tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post9076566207638716197..comments2023-10-25T05:30:54.507-04:00Comments on Oh Get A Grip!: The Voices in My HeadAshe Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03390519279886657608noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-66792305406810865922014-10-11T00:35:59.099-04:002014-10-11T00:35:59.099-04:00Interesting experiments, Sacchi and commenters. On...Interesting experiments, Sacchi and commenters. One writer who could really write working-class dialogue in a way that comes across as authentic and pithy was D.H. Lawrence (because those were his people). Unfortunately for North American writers, he's hard to imitate because his characters have distinctly regional British accents.Jean Robertahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08805088081675965859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-47099912578820021372014-10-09T01:25:43.669-04:002014-10-09T01:25:43.669-04:00Sacchi, this is a really interesting thing to brin...Sacchi, this is a really interesting thing to bring up. I often think about how far I can push myself away from my standard self. Some of creating a different voice comes from research, I think, and listening and paying attention to other people. Some of it comes from accessing the multiplicity of self. I have many lives, many personas, and sometimes when I'm trying to create a distinct voice, what I do is exaggerate some smaller part of me. Annabeth Leonghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07455191827664110878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-22484851108797863362014-10-09T01:23:50.051-04:002014-10-09T01:23:50.051-04:00Really interesting. That's a pretty subtle cha...Really interesting. That's a pretty subtle change, for pretty big effect.Annabeth Leonghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07455191827664110878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-35375850196491761762014-10-07T16:55:46.610-04:002014-10-07T16:55:46.610-04:00"Cadence" is a lovely word! One I've..."Cadence" is a lovely word! One I've searched my leaky brain for a time or two, used "rhythm" or "pace" instead, and then remembered too late. <br /><br />Thinking of "Jessabel," I've written several stories where I tried to make the characters think and speak in ways that reminded me of Mark Twain, even though when I read Mark Twain again I realized that I'd been completely off-base. And when I think of Mark Twain, I think about the almost-right word being to the right word like the lightning bug to the lightning. And I despair. Sacchi Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10801164916418570059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-55616844988409840552014-10-07T16:45:24.685-04:002014-10-07T16:45:24.685-04:00Hmm, interesting contrast. Definitely different ch...Hmm, interesting contrast. Definitely different characters, and i think I'd find the first guy's story more interesting.Sacchi Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10801164916418570059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-7620012018776862202014-10-07T07:57:18.307-04:002014-10-07T07:57:18.307-04:00I don't know exactly what you were aiming for ...I don't know exactly what you were aiming for in these excerpts, but you certainly succeeded in bringing a distinct voice to each one. <br /><br />One story of yours where I think you really pulled it off is "Jessebel", your contribution to Coming Together: In Vein. I loved that story, particularly the cadence of the main character's speech.<br /><br />I know what you mean about writing characters outside one's own ethnicity or class, though. In my first few novels, all my heroines had at least Masters degrees, because I didn't dare write anything else! Recently, I've gotten a bit braver. For instance, I wrote a black ex-dope addict hooker in "The First Stone". I can't judge how accurate her voice might be, but it's certainly different from the other main character in the story.Lisabet Saraihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05162514190572269660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-25369900050801876872014-10-06T07:38:04.683-04:002014-10-06T07:38:04.683-04:00I had an interesting little adventure once with us...I had an interesting little adventure once with using a different "voice," in the sense you're speaking of. I wrote a story (one of a couple over the years) in the voice of a man with a discourse style less "literary" than my own—in this case a hardware salesman with a thing for flight attendants, who was relating an adventure of his own to a sympathetic listener. Aside from generally trying to capture this character's manner of talking, I remember specifically taking care to suppress more recherché vocabulary whenever it presented itself to me. The story was rejected, however, and when I resubmitted it for a slightly different market, I revised it so as to transform the protagonist into a more typically college-English-majory Jeremy character. Below is a sample bit, as it appeared in each of the two versions:<br /><br /><i>I’ve seen these guys when I fly, eating up a professional smile like it’s all for them. Myself, I wouldn’t presume.<br /><br />I’ve seen these guys when I fly, eating up a professional smile like it’s all for them. Personally, I would never be so presumptuous.</i>Jeremy Edwardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01980177431018869829noreply@blogger.com