrounding this world, and by the fact that some boys claim to recognize Thomas. When the first girl arrives only a week after Thomas’ arrival, the rest of the boys grow suspicious of Thomas, and it is up to Thomas to figure out what is going on and how they can escape the nightmare that has become their lives.

I tried reading this book a while ago and had a hard time getting into it. But I decided to give it another go. If for nothing else, I love trilogies and really wanted to find a new one I could get behind. And I’m glad I gave this book a second chance.

Dashner not only creates an engaging, different world, but he also creates a new, believable language. The voice of the characters is authentic and, once you get used to it, engaging. And the plot contains just the right mixture of mystery, action, and friendships to keep the reader wanting to know what will happen.

As a main character, Thomas is very likable. He worries that he has a dark past, but that doesn’t matter to the reader when we are shown his empathy towards others and his desire to help. Thomas is a true friend, despite whatever evil deeds might be lurking in the shadows of his unknown past. In addition to Thomas, the other characters are given dimension, each having a likable quality mixed with their own set of flaws.

The Maze Runner would serve as a nice companion book to William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. Whereas the society in Lord of the Flies disintegrates with the loss of adults, the boys in The Maze Runner show that society does not have to disintegrate and suggests that an ordered society may just be part of human nature. It could make for a very interesting discussion to read the two simultaneously.

And now for what you all want to know – should you read this book? Yes! I highly recommend this book and I cannot wait to read the rest of the trilogy.

Feb 04

Across the Universe, by Beth Revis

Rating: 3 out of 5

Amy, 17, is cryogenically frozen so that she can join her parents on a special mission to a new planet, one that will take 300 years to get to. 50 years prior to their scheduled landing, Amy’s cryo chamber is unplugged. Not only does she almost die, but she is now stuck on the ship, unfrozen and an outsider. When additional ‘frozens’ are found unplugged, Amy teams up with Elder, next in line to rule, to find out what’s going on before anyone else, including her parents, dies.

There was a lot of hype leading up to the release of this book, and I was incredibly excited about it. The concept alone was enough to make me rush out and buy it. But as I started reading it, I found my excitement ebbing.

The story is well-developed and the world is richly described and convincing. I guessed at some of the twists, but the majority of them came about in unexpected ways and with unexpected consequences. The one element that took away from the story was the use of voice.

Across the Universe is told in first person, but split between two narrators – Amy and Elder. I did not feel that either voice was developed enough for me to easily identify the speaker. I had to keep flipping back to the beginning of the chapter to see who was telling the story and I even thought Elder was a female for several pages into his first chapter. I’ve read other books where first person narration is split among two characters. For this to work, the voices need to be very well-developed (check out Leviathan for an excellent example). Because this fell short for me, it took away from the story. I kept getting distracted, trying to remember who was talking.

Despite my issues with voice, I thought the story was original and intriguing. Not only does Revis tell a good story, but she alludes to some deeper issues that make you think. I can see several English class/book club discussions coming out of this book.

Do I think you should give this book a shot? Yes. It’s worth the read.

Oct 05

I finally finished reading all the Percy Jackson books, and I’ve got to say, job well done. Although I personally did not relate to Percy Jackson, I found Rick Riordan’s use of voice captivating. Told in first person, you know who Percy Jackson is from the very beginning. The books are riddled with sarcastic and witty remarks and unexpected similes and metaphors, not to mention good ol’ fashioned imagery. Here’s a line I loved from the 5th book, The Last Olympian: “I hoped she wouldn’t get stuck. I couldn’t imagine how much Drano we’d need to un-stick a hellhound wedged halfway down a tunnel to the Underworld.” The reason Riordan’s voice is successful, though, is because he waits to throw out comments like this until you aren’t expecting them. They are not on every page. They creep up on you.

Another thing Riordan succeeds at is beginnings. He knows how to pull you in. Take another example from Book 5. Here’s the first line of the book: “The end of the world started when a pegasus landed on the hood of my car.” How can you not keep reading after a line like that?

As a series, these books were successful for many reasons:

Percy Jackson – although I did not relate to him, his voice was witty and interesting. I wanted to keep reading to see what things would come out of his mouth next.
Mystery – I know a lot of people frown up the use of prophecy to drive a story, but Riordan does it well, and, after all, these books are a retelling of Greek mythology, whose very existence relies on prophecy. Each book contains a prophecy, and the series is held together by one overarching prophecy that we don’t hear until the end of the final book. The use of a separate prophecy for each book gives each book a mystery that is solved by the end, but, because of the main prophecy, the reader wants to come back for the next book.
The world – Riordan has created a believable world, where mythological creatures exist and the Gods live above the Empire State Building. Without a successful world, complete with an explanation for how monsters that were killed in Greek myths have returned and why humans don’t know that there are monsters, demigods, and satyrs running around, the book would not have succeeded.

All-in-all, this was a successful series that wrapped up nicely. If you are a writer for MG/YA, i highly recommend reading the series if you haven’t already.

Sep 23

I resisted reading this book for quite some time. I can’t say what it was, exactly, that made me revolt against it, but whatever it was, I am glad I got over it. While there was no central plot to this book, I found the story to be incredibly engaging. I read it in one sitting. Jeff Kinney really captured the voice of a middle school kid, including the selfish acts middle schooler perform without realizing they are selfish and the way a middle school kid sees the world. I felt like it could have been my diary from when I was in middle school, assuming I had been born a boy, of course.

I thought this was a great book and I highly recommend it, especially to writers of MG looking for a refresher course on life as a middle school kid.

For all those in the New England area, Jeff Kinney will be a presenter at the Boston Book Festival this year, October 16. The schedule of events isn’t posted yet, but it should be up sometime in the next couple of weeks.

Sep 19

Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan is an alternate history steam punk mg book, and I loved every minute of it.

Setting the Scene

The book takes place in Europe at the start of WWI. In fact, the book begins with the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and his wife, the spark that ignited the war. It then follows Alex, the fictional son of the archduke as he flees, running for his life to escape sharing the fate of his parents. Meanwhile, Deryn, a Scottish girl in England, disguises herself as a boy named Dylan in order to join the British air force.

Usually when a book is split between two main characters, following one for a couple chapters than another for the a couple more chapters, I find myself not caring much about what is going on with one of the characters. I just want to get back to the character I am relating to. In this book, though, I found both MCs to be equally engaging. I found both voices to be incredibly engaging and while I was upset when each character’s section ended, I was quickly wrapped back up in the story of the other character.

Great Use of Voice

And that brings me to the next thing I loved. The individual voices. I felt that Westerfeld was incredibly successful in creating two distinct voices. There was never a doubt in my mind as to which POV I was following. I have read a lot of literature urging authors not to split the POV, but if all authors were able to do it with the ease in which Westerfeld accomplished this, I think it would not be seen as such taboo.

My one complaint is that the book ends before the story is over, being a trilogy and all. But, for anyone thinking of picking the book up, which I highly recommend, the sequel, Behemoth, is coming out Oct. 5, so there won’t be much of a wait.

Aug 02

Which is better, writing in 3rd person or 1st?

I remember when I was younger my teachers told me to write in 3rd person. It’s less messy (not a sentiment I agree with, but it’s what they told me). Lately I’ve seen a lot of books written in 1st person and it’s got me wondering: will my book have less appeal if I stick to the tried and true 3rd person POV?

I recently read an article (for the life of me I cannot remember where, so my apologies) that said it is better to write in 1st person if you are writing to a younger audience. This makes the reader feel more connected to the story and like you are one of them. But there have been a lot of books written for the mg/tween/ya audience that were not written in 1st person, many of them published this year.

In an attempt to jive with my intended audience, I’ve given first person writing a chance. The problem I’ve run into is that getting an entire story to flow when told in first person is pretty tough. Not to say it isn’t possible. I’ve read many successful examples recently, but every time I try, the writing seems forced. So after much perusing of the Internet, I’ve come to the following conclusion: write in whichever style you are most comfortable with. You writing will flow better and your reader will be engaged because you were engaged.

To see page one of my novel, written in 3rd person, check out my writing excerpts page.

Aug 01

How do writer’s deal with voice? I’ve been reading a lot on voice lately (mostly in attempts to solve the never-ending problem of which to use – 1st of 3rd person?). While I did not come up with a definitive answer to my question, I did come across a lot of interesting articles about voice.

So what is voice anyway?

To sum up all of the definitions I found, voice is the personal flavor you add to your writing; it is how you inject your own personality into your writing. Of course, this can be problematic. What if your personality is boring? The simplest solution would be to quit writing, but that is easier said than done. For those of us who love to write, giving it up is no small feat. So can you make your voice more engaging?

The good news is, yes! In this blog post on Inky Fresh Press, 5 tips are listed to help improve your writing voice:

Pay attention to the voice in the books you enjoy reading. Describe the voice.
Write from a different perspective – instead of writing a scene from the point of view of your protagonist, try writing it from the point-of-view of the antagonist
Read your work out loud. Does it sound natural? Does it sound like you? Why or why not?
Write a scene for a different audience
Write letters to friends. I find that writing journal entries and rereading them to see voice helps too.

Why is it so hard to find your voice?

In a blog post on Rants & Ramblings, Rachelle Gardner discusses the reasons we find voice so hard. A writer’s voice is a personal thing. It is who you are, what makes you unique. But it is so easy to try to be something you are not. We spend so much time putting up a front to our friends, coworkers, strangers we see on the street, and even our families that it is easy to get lost and forget who we really are.

Do you find it hard to stay true to your writing voice? Do you catch yourself copying the voices of successful writers?

Check out this additional post from Inky Fresh Press: What is Writing Voice?

Writing with an Authentic Voice

Voice in the Uglies series

Voice in the Leviathan series

Other examples of good use of voice

Choosing your Narrator: First Person Versus Third Person

Book Review Friday – Inside Out

Book Review Sunday – The Maze Runner

Book Review Friday: Across the Universe

Review of Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series

Review of Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Review of Leviathan

Setting the Scene

Great Use of Voice

Writer's Voice – Telling your story in 1st or 3rd person POV

Writer's Voice: What if it just isn't very good?

So what is voice anyway?

Why is it so hard to find your voice?