4.26.2011

the V word

you all knew it was coming. the V word.  i've talked about it before.  (and if you did, you knew before i did, because i sat going through the dictionary for v words until i saw it and had a "DUH" moment.) 

(if i didn't do this topic, i would have done "why vampires?"  we all love the "bad boy gone good" scenario and girls all love the idea of their man's man softening up when he realizes his undying love...but how did the vamps take center stage in all of this?  but, i already had my sparkly edward pic this week and there's a chance he'll be back tomorrow...a little less sparkly.  so, that idea was struck down.) 

that said. you're stuck with the following post.

VOICE (so hard to define.)

the style you choose to write in.  the tone of your story.  the manner in which you tell your story

finding your own unique voice may make ALL the difference in whether or not you get published. (and get published again and again and again....)

think about your voice when you develop your characters and create their dialogue.  (or rather, think about THEIR voices...not your authory one.)

make a choice which POV you will tell the story in. (and how many POVs you use. if more than one make sure each is distinct. don't confuse your readers!)

your writing (with or without you trying) will generate its own style and tone based on phrasing, syntax, diction, etc.  this is something that will become uniquely you.  something your readers will go back to the bookstore to buy book after book written by you.  even when the topics, age groups, genres vary...it will be there.

stick to the world view of the character telling the story.  be consistent througout the novel (tricky, tricky).  think about how your voice envelops the reader in the world of the story, how it fits the characters and the tone of the story.

be original.  own it.  be true to yourself.  you can't force voice.

erica made a great suggestion that i throw some examples in here.  and i would have, but i'm zonked.  so, we'll save that for a later post.  (i sat up too late at WOC (http://www.writeoncon.com/) where my query was critiqued and, um, compared to pizza.  yeah.  it was a super query crit sesson though. a great two hours!)



sorry, i haven't actually read these, but i had to post something vampirey.
should i add them to my tbr list?

10 comments:

  1. Have always been thought reasonable at this skill, but now writing a sequel, I've changed the 1st person speaker from the boy in the last book to the girl in this follow-on. Quite a challenge.

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  2. Ack, I missed the WriteOnCon event but how cool that you got your query critiqued. I don't understand the pizza part of it, but I hope it was helpful!

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  3. Voice is the perfect 'V' word! The most powerful part of a novel.
    Pizza, hmm, I'm thinking my favorite pizza has lots of ingredients that all blend beautifully. That sounds yummy to me!

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  4. I missed the WriteOnCon event too, nevermind. I would have been too tempted to put a picture book query up and I am so trying to wait and send my MG out first. Awesome that you got yours critiqued! Voice is the hardest part to grasp, but the more you write the more you get it I guess.

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  5. Great "V" word!

    Being consistent with voice is something I have to work on--along with POV. Hopefully I'll get it down during rewrites.

    I really didn't like The Vampire Diaries. Haven't tried the Vampire Academy series . . .

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  6. So today is my day for long comments... just warning you. I recently read Falling Under by Gwen Hayes and it was so good (great voice) that I needed MORE and the only thing that could satisfy that particular craving was a re-reading of Twilight. Falling Under has some similarities to Twilight - the whole falling in love with someone dangerous - but it had its own unique wonderful voice and some other things that made it unique, too, definitely not just a Twilight knock-off.

    So I highly recommend it to any Twilight fans! And btw, I checked out your T is for Twlight post too, except you didn't say anything about Twilight? Why not? But what an amazing video! I'm going to try to share it on Facebook if I can figure out how.

    No vampires. Can't speak for the Vampire Diaries, but the Vampire Academy series is worth reading, an unusual take on vampires and half-vampires. Absolutely NOTHING like Twilight.

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  7. Hello....

    Tis I. I know I've been gone for a few days. No internet at my cousin's in Tampa. I went there for Easter.

    I hope you ladies had a nice holiday and that the weather was warm enough for those Easter egg hunts. Frozen eggs won't do! lol.

    VOICE as well all know is EVERYTHING!

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  8. Great advice...voice is so important! Oh and fabulous examples, well done!

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  9. this is great, and so true. You can't force voice. Good one. And did you see Renae's questions about voice. Those are probably the best I've seen.

    good stuff, guys! :o)

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  10. You should definitely add Vampire Academy to your TBR pile! They are the best series on vampires, possibly ever. Really, I loved Mead's writing and character development.

    Great post BTW! You're so right about it being tricky (and important) to be consistent with the character's world view!

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