As part of developing my writing craft, I often attend workshops and writers groups. Recently at one of my monthly meetings we discussed voice. Each writer’s voice is unique and is compiled of things like word choice and syntax. Just like each writer’s voice is unique, the voice of each character they create also needs to be distinctive.
To demonstrate this difference of voice, we did a written exercise. We were to write a simple paragraph describing the last time we went out to eat. This initial paragraph was to be as absent of any voice as possible.
My example:
We went out to eat last week. I ordered a club sandwich. My husband ordered fish tacos. It took a long time for our food to arrive. We took our dessert to go.
We were then instructed to rewrite the paragraph from a different perspective and infuse a unique voice. We were given five different perspectives and in the time allotted I managed only two. Here they are:
A foreigner learning local dining customs:
I was new to the planet and Jen suggested we enjoy some of the local cuisine. I’d never had human food but I was hungry and eager to experience the dining customs of our youngest ally. We arrived by ground car at the local eatery; a place called The Cheesecake Factory. Jen’s eyes seemed to sparkle at the mention of cheesecake. Upon entering the establishment, we were quickly ushered to a table and given a dish called bread and butter. Jen explained this was a kind of appetizer. It was bland for my alien taste buds but Jen devoured hers in short order. When the servant arrived, Jen ordered a dish she felt palatable for me; something called ‘Fish Tacos’. She seemed impatient with the length of time it took for our food to arrive but I enjoyed watching the humans interact. I observed that once food arrived, conversation ceased until consumption was complete and I rather liked talking to Jen. The fish tacos were pleasant enough but my appetite wasn’t satiated and I wanted more. Jen, however, said she would burst if she ate anything further yet ordered something called cheesecake to take with us. Upon returning to her home, we shared the dessert. When I bring this marvel called cheesecake back to my world, I will become a legend among my people.
A teenager on a date:
I couldn’t stop my hands from trembling so I kept them in my pocket as we walked into the restaurant.
“You cold?” he asked.
I nodded. I wasn’t but I was too nervous to speak. Jason and I had been friends for a long time but this dinner we were about to share would be the beginning of something new. The hostess took us to a small table out in the open and I felt the eyes of everyone upon me. Thankfully the dimly lit restaurant kept the flushing of my cheeks from being too obvious. I buried my head in the menu though I already knew what I wanted. I wanted him but I would have to wait for my dessert.
End Transmission.
The first time I heard the term NaNoWriMo was a little over a year ago. I was sitting in a writer’s workshop and the woman next to me asked if I’d ever done it before. The workshop was filled with mostly novice writers and while I had spent years writing, I had no idea what she was talking about.