What voice do you want to tell your story in?

You might have an idea for a story: that's great. You might even have your character profiles written: even better. Maybe you have a world designed - woah, here we go now! So now, you sit down to write.

You begin:

I heard a strange sound coming from the attic room. I had thought, just moments ago, that I had been alone.

Hmm. No, that's not right. You're not sure about this character telling the story. It doesn't feel interesting enough somehow.

You try again and this time:

The floorboards creaked under their bony feet. The sound was deafening and in the quiet of the house they felt sure that someone had heard. They held their breath.

Okay, maybe it's more interesting to come from the hidden characters perspective? A bit different? But no... it doesn't feel right either.

You begin to question everything - the person: 1st? 2nd? 3rd?; the character - who should be allowed to speak? Should it be an omniscient narrator? A limited narrator?

Before you know it you're staring at your two (or five?!) beginnings and wondering if this book will ever get written...

Sometimes the character's just don't sound how you want them to!

What is a 'good' voice?

The right voice can make or break a story. Take The Book Thief for instance. It is told from the perspective of Death, who speaks in first person, direct address. The story Death tells is focused on one girl as the atrocities of the Second World War unfold. The story is written really well but this narrator really makes the book stand out.

You don't necessarily need to come up with a complete unique narrator, though. Any voice that tells the story well is great. Take those two examples above, can you see anything obviously wrong with either of them?

In reality, there are no 'wrong' voices, but rather the voices that we, as writers, feel we just can't tell the story in.

I've come across this problem many times and there is usually a eureka moment when I do finally come across the 'right' voice. But how do you know when it's right and how do you get to that point?

How to find the right voice for your story

The easiest way to tell if the voice you're using in your story is right or wrong for you is just seeing how it feels and how easy it is to write the story.

First or third person with a character focus

If you're telling the story from a character's perspective, make sure you know that character inside out before you start writing. You want to be able to answer questions like who was their best friend as a child in order to know just what they'd really think of that waitress, or seeing a dog playing with a woollen scarf.

Make sure you know the mind behind the voice so that you don't have to think to much about how they sound - it should come quite naturally so you can focus on telling the story. Remember that the voice is the vessel for the story and both need to be as good as the other.

Third person omniscient, limited or objective

If you are telling the story but not from a characters point of view you need to decide what your (usually nameless) narrator knows.

Omniscient means that your narrator knows everything. For example, in Little Women, Louisa May Alcott, the narrator largely focuses on the character Jo, but also follows other characters and knows the thoughts and feelings of all. You can of course play around with this and largely focus on one character but every so often give insight into other characters.

Limited means that, while the narrator is separate from events (all characters are referred to in third person and we do not know who is telling the story) the narrator is limited to only knowing the thoughts of one character. A famous example of this is Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling, who shows us Harry's thoughts and feelings but in regards to other characters, we only know what Harry perceives.

Objective means that the narrator knows the events of the story but not the thoughts and feelings of any of the characters. This is present in No Country for Old Men, Cormac McCarthy, and this type of narration drives the story along at a quick pace, with only room for speculation on what the characters might think or feel.

So after all this - is there a simple way to find your voice?

As with lots of parts of writing, nothing is that simple, but the process is enjoyable!

I would advocate that the best way to find your voice is to have your story planned well to begin with. Fill in your character profiles, know your world inside-out, and know the story you want to tell. Often a voice will jump out at you once you've done this, but research is key.

If you're still struggling after all this, try a few voices! You might have five beginnings but one will feel closer than the others. Limit yourself to 500 words for each start and then really ask yourself what feels right (and wrong) about each voice. This will help you narrow it down and come to the right narrative for your story.

Thank you for reading and I hope this has helped! If you have any questions email me at sbewilliams95@gmail.com or book a class. We have some group classes coming up so keep an eye out for these as a chance to iron out some of your writing difficulties!

Have a great week,

Sarah xx