Crafting Characters: Top 7 Tips For Distinctive Character Voices

EPISODE DESCRIPTION – One big issue we can run into as writers is unintentionally making characters who all sound the same. But they all have distinctive lives, backgrounds, and personalities. So, how do we make sure that is heard in their voice? How do we give them each a distinctive voice of their own? Watch this episode for 7 practical and easy tips on just that.


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Transcript

[00:00:00] Today what I want to talk to you about is how to differentiate between character voices. Now, we talk about this a lot in story. We all know that our characters need to sound different.

[00:00:23] And by the way, this is probably one of the most common mistakes or one of the most common challenges I see writers facing. It is a tendency to have all the characters sound the same, usually like the writer themselves, and not being able to cultivate something called orchestration, where each character has their unique voice.

[00:00:43] where each character has their own unique voice that they are bringing to the table. And the reason of course is because we simply don't know how exactly to do it. 

[00:00:52] So today, I want to go over seven tools or techniques that you can use to help you differentiate your character's voices. Okay, number one. The very first thing that you can do to differentiate character voices is to stop using supporting characters as props.

[00:01:15] Now what do I mean by that? Well this is often what characters do. They have their main character pursuing a goal, they have their main character going along their journey, but then they use the other characters in the story as props. They're only there for the main character's benefit. They don't have a life of their own, they don't have an agenda of their own, they're just there for the main character's purposes.

[00:01:41] You can see this really clearly in the Truman Show. I love how in the Truman Show, whenever you have Truman be in trouble or he's contemplating or he's confused about something, what happens? His best friend shows up with a beer, hey buddy, always at the perfect time. But that's by design. They're deliberately using the supporting characters.

[00:02:02] in that world as a prop to distract Truman from what his existential crisis is. They're deliberately using the supporting characters in the Truman Show as a distraction for Truman from whatever existential crisis he's in. Nevertheless, notice that the irony is that those characters have an agenda of their own.

[00:02:27] They have been hired by the company to distract Truman from his existential crisis. So they still are approaching that scene with their own agenda, with their own goals, with their own objective. And that is what makes them unique.

[00:02:43] That separates them, see? So what you need to do is every time you have a supporting character, you have to remember they are in the middle of doing something. They are already in the middle of doing something. They're not just sitting around waiting for the main character to need them. And this is true no matter what quote archetypal role that you've given them or assign them, which I'll get to in a minute.

[00:03:10] So whether it's the mother, The mother is not just sitting around waiting for their child to come and ask them for advice. The mother has things that they're doing. So make sure she's doing those things. And also, make sure that the mother has an objective that she's trying to get during that scene too.

[00:03:28] Maybe she's trying to get more information and trying to understand what's really going on in their child's world. Or maybe she wants to just get through this conversation because she's needed at the such and such down the street and she's got to hurry up and so she's got things to do and she's going somewhere.

[00:03:45] Either way, she has her own objective and when you give characters their own unique objectives, their own unique desires, their own unique life, It automatically gives them a voice that is unique from all the other characters. Because it's got to be something assigned to them because of the role they play in all of their world, in the whole world, and what they're doing to accomplish those things.

[00:04:13] Stop assigning them archetypal roles. See, what happens is, we have now learned about all these archetypes, right? Oh, this is the mentor character. Oh, this is the love interest. Oh, this is the villain. Oh, this is the antagonist.

[00:04:29] We have actually been inundated with archetypes. We can recognize them. We know who that character is or what role they're playing. . And so in a way, what we have to do is play against that by making sure, again, it actually is the same solution.

[00:04:47] You have to make sure they have their own life and their own goals. They have to be a well-rounded. They can't just be the archetypal role. Whenever you just rely on the archetype, you have limited them. You've put them in a box and now they are again. Just there for the main character's benefit and you don't want that.

[00:05:07] You don't want that You want to know what your character wants even the supporting characters and how they are trying to achieve it You want to have them have You want to have them have their own agenda in the scene

[00:05:21] You want to give them their life, their own life, and you want to give them their own goals.

[00:05:25] So again, The very first thing that you can do to start learning how to differentiate character voices is stop making your supporting characters a prop and stop making them an archetype. Make sure instead that they have their own life and they have their own goals.

[00:05:44] Okay, number two, you need to build them by defining their characteristics. Their education level, their background, their religious beliefs, all the things that make them tick. they need to speak consistently within whatever framework you've constructed them in. This will also differentiate them from the other characters.

[00:06:06] When you have built all of these characteristics. So what do I mean by that? Well, different characters will have different distinctive speech patterns. They will have different regional dialects depending on where they grew up. 

[00:06:19] They'll have a different cadence or rhythm or favorite words or phrases, certain speech tags or mannerisms like a catchphrase or gesture that they might use while speaking. They will also have different backgrounds and education and occupations.

[00:06:38] You must have your character speak according to the occupation that they're in. If you have a doctor they need to use proper grammar probably because they're going to be smart unless that's part of the characterization is that they are the opposite of what they appear to be. That's fine but that's crafted That's crafted by giving them characteristics for that particular character.

[00:07:00] Age and generation play into that. Younger characters might use more slang or informal language common to their age group. Older characters might have traditional speech patterns or might tell more stories or might have a different way of relating.

[00:07:16] Certainly, they're going to be familiar with different things or draw examples from a different database if you will So you have to construct your characters by building characters by building Characterizations that are consistent with each character and that requires work, but you have to do it Okay

[00:07:39] Number three You want to focus on personality traits? This is part of constructing a characterization, but I'm actually Putting a little bit more emphasis on this one because personality types matter Whether or not your character is confident Or insecure is going to change a great deal about their speech, the way that they talk and relate to others.

[00:08:05] It just is whether or not they are heroic or they are cowards, whether or not they are young and giggly and, and bubbly, whether or not they are serious and brooding and dark, And stoic, whether or not they are controlling or angry or disillusioned, these types of traits are especially essential in terms of differentiating your character's voice.

[00:08:39] So identify the basic personality traits of each of your characters and then allow them to behave accordingly. This will make them unique in terms of their character voice. Okay, number four.

[00:08:54] Here's a trick. Cast the character in your head. when you're writing a book, Cast the character in your head. Think about who the actor might be that would play that character. That will prevent you from writing in a vacuum. Now all of a sudden, it will actually modify the way that you phrase things when that character speaks.

[00:09:15] It will also modify character behavior. You'll start to see them as a unique individual. It's a wonderful trick to help you keep them unique and different from other characters. And when you get that character ingrained in your head, My goodness, they start to behave totally unique from the rest of the cast, from the rest of the characters in your story.

[00:09:37] So I love this trick and I really highly recommend it. This also works, by the way, especially if you have a bunch of characters that are sort of the same, they're part of the same community. And yet, you still have to make them different and unique. They're all from the same region, but they're different and unique.

[00:09:55] So, if you have gangsters, there are different styles of gangsters that are going to be appropriate for whatever your particular character is. Al Pacino sounds different than Robert De Niro, who sounds different than Joe Pesci. You have different types of characters. 

[00:10:13] If you have a young heroine, elle Fanning sounds different from Zendaya, who sounds different from Florence Pugh, who sounds different from, say, Millie Bobby Brown or Margot Robbie. All of these women are heroines. They're young heroines.

[00:10:32] They're all actresses under 30, but they're different in their tone, in their voice, in their style. And if you cast them, you're going to be much better equipped to write uniquely for that type of character. So cast them in your head and make them specific. Okay, number five. Another trick that you can do to help you make your character voice unique, and this is going to sound counterproductive.

[00:10:58] It's going to go against your intuition, but it is actually really important, and that is to cut the filler. See a lot of times what writers try to do is they try to manufacture voice by adding stutters in the speeches or the dialogue that the character delivers but that's a mistake. Filler only makes the speech clunky and it makes it harder for the reader to absorb.

[00:11:24] It's less readable to us. Cut it. Cut it. Don't rely on that. That's a cheat that is actually not a good cheat. It's a failure cheat. so if you are relying on that to try to create voice, you're relying on the wrong thing. Cut the filler. Instead, have them state their message as plainly as that character would state it, and then allow the audience, the reader, to supplement the rest.

[00:11:50] Let their imagination, you've got to trust your reader and let them bring to the story the other things that would maybe fill that stuff out. But don't you do it, because all you will manage to do is make your writing clunky. 

[00:12:04] Okay, number six. One of the best things that you can do to help bring out the nuances of individual character voices is actually to give your character something to do. Whenever they're in a scene, you should be thinking, What is my character doing at the top of the scene? This will prevent you from having characters that are talking heads, that are doing nothing.

[00:12:29] They should always be doing something. And at the start of any scene, you should be thinking, What is my character doing at the top of the scene? Even if they're entering, they're not just entering to come and have a conversation with another character who's already in that room. They are entering the room with a purpose.

[00:12:45] Give them the purpose. Have them have a purpose for entering or exiting a room. You must always have them doing something. And believe it or not, just that will help you to flesh out a unique, differentiated character voice for that character. Okay, the final one, number seven, the final thing that you can do to help make your character unique, each character, all of the characters in your story is to become an amateur psychologist.

[00:13:18] Now what do I mean by this? Well what I'm really talking about here is that you always need to know the internal emotional state of each character. You, as the writer, you are God to your story world, and that means you need to know at every single moment what your character is feeling and thinking, where they are at internally, what is their internal emotional state.

[00:13:45] And when you identify that, it's going to It's going to play into the scene. It's going to play into the story. They're going to behave according to that internal emotional state. You have to become a psychologist and understand how people behave depending on different states, emotional states of being.

[00:14:08] It's going to inform every single moment of your story. It's one of the best things you can do to bring out nuances and differentiated voices in your story. Now, obviously, when they are behaving this ways, it needs to be consistent with their basic personality traits, too. So, they always have to have a consistency.

[00:14:27] But, even people who behave consistently in one way, when they are in emotional distress, they will often, speak in a way that surpasses what the norm is. This is where you might have characters explode even though it's very out of character.

[00:14:45] you might have a character who says things that they normally would never say simply because they're under a great deal of emotional pressure.

[00:14:52] In some way or another. So you need to know where they're at emotionally at all times. And then write accordingly. So these are seven basic practical tools that you can employ to help differentiate the character voices in your story. I hope this has been helpful to you. 

[00:15:12] if you need help differentiating your character voices, then you need to take my class. Hollywood story structure made easy. Now you might be thinking, but that doesn't have anything to do with character. You're wrong. It has everything to do with character. And we dive deep into character because what is story structure but a result of the choices that your character makes under pressure.

[00:15:36] So if you want to know more about how to construct interesting, unique, special characters that will resonate with your audience, you do not want to miss this class. Check out Hollywood Story Structure Made Easy today. It is currently available at its lowest price ever. We're in the beta phase as we're trying to get this course up and running.

[00:15:57] So it's a perfect time for you to participate. Click on the link provided and you can find out more about it today. I look forward to seeing you there.

[00:16:05] In the meantime, 

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