7
Got stuck on a character's voice for a short story I'm writing
I was trying to write a detective who sounded tired but sharp, and nothing felt right for two whole days. I must have written his opening line twenty different ways, from sarcastic to flat out mean. Finally, I just recorded myself talking through his morning routine, and that weird ramble about bad coffee gave me the exact tone I needed. Has anyone else used voice notes to fix a character that just wouldn't click?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
phoenix_grant342mo ago
My old laptop has a folder with three hours of me pretending to be a space freighter captain arguing with a faulty airlock. It sounds insane, but hearing the frustration in my own voice showed me how she'd actually talk, all short sentences and clipped words. The trick for me is to get up and move around while I do it, like pacing my kitchen. Sitting still makes my brain write book dialogue, but walking makes it sound like a person.
5
patriciam512mo ago
Oh that's brilliant. I get so stuck in my own head trying to make dialogue sound "written." Talking it out loud cuts through all that junk. It forces you into a real rhythm, you know? The pauses and the grumbles just show up on their own. I should try that next time I hit a wall.
2
lopez.quinn2mo ago
Works every time. I keep a voice recorder app open on my phone for exactly this. If it sounds stupid coming out of your mouth, it'll read stupid on the page. You catch the weird, formal phrasing right away. Just mutter to yourself like a crazy person for a bit, it fixes the flow.
1