Finding Your Narrative Voice | Writing a Book for the First Time
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- Опубликовано: 16 авг 2020
- Lack of voice was the biggest issue on my first book. As the agent rejections rolled in, I began to realize how similar my characters sounded.
So how do you work on finding your narrative voice, especially when "voice" is so hard to define? That's what today's writing workshop is all about!
Looking for more writing workshops? Check out my FREE course! skl.sh/33iwgFH
Random Word Generator randomwordgenerator.com/
Quick Character Profile Generator www.character-generator.org.u...
Stuff I use as a full time writer/author (that you may have spotted in this video!):
WRITING/WORK STUFF
Alphasmart Neo2. Highly highly recommend. amzn.to/3cStKui
Adjustable laptop desk. I LOVE this thing. Typing with my arms at an angle has drastically reduced elbow/wrist pain. amzn.to/2OYh0tX
Clever Fox planner. I’ve used a few planners and this is my fav. Lots of space for mind-mapping and brainstorming, daily to-do lists, space for goal setting. amzn.to/3vNmk3Z
Best writing pens, hands down. I use them every time I revise a book. amzn.to/311nRoP
Acer monitor. I kind of hate the word gamechanger but this really was that kind of purchase. amzn.to/3vH71Kh
Brother laser printer. I won’t lie, this thing is a behemoth. But I’ve had it since 2017 and I think I’ve had maybe one paper jam? It works great, it’s super consistent, A++ for printing manuscripts. amzn.to/3tzIvZE
Macbook Air. Doesn’t really need my recommendation. amzn.to/2OUCaJx
COFFEE STUFF
Ninja coffee maker. I freaking love this thing! It has a “speciality” setting that’ll make...not espresso, but pretty dang close. There’s a milk frother attached if you want to get fancy with your drink. amzn.to/31533Nu
Cold brew pitcher. I have two of these on constant rotation in the fridge. Don’t judge me. amzn.to/3cSKVM9
Zulay milk frother. (Yes, I take my coffee seriously.) amzn.to/3r7DDJu
VIDEO MAKING STUFF
Canon G7X Mark iii camera. The autofocus does tick me off sometimes, but in manual mode it’s perfect, and I love the flip up screen (ie, you can see yourself as you film) and the fact that there’s a mic port. amzn.to/3r9BfCb
Savage studio lights. I mostly use these for ‘talking head’ videos. amzn.to/3r7G6Un
Ubeesize 10” ring light. That’s the little guy sitting on my desk. I mostly use it for vlogging. amzn.to/31hqpzD
JJC mini tripod. amzn.to/3feXxjJ
Rode clip mic. amzn.to/2OSaLb2
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What's the best advice you've ever heard on finding your voice as a writer? Let me know in the comments!
@Jody writes Great question! The reader definitely doesn't need to know every single detail about a character's routine - only the stuff that has a purpose/point. Unless there was some foreshadowing or clue or vital backstory information in that morning routine, I would say just go with the first option. :)
I think knowing the difference between the author voice and the Prose (Narrative voice) It took me awhile to figure out the story is not just the story. Or maybe I'm just learning extra slow. Either way it took awhile to click.
Best thing I learned about voice was to "shut up and let the characters do the talking", because I realised that if I narrate a story it sounds dry. But if I let my character take over, if I feel what they feel and see things through their eyes, something magical happens and my story takes on a life I never knew it could have.
Going through the edits of my one series is a great example to me of this, because I didn't realise I was doing your Tell draft before the edits. Until I read my notes saying things like "show x" or "describe x" or even "try and get in their head so we know why x character (not in POV) is mad/sad/whatever". Things like that, though often times I would write further notes of how the scene could play out differently, then work off that in the edits. And it does help for making a better book, and I'm even finding that Telling, for at least the parts where your brain is stuck in a scene, works wonders to get things moving.😁
That's great advice! That's so interesting that you did the 'tell' part during edits - but it sounds so incredibly helpful! And you're right; telling when you're stuck is such a great way to get unstuck. :)
Great video. The best advice I’ve had is that if you’re stuck on a character voice but you know what happens in the scene, you can do a diary entry for them at the start and end of the chapter to get a sense of how the feel
Thanks, Corinne! That's excellent advice - I think it's especially helpful if you're writing in 3rd. Switching to 1st can really help you get into that character's headspace more.
Great examples of voice, Michelle. I love how effortlessly you come at craft topics. Everyone needs to hit that subscribe button :)
Aw, thank you so much, Robert! I really appreciate that! :)
I have so much fun with characters and voice in that I hear them and can tell the story in their words. Since I write, usually, in 1st person its always a lot of fun for me!
That's awesome, Joey! I do think it's easier to find voice in first person - one of the reasons I switched to first when I realized I had a voice problem.
Yesss! IT's like build-your-own ice cream with the ice cream Talkin'
Aha! NOW I understand “voice”. Love your examples, they are always so helpful. Thank you!! 😁
Hooray!! :D I'm so glad to hear that, J! Thank you for watching!
Ah needed this today!
Aw yay! I'm glad to hear it :)
This is great. One of the best writing advice videos I've seen. You've really helped me a lot with this one. Thank you.
You're very welcome! Thanks for watching, Ken! :)
Hearing the way you think about and approach writing is always so inspiring to me. As always, you give me so much to think about. AND I will be front row to your next video for days! Whatever that means. >.
Aww thank you so much! And rofl I'm not 100% sure what that means either but I love it! :D
Loved it! Description is the most difficult part of a final draft for me. This was great! :D Thanks.
I'm so glad it was helpful, Regina! Thanks for watching! :D
So useful. Thank you.
Great video! This explained so much for me. Thank you!
I'm so glad it was helpful, Beatrix! Thanks so much for watching!
Loved this video! I have so many of your videos bookmarked. Decided to try the exercise, and got a hilarious character and some interesting words.
Tanya Myers, 29, unstable shop assistant Tanya Myers is an unstable man from Australia who can only sleep if it is full moon. People often compare him to a supermodel. His top quality is that he is particularly dishy. He has been wrongly accused of hijacking a car.
Words: murder, personal, railroad, loud, receipt.
I had a ton of fun and wrote the "telling" bit, but the polish will have to wait, I need to get back to work! Cliche thriller opener:
Myers looked down at his hands, drenched in blood. The broken figure of the dead man sprawled across the railroad. There wasn’t much time left. Already he could hear the sound of the train in the distance. His mind raced through everything he’d read in books and watched in movies and TV shows. He’d committed murder, but the smart ones sometimes escaped the law.
What have I done? Myers thought to himself. It wasn’t personal, but the the man told him he looked like last week’s style, and if Myers was anything, he was a trend-setter! He rummaged through the man's pockets and extracted a receipt from Abercrombie & Fitch. Myers took a deep satisfied breath. To be called yesterday’s fashion by someone who shopped mass produced clothing. Myers shuddered. This wasn’t murder, it was justice.
The tracks vibrated under the rumble of the train, its lights now pierced the fog. Myers glanced at the body one last time, kicked it, and threw the receipt at it. The train let out a loud horn blast. It was time to go.
The character profiles that generator hands out are ridiculous, aren't they??
OMG this is amazing! I'm cracking up at "This wasn't murder, it was justice." 😂 You did a fantastic job with a very very weird prompt! And honestly, if this is the telling, then your showing must be stellar. My telling isn't nearly this polished.
Thanks so much for sharing this!! I love when I actually get comments from folks who do the exercises!!
@@MichelleSchustermanAuthor ah, I made a mistake. It wasn't "telling" so much as it was a zero/first draft. I couldn't do a "telling" version because I didn't really know what I would write that could incorporate all those words, so I just started writing and making things up as I went. The "railroad" and "murder" words set the scene, and I just winged it. I wish that was my "telling", lol.
And thanks for the kind words! I always look forward to your videos, and go back to them often!
@@Grifter0730 ahh I see - but still, that's pretty great for a zero draft! :)
And thank you so much! That's so nice to hear!
This was so helpful!
Thanks so much, Miranda! I'm so happy to hear that! :D
Excellent video ! Love ya gal !
Thanks so much!! :D
So I actually finished my first draft yesterday and voice is on the top of my list when I go in for edits in a little while. This is such a good workshop and the timing is so perfect lol
Oh my gosh, congratulations!!! That's awesome! I hope you did something to celebrate! :D
@@MichelleSchustermanAuthor 😁😁 thanks. I ended up buying a new book lol it was such a good feeling to finish it! 4 months 79,907 words of a retelling!
@@fridgeghost4017 That sounds like the perfect way to celebrate! And wow - 80k in four months is freaking AMAZING.
@@MichelleSchustermanAuthor one of the things NaNoWriMo helped me with was increasing my speed 😁
@@fridgeghost4017 Oh cool! I've never done Nano- thinking about giving it a shot this year!
Great video.👍 I had a question. How is the voice of a character different from an author's writing style ? How do we know that (in third person limited) it is the protagonist describing things around her and not the author themselves and there is voice in the writing ? Why using voice in writing important ? ( Is it possible for readers to connect with the protagonist with writing style of author describing things around through protagonist's eyes without the use of voice ?) Thank you for reading my comment and for your time.🙂
Oh my god; tell then show 😮😮😮😮❤❤❤
THANK YOU SO MUCH This has saved me from year-long writer's fudge 💙 The best tip I've heard is to go for a looong walk and take on the life of inanimate objects. Practices a lot of empathy, especially if you weren't born a jam jar... 😜
Oh also to write on a full belly