Category: Critiquing

An Experiment in Writing – Part 18: Author Voice, Character Voice (Part 4)

This is the last experiment in the Author Voice, Character Voice arc. I mentioned in Part 1. I wrote back then there might be three, maybe more, and I was correct, there’s four.

My goal has been to demonstrate the different voices at an author’s disposal. Part 1 focused on Character Voice. Part 2 focused on Author as Character, something often used when the character has no language and only experience, which causes the author write through the character’s POV but without internal or external dialogue, and when the character’s observations, awareness, and explanations are somehow limited (age, language, non-human, …). Part 3 considered how to craft the story when the Author is the character. The author writes directly through the character’s POV in 1stP, increasing intimacy and immediacy between character and reader.

This post deals with pure author voice. Build worlds, set scenes, tone, develop your style (which is your brand), …

And above all else, foreshadow!

Let me know how good a job I’m doing. Feel free to ask me to elaborate. Currently I recognize this is one of those things I know and never had to explain to myself.

 
Think I’m onto something? Take a class with me or schedule a critique of your work.
Think I’m an idiot? Let me know in a comment.
Either way, we’ll both learn something.

Get copies of my books because it’s a nice thing to do, you care, you can follow along, and I need the money.

An Experiment in Writing – Part 17: Author Voice, Character Voice (Part 3)

This is the third experiment in the Author Voice, Character Voice arc. I mentioned in Part 1.

My goal in this arc is to demonstrate the different voices at an author’s disposal. Part 1 focused on Character Voice. Part 2 focused on Author as Character, something often used when the character has no language and only experience, which causes the author write through the character’s POV but without internal or external dialogue, and when the character’s observations, awareness, and explanations are somehow limited (age, language, non-human, …).

This time out we consider how to craft the story when the Author is the character. The author writes directly through the character’s POV in 1stP, increasing intimacy and immediacy between character and reader.

Let me know how good a job I’m doing. Feel free to ask me to elaborate. Currently I recognize this is one of those things I know and never had to explain to myself.

 
Think I’m onto something? Take a class with me or schedule a critique of your work.
Think I’m an idiot? Let me know in a comment.
Either way, we’ll both learn something.

Get copies of my books because it’s a nice thing to do, you care, you can follow along, and I need the money.

RoundTable 360° Oct 2024 Is ‘Schadenfreude’ German for ‘Casper, the Friendly Ghost’? – If humor is subjective, what makes ‘funny’ funny?

(seems I’ve been remiss in posting our RoundTables.
beg pardon and here you go)

Our 31 Oct 2024 RoundTable 360° session was Is ‘Schadenfreude’ German for ‘Casper, the Friendly Ghost’? – If humor is subjective, what makes ‘funny’ funny? and led by psychologist, author, and humorist Peter Desberg. Joining Peter are Ken Weene, Mark O’Brien, Sarah Bowden, Amy Olmeda, Donna Huston Murray, Sabine Rossbach, Todd Sullivan, Clarabelle Miray Fields, and others.

Watch and enjoy.

 
Want to take part in future RoundTable 360°s? Reserve your space on Eventbrite.

An Experiment in Writing – Part 16: Author Voice, Character Voice (Part 2)

This experiment is the second in the Author Voice, Character Voice arc. I mentioned in Part 1 there would be three posts. Now it’s looking more like four.

My goal in this arc is to demonstrate that character voice – the way a character talks, the words they use, how they emphasize things, grammatical and linguistic quirks, … – reveal character, including any changes they’ve gone through as the story/novel progresses.

Author voice is similar to the above and covers the entire work, not individual characters. It is your brand, if you will, and how readers recognize your work as separate and distinct from others.

Part 1 focused on Character Voice. This post focuses on author as character, something often used when the character has no language and only experience. The author has to write through the character’s POV but can’t use the character’s own words as they (for some reason) can’t lingualize their experience.

Let me know how good a job I’m doing. Feel free to ask me to elaborate. Currently I recognize this is one of those things I know and never had to explain to myself.

 
Think I’m onto something? Take a class with me or schedule a critique of your work.
Think I’m an idiot? Let me know in a comment.
Either way, we’ll both learn something.

Get copies of my books because it’s a nice thing to do, you care, you can follow along, and I need the money.

An Experiment in Writing – Part 14: Exposition via Character Revelation via Deep POV

This experiment follows a thread/arc started in An Experiment in Writing – Part 12: Overwriting, Toing and Froing and continued in An Experiment in Writing – Part 13: Exposition via Dialogue, the latter being wherein I offered

Exposition – an ugly lump of glucky words authors plop into their work with the intention of getting information to the reader.

Usually because they’re either lazy or don’t know any better.

Especially if it’s glucky.

 
I use Deep POV a lot and suggest it for the very purpose I demonstrate here: to get necessary story information to the reader and reveal character simultaneously.

Efficient writing that, dual purposing a section to incapacitate two aerial habituators penecontemporaneously.

Yeah, I’m an author. Can you tell?

 
Think I’m onto something? Take a class with me or schedule a critique of your work.
Think I’m an idiot? Let me know in a comment.
Either way, we’ll both learn something.

Get copies of Empty Sky and follow along.

For that matter, pick up several dozen copies of all my books because it’s a nice thing to do, you care, and I need the money.