THE CRAFT OF WRITING — JANUARY 2024
I’m excited to begin a new year on the CRAFT OF WRITING blog by focusing on Aspects of the Novel. We’ll be looking at many different facets of novel writing such as Dialogue, Plotting, Characterization, and more. I’m doubly excited today because this month’s guest is an expert who will help us understand one of these puzzle pieces.
James Scott Bell has written many books on the craft of writing. He has also taught courses, and my inspiration for this year’s focus came when I was listening to his How to Write Best-selling Fiction course on Audible. When I asked Jim if he would be my guest, he agreed and chose to address the subject of Voice in writing.
So take out your notebooks and pens because we’re going to learn about that most elusive feature of novel writing, Voice, from one of the masters.
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Once again, we’re doing something fun for this interview. The name of each person who enters a comment will be put into the drawing for the unique “Wilbur and Orville 1903” Propeller pen, hand-crafted by my friend and colleague Steve Hooley. The pen is made from Ash, one of the woods the Wright brothers used to build their first aircraft. So join the conversation and earn a chance to win. I’ll post the name of the winner after 9 PM Central Time tomorrow night.
(We’re starting a brand new year, so former winners are eligible to enter.)
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Welcome back to the Craft of Writing blog, James Scott Bell, and thank you for joining us!
Always a pleasure, Kay.
“Voice” is one of those terms that’s hard for authors to understand. How do you define “Voice?”
People always talk about an author’s voice, but never seem able to define it. Over the years I’ve heard it described as:
A combination of character, setting, page turning.
A distinctive style, like a Sergio Leone film.
It’s who you are.
Personality on the page.
It’s something written from your deepest truth.
And so on. I finally decided to sit down and do some thinking and studying, and see if I could figure it out. Eventually I came up with a three-pronged definition (using the letters CAP): CHARACTER background and language filtered through the AUTHOR’S heart, and rendered with craft on the PAGE = VOICE.
What I mean is that in fiction voice is not the author’s voice alone; it actually starts with character (if you’re being true to the story) and the author adds his or her own passionate interest in the tale and, using the tools of craft, makes it all happen for the reader on the page.
How does an author go about developing his/her own voice?
It’s really a matter of learning ways to let the voice run free. Let it come out naturally as you, the author, are concentrating on the emotion and action and internal lives of the characters. There are various exercises I give in my book on voice, such as the page-long sentence. When I come to a place of high emotion in a scene, I like to start a fresh document and write a single, run-on sentence of at least 200 words. It is free-form, wild text in the character’s voice, not thinking about grammar or structure. It’s just pouring out the emotion as fast and intensely as possible.
What happens inevitably, like panning for gold, is you get a few glistening nuggets. It may even be only one sentence, but that sentence will be choice.
There are other methods, but the great point is that doing this begins to develop a strong “voice muscle” in your writer’s brain, and you get better and better at it the more you exercise it.
What role does a character’s attitude play in voice?
I always stress that a character should have some sort of attitude, some unique way of looking at things, based on the backstory and needs of the plot. I always start out with a voice journal, where I do an interview with the character, letting the character talk back to me until I discern a voice that is not my own, but the character’s. I’ll prod with questions about the character’s philosophy of life, what things in their background happened to make them think this way, and so on. What gets them worked up?
Should an author consider writing in first- or third-person when trying to develop their voice?
It doesn’t matter. If you’re writing in the way my definition suggests, you can do it in Third or First. We always think of First Person as more intimate, but you can achieve the same effect in Third. One way to show yourself how is to take any scene you’ve done in Third and rewrite it in First…then change it back again, keeping as much of the language as possible. Elmore Leonard was a master of Third Person sounding like First.
I love the character Mike Romeo in your series. How did you go about developing Mike’s voice? (And are you working on another Romeo book now?)
Mike’s voice developed using techniques I’ve described. A voice journal, a backstory, and my own heart commitment to the stories, the things I’m most interested in, like justice. I’ve always loved Chandler’s Philip Marlowe, who could say things with just the right snap, on the spot. The nice thing about writing is you can take your time to craft the perfect thing for your character to say…unlike yourself at a party, going home and thinking, “Ah! I should have said…”
What examples do you have of other authors who have developed great voice?
The aforementioned Chandler, Michael Connelly, Harlan Coben (wry humor). But take your pick from literature. Dickens, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Thomas Wolfe. The books that stay with us have voice.
Are there exercises authors can do to develop their voice?
Write poetry. (It doesn’t have to be good poetry, just expressive in a way that stretches your style.)
The page-long sentence.
Write like you’re in love. (Later, edit like you’re in charge.)
Improvise the character’s voice…out loud. (Best to do this at home.)
Thank you, Jim, for being with us today.
Write on.
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Meet James Scott Bell
James Scott Bell is a winner of the International Thriller Writers Award and the author of the #1 bestseller for writers, Plot & Structure (Writer’s Digest Books). His thrillers include Romeo’s Rules, Romeo’s Way and Romeo’s Hammer (the Mike Romeo thriller series); Try Dying, Try Darkness and Try Fear (the Ty Buchanan legal thriller series); and stand-alones including Your Son Is Alive and Final Witness (which won the first Christy Award for Suspense). He served as the fiction columnist for Writer’s Digest magazine and has written several popular writing books, including Just Write, Conflict & Suspense, and The Art of War for Writers (all from Writer’s Digest Books). He’s also published How to Write Dazzling Dialogue, Write Your Novel From the Middle, Super Structure, and How to Make a Living as a Writer.
What an excellent interview, Kay and Jim! VOICE is one of my favorite craft books.
The concept is tough to grasp b/c it’s amorphous and unquantifiable. Jim, your definition nails it. When a character’s voice finally clicks, s/he jumps off the page.
Thanks, Debbie, kind of you to say!
Good morning, Debbie! I also like Jim’s practical exercises to help us develop that voice.
Kay and James, thank you for this very imformative interview! Somehow I missed the book “Voice”–so was especially glad to see it highlighted here. The three tips that really caught my attention were: developing a voice muscle; using a voice journal; and doing the character’s voice out loud! This interview was very helpful in how to think about voice. Thank you!
Glad you found it helpful, Barbara.
Good morning, Barbara! I’m so glad Jim chose the subject of voice to discuss today. It’s a hard one to pin down, but his tips give us the tools to create our own voice.
Have a wonderful week!
Thank you for this great article! Joni Truex
👍
Good morning, Joni, and thank you for stopping by. Don’t forget to drop in tomorrow night after 9 pm. to see who will win the pen!
Authors continue to amaze me. Just writing a 200 word sentence is mind blowing to me. I’m in awe that authors can invoke such emotion with just our 26 letters that create millions of words!
Maggie
Good morning, Maggie! Glad you stopped by.
You make a very perceptive observation. Look at what just 26 letters can do. It reminds me of a quote by Nathaniel Hawthorne:
“Words – so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them.”
Try the page-long sentence exercise!
Great interview, Jim and Kay. I found the book VOICE very helpful, and have read it at least two times. I think I need to read it again. Voice is certainly one of the key factors in whether or not I want to read other books by an author. I really enjoy Mike Romeo’s philosophy.
Good morning, Steve! I also love Jim’s book on Voice. He has examples in the book that illustrate what words can do when they are manipulated by one of the masters. The example from Raymond Chandler’s short story “Red Wind” blows me over (sorry for the pun) every time I read it.
Ah, thanks Steve…
Great post, Kay and JSB! I’m starting a new book, so it’s time to get out my copy of Voice!
Good morning, Patricia! Like you, I’m also starting a new novel, and I need to re-read Jim’s book. Is your new work in one of your series? Best wishes with it.
I’ll actually be returning to the town that started it all–Logan Point. 🙂
Go!
“It’s something written from your deepest truth.” Yes!
This jumped right off the screen and it’s clawing my forehead as we speak.
Thanks, Jim and Kay. Can’t get enough of writing craft teaching, especially from the Don of the art.
Good morning, Deb! Thanks for stopping by and for pointing out that great quote. And did you notice how the cover of Jim’s book has a voice of its own?
Have a great writing week!
Don Vito Scott Bell?
Good morning, I really enjoyed reading this interview and I especially enjoyed the pointers , it is so very interesting. Thank you for this great interview. Have a great day and a great week.
Good morning, Alicia, and thank you for stopping by and commenting. Jim’s advice contains so much wisdom! Don’t forget to stop by again tomorrow night to see the results of the random drawing for the propeller pen.
You are quite welcome, Alicia.
What a great series for 2024, and what a great beginning. Mr. Bell, my copy of WD Books Plot & Structure is worn from many years of reference. Thank you for all the energy and expertise you’ve shared with other writers. I bought my copy of Voice, and I look forward to finding inspiration in its pages. Kay, thanks for jump-starting 2024. Blessings!
Hello Lisa, and thanks for being here! I think you’ll love JSB’s Voice. Have a wonderful writing year,
Great QnA! Interviewing a character in a journal is so helpful. I haven’t done it in a while, though. Time to pull out my notebook and get busy!
Hello Priscilla! I need to interview a few characters to get started on the next book, too.
Thanks for stopping by.
Thanks to everyone who stopped by and left a comment on the post, and a special thank you to Steve Hooley for supplying the beautiful propeller pen.
Ten people were eligible to win, and I listed them in the order they commented:
1 Debbie Burke
2 Barbara Curtis
3 Joni Truex
4 Maggie Naylor
5 Steve Hooley
6 Patricia Bradley
7 Deb Gorman
8 Alicia Haney
9 Lisa Simonds
10 Priscilla Bettis
Then I ran a random integer generator to pick a number between 1 and 10. The number that came up was 3, so Joni Truex is the winner of the propeller pen. Congratulations, Joni!
I love what James said about writers being able to take their time to craft the perfect replies for characters, although in practice I usually need time to find MY perfect response to people and situations (off the page). Ironically, though I’m not what I consider a quick wit on the spot, my characters are much more likely to be. I can think faster for them than myself… Thanks for the great definition of “voice.”
Thanks for being here, Linore. Your Regency characters seem to have found their voices perfectly!
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